§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish the totals and categories of families who will face clawbacks in other benefits as a result of the planned increase in child benefit for the first born.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardIt is estimated that the planned adjustment of benefit paid for a child for whom the higher rate of child benefit is payable would affect approximately 192,000 families in the categories shown in the table. The effect of the adjustment is that the benefits and increases of benefit payable for the child for whom the higher rate of child benefit is payable would be increased to £9.70 per week from April 1991.
309W
Number of families Child dependency increases of: Industrial death benefit 1,333 Invalid care allowance 3,778 Severe disablement allowance 1,222 Invalidity benefit 106,111 Retirement pension 18,308 Widow's benefit 59,200
Number of families Benefit Guardian's allowance 2,023 Child's special allowance 346
§ Mr. DunnachieTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will state by what means his Department intends to effect the forthcoming uprating of child benefit; and whether additional staffing resources will be made available to do so.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardChild benefit is paid by credit transfer or order books produced by computerised processes at our central office in Newcastle. The reprogramming necessary to put the increase into effect can be contained within existing staff resources.
§ Ms. RichardsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the cost of disregarding child benefit in the calculation of income support and family credit.
§ Mrs. Gillian Shephard[holding answer 20 November 1990]: Child benefit is taken into account in the assessment of income support just as it always was in the 310W assessment of supplementary benefit. It is also taken into account in the assessment of housing benefit and community charge benefit. Although it is not treated as income in the assessment of family credit, child benefit is taken into account when the credit levels are set.
The net cost of disregarding child benefit in the assessment of income support, housing benefit and community charge benefit is estimated to be around £1.1 billion a year. The cost of ignoring child benefit when setting the credits for family credit would be around £360 million a year, including the knock-on effect of increased family credit on other income-related benefits.