§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing for each uprating date since 1970 (i) the rate of supplementary benefit or income support for a householder couple each aged over 25 years with two children aged six and 11 years, (ii) the percentage increase in (i) between each uprating date, (iii) the percentage increase in the average gross weekly earnings of all adult males between each uprating date and (iv) the actual movement in the retail prices index for all items between uprating dates.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe figures requested are in the table. The percentages quoted in columns D and E refer to the period between upratings. However the uprating percentage itself is based on different periods; for the percentage increase in earnings and retail prices index over these I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 3 June at columns116–18.
A B C D E Benefit uprating date Benefit rate Percent increase in 'B' Earnings percent increase RPI percent increase 2 November 1970 12.50 — — — 20 September 1971 13.90 11.2 7.5 8.0 2 October 1972 15.65 12.6 15.7 8.5 1 October 1973 17.10 9.3 11.6 9.9 22 July 1974 20.10 17.5 14.2 13.5 7 April 1975 23.00 14.4 20.2 17.7 17 November 1975 26.10 13.5 11.5 11.7 15 November 1976 30.35 16.3 12.5 15.0 14 November 1977 34.60 14.0 9.3 13.0 13 November 1978 37.10 7.2 14.9 8.1 12 November 1979 43.65 17.7 19.1 17.4 24 November 1980 52.80 21.0 18.4 15.3 23 November 1981 57.55 9.0 10.7 12.0 22 November 1982 63.60 10.5 7.4 6.3 21 November 1983 66.35 4.3 7.3 4.8 26 November 1984 69.50 4.7 8.7 4.9 25 November 1985 73.05 5.1 6.5 5.5 28 July 1986 73.90 1.2 5.7 1.7 6 April 1987 75.35 2.0 6.2 4.4 11 April 1988 78.30 3.9 9.7 3.9 10 April 1989 83.90 7.2 9.6 8.0 9 April 1990 88.20 5.1 9.7 9.4 8 April 1991 95.35 8.1 7.9 6.4 Notes:
Column B—shows the Supplementary Benefit scale rate for a couple aged over 25 with two children aged 6 and 11, for the period from 1970 to 1987. From April 1988 the figures are the Income Support rates for the same family composition. No additions which might have been payable within Supplementary Benefit or Income Support premiums have been included (ie: the Income Support figures exclude Family Premium).
Column C—shows the percentage increase from one uprating date to the next. This will not necessarily reflect the uprating index for that year because of rounding. Also in the earlier years uprating was calculated by forecasting likely changes in the RPI and this sometimes meant that adjustments had to be made the following year.
Column D—gives the percentage increase in the average gross weekly earnings of all adult males from the New Earnings Survey.
Column E—shows the actual movement in the Retail Price Index for all items between uprating dates.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the full financial year cost126W of providing severe disability premium to claimants who are prevented from claiming benefit under the recent change to regulation 3 of the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987.
§ Miss WiddecombeIt is not possible to estimate the number of people who might have tried to establish a commercial relationship with close relatives with whom they are living, and thereby gained entitlement to the premium, had the recent change referred to not been made. The unplanned expenditure avoided by the restoration of the policy intention of the premium through the amendment regulation is not therefore known.
§ 1990. Mr. PawseyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners over 65 years claimed income support in(a) 1987 and (b)
§ Miss WiddecombeIt is estimated that in May 1987 there were 1.63 million pensioner claimants over 65 years in receipt of supplementary benefit and in May 1990 there were 1.41 million pensioner claimants over 65 in receipt of income support.
Source: Annual statistical inquiries May 1987 and May 1990.