§ Mr. BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what savings have resulted from the abolition of income support for 16 and 17-year-olds in each year since 1988.
§ Mr. JackFor the individual the value of training allowance at the time of the policy change was greater than the income support payable to the young people concerned. Expenditure on youth training amounted to £1 billion in the first full year. As a consequence this meant that benefit payments to 16 and 17-year-olds were reduced by £51 million in 1988–89, £88 million in 1989–90 and £83 million in 1990–91.