§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to publish the findings of his Department's monitoring of the impact of the new earnings disregard rules introduced under the Social Security Act 1986.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe Department has monitored the effect of the earnings rules in income support, family credit, housing benefit and community charge benefit since 1988. As a result, we have already made changes to the rules which will provide extra help for working families with children. The earnings disregard for lone parents was raised from £15 to £25 in housing benefit and community charge benefit from October 1990. We are also reducing the hours of work needed to claim family credit from 24 to 16 hours a week in April 1992. At the same time, we shall be introducing a disregard of the first £15 a week of any maintenance received for a child in family credit, housing benefit and community charge benefit.