§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will state(a) the present tariff income schedule of attributed interest on savings held by benefit claimants, (b) the interest rate and annual percentage rate on savings implied by the schedule, (c) when the schedule was last revised and (d) whether he proposes to revise it again in the light of recent falls in interest rates.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe tariff income rules in the income-related benefits do not imply any particular return on savings. They ensure that help is targeted on those who need it most, while gradually reducing the amount of benefit paid to those with higher amounts of capital.
The level of income assumed from capital is calculated by ignoring the first £3,000 and taking into account £1 a week for every £250, or part of £250, between £3,000 and the upper capital limit for the particular benefit. The tariff income rule has not been revised since it was introduced in 1988. The maximum amount of capital that a claimant can have and still be entitled to benefit was increased in income support and family credit from £6,000 to £8,000, and doubled in housing benefit and community charge benefit from £8,000 to £16,000 in April 1990.
The capital rules continue to be kept under review.