§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the total cost to the Exchequer of raising child benefit to £15 for every child during a full financial year and the gains in taxation revenues made if(a) the additional married couple's allowance had not been raised at the last Budget and (b) the additional married couple's allowance—additional to single person's allowance—at the last Budget had been reduced by half.
§ Mr. Maude[holding answer 19 November 1991]: The additional social security expenditure arising from paying child benefit at £15 per week throughout 1991–92 would be about £3.2 billion. The married couple's allowance for those aged under 65 was not changed in the last Budget. The direct revenue yield of reducing the additional allowance by half is estimated to be about £2.3 billion at 1991–92 income levels.