§ Mr. NellistTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would have been the value in 1992 prices of child benefit had it, since its inception, been increased annually by the equivalent of the rise in the value of(a) the retail price index and (b) average earnings.
§ Mr. JackThe full child benefit scheme started in April 1979 when the rate of benefit was £4 a week. Using the movements in the relevant indices between the April 1979 and October 1991 uprating dates the values would have been(a) £9.95 and (b) £12.94. Comparable information is not yet available for April 1992, when we are again increasing both levels of child benefit.