§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what estimate he has made of the level of the Christmas bonus for pensioners which would be required to match the equivalent purchasing power of the £10 bonus of 1974;
(2) what is the total estimated additional cost of fully indexing the pensioners' Christmas bonus to achieve the same purchasing power as the £10 bonus paid in 1974.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe Christmas bonus, which is paid regardless of need and which no Government have increased since its introduction in 1972, would now be worth £49.75 had it been increased annually since 1974 in line with prices. The additional cost would be approximately £489 million.