§ Mr. SykesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the application of the Social Security Regulation of Earnings Factors Order 1992 as it applies to additional pension paid with invalidity benefit.
§ Mr. LilleyThe policy intention has been that the revaluation order should apply to additional pensions paid with invalidity benefit. We have received legal advice that provisions enacted in the Social Security Act 1990 and carried forward into the Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 have not given full effect to this. This means an estimated £9 million paid between April 1992 and April 1993 will have been paid on a basis which is incorrect on the strict interpretation of the law. We intend to continue payments on an extra-statutory basis to ensure that claimants receive a level of benefits in line with the policy intention. Appropriation will be obtained in due course. The total amount paid on this basis, initially estimated at a cost of £0.8 million, rounded, per month, will be reported in a note to the Department's appropriate account.