Benefits (Hansard, 22 July 1996)

§ Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list those benefits which have

Benefit	Current rate (£)	November 1979 rate at April 1996 prices	Difference between the two rates	Number in receipt in 1979	Latest available numbers in receipt	Date of latest available numbers
Child Special Allowance¹	³11.15	17.98	6.83	825	55	1 January 1996
Child Dependency increases—
Retirement
Pension, Widows Benefit,					63,520 (RP and WB only)30
Unemployment Benefit²	³11.15	17.98	6.83	192,870	September (RP and WB only)
Guardians
Allowances¹	³11.15	17.98	6.83	3,669	2,147	1 January 1996
One Parent						31 December
Benefit¹	³6.30	6.33	0.33	381,000	941,000	1994
Retirement
Pension Age						30 September
Addition	0.25	0.63	0.38	1,467,000 9,159,000 RP/WB 729,000	2,294,000 9,995,000 RP/WB 2,015,000	1995
Christmas Bonus	10.00	25.33	15.33	IVB/SDA	IVB/SDA	Note 4
Maternity Adult
Dependency
Increase⁵	28.55	29	0.45	1,000	—	—
War Pensions:
Unemployment
Allowance
Increase for 1st child	³39.9	17.98	808	n/a	n/a	n/a
Unemployment Allowance
increase for other children	³11.15	17.98	6.83	n/a	n/a	n/a
WWP increase for 1st child	³14.10	25.33	11.23	n/a	n/a	n/a
WWP increase for subsequent child	³15.35	25.33	9.98	n/a	n/a	n/a
Orphans Pensions increase for 1st child	³15.85	26.85	11	⁶n/a	⁶n/a	⁶n/a
Orphans Pensions increase for subsequent child	17.10³	26.85	9.75	⁶n/a	⁶n/a	⁶n/a
¹ The figures are for the number of families who receive the benefit.
²Current figures for Unemployment Benefit Child Dependency Increases (UB CDI) recipients are not available. The 1979 figures are produced from an average of May 1979 and November 1979 based on a 5 per cent, sample of unemployed claimants. UB CDls were abolished for claimants under pensionable age in November 1984. Consequently, the numbers receiving a CDI are very small and cannot be identified separately.
³The formula used for calculating these allowances takes account of the Retail Prices Index and any increase in Child Benefit. Child Benefit, however, is paid in addition to the allowances.
⁴Source for Retirement Pension/Widows Benefit recipients of the Christmas Bonus is the biannual enquiry using a 10 per cent, sample in November 1979 and a 5 per cent, sample in September 1995. Figures for Invalidity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance recipients are based on a 1 per cent, sample in June 1979 and April 1995. They do not take into account entitlement conditions i.e. the residence test, the effect of overlapping benefits, or the number of adult dependants as they are purely numbers of beneficiaries at the given dates.
⁵The rate of the Maternity Allowance Adult Dependency Increase was abated by 5 per cent, at November 1980 reflecting the intention to make Maternity Allowance taxable. The 1979 figure includes the 12 months to 31 March 1980 rounded to the nearest thousand. No reliable data exists for the latest period.
⁶Individual figures are not available. However, the combined total of orphans pensions in payment to both first children and subsequent children was 400 in 1979 and 528 on 31 March 1996.
n/a = Figures are not available.

66W

fallen in real terms since 1979; and if he will list (a)the size of each shortfall and (b)the number of people currently claiming each benefit now and in 1979. [35647]