Earnings Top-up Scheme (Hansard, 20 May 1996)

§ Mr. Burt

I have today published, and placed in the Library, the printed version of the rules of the earnings top-up pilot scheme. The draft version of the rules was presented to the Social Security Advisory Committee and to Parliament in November last year.

The aim of earnings top-up is to help people without dependent children enter and remain in work. The three-year pilot, running in eight areas from October 1996, at a cost of £65 million, will test how effective it is in doing that. Couples could receive up to £56 a week on top of earnings and single people up to £28 a week.

I have also today placed in the Library a summary of the research programme for earnings top-up. This paper in the Department's research series explains how this important evaluation will be undertaken by three independent research institutes.

To help with the technical evaluation I have appointed a panel of experts to provide advice on the research programme. The members are: Mr. David Stanton—director of analytical services division, DSS. Professor Roger Jowell—director of social and community planning research. Professor Stephen Nickell—director of the institute of economics and statistics, university of Oxford. Mr. Andrew Dilnot—director of the institute for fiscal studies. Mr. Paul Gregg—centre for economic performance, London school of economics.

£ billion 1994–5 prices (rounded to.1 billion)
Year	2000–01	2005–06	2010–11	2015–16	2020–21	2025–26	2030–31	2040–41	2050–51
Pre Social Security
Act 1986 regime¹	4.2	8.0	12.0	18.0	25.0	33.0	41.0	49.0	55.0
Pre Pensions Act
1995 regime²	4.2	6.7	9.2	11.8	14.5	16.6	18.7	19.5	19.3
Estimated savings	0	1.3	2.8	6.2	10.5	16.4	22.3	29.5	35.7
¹ Figures are approximations based on figures from the Social Security Bill 1986, report by the Government Actuary on the Financial Effects of the Bill on the National Insurance Fund (Cmnd 9711) allowing for an extra five million people contracted out in Appropriate: Personal Pensions, and the report by the Government Actuary on the Financial Effects of the Pensions Bill 1994 on the National Insurance Fund (Cm 2714). They assume price uprating of benefits and are in respect of retirement pensioners only.
² The figures are taken from the report by the Government Actuary on the Financial effects of the Pensions Bill 1994 on the National Insurance Fund (Cm 2714), assume price uprating of benefits and are in respect of retirement pensioners only.

30W

Professor Jane Millar—school of social sciences, university of Bath.

Ms Jane Ritchie—director of qualitative research at social and community planning research.