The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

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  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Severe Weather Payments – 22 April 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Severe Weather Payments on 22nd April 1987.

    Mr. Wigley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many individual persons in Wales received payments of severe weather allowance this winter; and if all these persons received this payment for two weeks.

    Mr. Major The latest available figures show that approximately 127,000 £5 payments had been made in Wales by 17 March. Separate figures on the number of individuals receiving payments are not available, but the great majority of successful claimants in Wales will have received a total of £10 in respect of the two weeks for which this help was made available.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Maternity Payments – 22 April 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Maternity Payments on 22nd April 1987.

    Mr. Meacher Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women in the Oldham West constituency claimed maternity grant in the latest year for which figures are available.

    Mr. Major Information is not available in the form requested.

    The Oldham West constituency is covered by the Departments local offices at Oldham and Failsworth, although their boundaries are not conterminous with the constituency. The numbers of maternity grant claims received at these two offices during the 1986 calendar year were as follows:

    Area | Number
    Oldham | 1,021
    Failsworth | 1,349

    Mrs. Beckett Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has received regarding the sending of incorrect instructions about the last date to qualify for a single payment for maternity needs to local offices; whether correcting instructions had been received in all offices by the week before the deadline for claims of 6 April; if he will make transitional arrangements so that those eligible for payment for a baby born on or before 17 May can claim up to 17 May; and if he will mount an immediate national advertising campaign to publicise these arrangements.

    Mr. Major We have received one letter concerning the instructions relating to the transitional arrangements for the payment of supplementary benefit single payments for maternity needs which were issued to local offices in late January this year. Prior to receipt of this letter, as a result of a telephone enquiry received by the Department, it had already been decided to issue clarifying guidance to all local offices about applications for payments for maternity needs received before 6 April where the week of expected confinement was after that date. This was done on 5 March 1987 and we do not propose to take any further action.

    Mrs. Beckett Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether women on supplementary benefit and without savings of over £500 can claim a single payment for maternity needs for a baby due on or before 17 May, provided their claim was made before 6 April.

    Mr. Major A supplementary benefit single payment for maternity needs can be made, subject to the normal eligibility conditions, for a claim made before 6 April 1987 provided that, at the time of the claim, the expected week of confinement was not more than six weeks ahead.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 22 April 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 22nd April 1987.

    Mr. Alfred Morris Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the supplementary benefit payable on account of someone in residential care is intended to cover the cost of day-care facilities; who is liable to meet the charge for such a person residing in a private home but receiving day-care provided by a voluntary organisation; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr. Major The supplementary benefit board and lodging allowance for people in residential care homes contains no specific allocations for particular items of expenditure. Under the Residential Care Homes Regulations 1984 the proprietor of a private home is required, having regard to the size of the home and the number, age, sex and condition of residents, to make suitable arrangements for the training, occupation and recreation of residents. If the proprietor makes arrangements with a voluntary organisation to provide such facilities in the home or elsewhere he would then be liable for any charge levied by the voluntary organisation and may take this into account in fixing the charges payable by residents. Residents who are entitled to supplementary benefit receive help with their charges up to the national limits.

    Mrs. Beckett Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what effect British Gas vouchers will have on entitlement to supplementary benefit, including single payments for fuel costs.

    Mr. Major The vouchers that I understand will start to become payable to British Gas Shareholders from 30 June 1987 will be treated for supplementary benefit purposes as income from capital and will be disregarded. The normal capital rules for weekly and single payments of supplementary benefit will continue to apply to the value of the shares themselves.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 22 April 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 22nd April 1987.

    Mr. Raynsford Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why, in the light of his undertaking to local authorities they would have 12 months to prepare for the introduction of the new housing benefit arrangements effective from April 1988, he has not yet tabled regulations and issued guidance on this subject.

    Mr. McCrindle Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he proposes to lay regulations for the 1988 housing benefit reforms.

    Mr. Major [pursuant to his reply, 10 April 1987, c. 503]: The regulations for the 1988 housing benefit reforms will be laid before Parliament when the Government’s proposals on benefit rates are finalised in the autumn. The draft currently contains purely illustrative rates and it is not possible to legislate on the basis of figures which will not be implemented.

    We are, however, committed to publishing our firm proposals on the detailed structure of the new scheme as soon as possible, so that local authorities have adequate time to prepare. The local authority associations made a very large number of helpful comments during consultation on the regulations and these are now being considered urgently.

    I have informed the associations that the revised regulations will be made available to local authorities in draft around the end of this month. Guidance on the key areas of change will follow shortly after. Copies of the regulations and the guidance will be placed in the Library.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Family Expenditure – 10 April 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Family Expenditure on 10th April 1987.

    Mr. Meacher Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what were the average expenditures per week on food for the following supplementary benefit claimants as recorded by the family expenditure survey of 1979 (a) an adult, (b) a person 16 to 17 years old, (c) a child of 11 to 15 years old, and (d) a child under 11 years old.

    Mr. Major Data in the family expenditure surveys relate to expenditure by the household as a whole and cannot be allocated to individual members, for example dependent children. In the 1979 survey, the average recorded expenditure on food of one-adult households in receipt of supplementary benefit was £8.10. Sample data in respect of 16 to 17-year-old claimants living alone are insufficient to provide a reliable estimate.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Wheelchairs – 10 April 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Wheelchairs on 10th April 1987.

    Mr. Hannam Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people have (a) a powered and (b) a non-powered wheelchair on loan from the Department of Health and Social Security at the latest date for which figures are available.

    Mr. Major At 31 March 1987, 461,806 non-powered wheelchairs and 19,994 powered wheelchairs, were on issue through the Department’s wheelchair service. These figures do not accord exactly with the number of people who have a wheelchair on loan because some patients have more than one chair. No central figures of actual patient numbers are available.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Mrs SE Parker – 10 April 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Mrs SE Parker on 10th April 1987.

    Mr. Heddle Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will investigate the reason why the Cannock Chase district council is not carrying out calculations to ascertain whether Mrs. S. E. Parker of 56 Park View Terrace, Rugeley, Staffordshire, is entitled to housing benefit supplement to enable his Department’s Cannock office to ascertain her eligibility for exceptionally cold weather benefit; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr. Major Entitlement to housing benefit supplement is first assessed by the relevant local authority who then refer the award to the supplementary benefit office for formal authorisation. The Department’s Cannock office has now received and authorised an HBS award for Mrs. Parker and is therefore able to consider her claim for an exceptionally cold weather payment.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Disabled Persons – 10 April 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Disabled Persons on 10th April 1987.

    Mr. Alfred Morris Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what discussions have been held with voluntary organisations concerning the implementation of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr. Major On 1 April I met members of the Steering Committee set up by the major voluntary organisations representing disabled people to monitor implementation of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986. We discussed a number of issues relating to the implementation of the Act. Members of the steering committee suggested that voluntary organisations could make a valuable contribution to further consideration of these issues, and asked that they should be given an opportunity to do so. I undertook to consider what they had said, and to write to them as soon as possible suggesting a framework for involving voluntary organisation where appropriate in future work on the implementation of the Act.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits – 10 April 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits on 10th April 1987.

    Mr. Meacher Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what groups within the 1979 family expenditure survey were used to calculate the average expenditure on food, referred to in clause 1736 of the “Guidelines for Supplementary Benefit Officers and Procedural Instructions – Supplementary Benefits” (S Manual) in the calculation of the extra costs of special diets.

    Mr. Major I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Foyle (Mr. Hume) on 23 March at columns 77-78.

    Mr. McCrindle Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he proposed to lay regulations for the 1988 housing benefit reforms.

    Mr. Major I shall be writing to the local authority associations shortly.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on SERPS (Rights) – 10 April 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on SERPS (Rights) on 10th April 1987.

    Mr. McCrindle Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what arrangements he is making to inform people of the build-up of their rights in the state earnings-related pension scheme.

    Mr. Major I am pleased to say that, as promised in our White Paper “Reform of Social Security”, we have launched a new service which will provide people, on request, with a personal statement of the value of their additional pension rights built up in the state earnings-related pension scheme. The statement will also include, where possible, estimates of how much additional pension the person might expect to earn by state pension age if he or she continues earning and remains in SERPS. We hope that this information will be helpful to people who may be considering taking out a personal pension. Application forms for this new service are in leaflet NP38 which can be obtained from the Department’s local offices.