The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

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  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Occupational Pensions – 11 March 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Occupational Pensions on 11th March 1987.

    Sir David Price Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people at work in 1979 were contributing to an occupational pension, or were covered by a non-contributory occupational pension scheme; how many in 1987; and in both cases what percentage of the working population it represented.

    Mr. Major The Government Actuary’s surveys of occupational pension schemes indicate that in 1979, 11.6 million employees were covered by an occupational pension scheme, whether contributory or noncontributory, representing some 50 per cent. of employees in employment. In 1983, the latest survey available, 11.1 million employees were covered, representing some 52 per cent. of those in employment. In addition, about 1.8 million people were either in employment without occupational pension scheme coverage, but had preserved rights from earlier employments, or had preserved rights but were not in employment at the time.

    Sir David Price Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many retirement pensioners received an occupational pension in 1979, additional to their basic state retirement pension; how many in 1987; and in both cases what percentage of all retirement pensioners it represented.

    Mr. Major The best information available is derived from the “Family Expenditure Survey” and relates to tax units with heads over minimum state pension age. These units may represent single pensioners or married couples. It shows that in 1979, 41 per cent. of pensioner tax units – 2.6 million – received at least one occupational pension, whereas by 1985, the latest figures available, some 51 per cent. (3.4 million) did so. In 1985, some 70 per cent. of recently retired married couples had an occupational pension. The Government Actuary’s surveys of occupational pension schemes show that in 1979 there were 3.7 million occupational pensions in payment, and 5 million in 1983.

    However, these figures include pensions to widows and to persons below state pension age.

    It is not possible to say precisely how many pensioners received an occupational pension in addition to their basic state retirement pension. The great majority of pensioners with entitlement to an occupational pension would also have entitlement to a state basic pension where they had reached minimum state pension age and had retired.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Pensions – 11 March 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Pensions on 11th March 1987.

    Mr. Higgins Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the extra cost to public funds of increasing the national insurance pension to pensioners who have no other source of income by £1 per week.

    Mr. Major No estimates are available of the number of pensioners with no income other than the basic pension. Most pensioners without income from other sources would qualify for supplementary benefit in addition to their basic pension, and for housing benefit if they were householders. The cost of increasing the basic pension by £1 for all single pensioners and by £1.60 for a married couple in 1987-88 would be about £450 million. This estimate does not take account of any savings on supplementary benefit or housing benefit.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Severe Weather Payments – 11 March 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Severe Weather Payments on 11th March 1987.

    Mr. Deakins Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many single payments for additional heating expenditure incurred this winter have been made in Walthamstow; what was the total cost; and what was the average cost of each payment.

    Mr. Major Up to 24 February 1987, the Walthamstow local office had made some 4,000 cold weather payments at £5 each. The total amount paid out was about £20,000.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Invalid Care Allowance – 11 March 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Invalid Care Allowance on 11th March 1987.

    Mr. George Robertson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) following his statement of 23 June 1986 on invalid care allowance, Official Report, column 21, if he will state (a) the number of successful invalid care allowance claims to date and (b) the number of unsuccessful invalid care allowance claims to date;
    (2) following his statement of 23 June 1986 on invalid care allowance, Official Report, column 21, if he will state the number of invalid care allowance claims received to date.

    Mr. Major The latest available information is set out in the table:

    Invalid Care Allowance: Claims by Married Women at 27 February 1987

    Claims | Number
    Received | 106,000
    Decided | 53,000
    Successful | 40,000
    Unsuccessful | 13,000

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Maternity Payments – 11 March 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Maternity Payments on 11th March 1987.

    Mr. Michie Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether any of the items previously considered essential under the Department of Health and Social Security single payment regulations will not be included in the new maternity payment.

    Mr. Major I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Mr. Flannery) on 25 February at column 322.

    Mr. Michie Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many single payments for maternity items were made to women in Sheffield, Heeley; in the last year for which figures are available.

    Mr. Lyell The information requested is not collected by individual local offices and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

    Dr. Bray Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women in Motherwell, South claimed the maternity grant in the last year for which figures are available.

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

    The Motherwell, South constituency is covered by the Department’s local offices at Motherwell, Hamilton and Wishaw, although their boundaries are not conterminous with the constituency. The numbers of claims for maternity grant received at those local offices during the 1986 calendar year were as follows:

    Area | Number
    Motherwell | 944
    Hamilton | 1,868
    Wishaw | 792

    Mr. Stuart Holland Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women in Lambeth claimed the maternity grant in the last year for which figures are available.233W

    Mr. Major I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Norwood (Mr. Fraser) on 23 February at columns 119-20.

    Mr Stuart Holland Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women in Lambeth received maternity allowance in the last year for which figures are available.

    Mr. Major I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Norwood (Mr. Fraser) on 23 February at column 120.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits – 11 March 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits on 11th March 1987.

    Mr. Alfred Morris Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the level of spending on social security benefits for sick and disabled people in each of the years 1978-79 and 1986-87; how this expenditure breaks down between the different social security benefits for sick and disabled people; what was the average annual increase in expenditure for the period 1979-80 to 1986-87 inclusive in real terms; how much of that increase in real terms was attributable to (a) increases in the real value of the social security benefits concerned and (b) increases in the number of people claiming each of the benefits; and what was the average annual increase in such expenditure in real terms for the period 1974-75 to 1978-79 inclusive.

    Mr. Major Over the period 1979-80 to 1986-87, real expenditure on social security benefits for sick and disabled people increased by an average of £230 million a year (at 1986-87 prices): roughly 70 per cent. of the increase was due to increases in the number of recipients and the remainder to increases in the average amount paid. The average annual real increase over the period 1974-75 to 1978-79 was £195 million (at 1986-87 prices). A breakdown of total expenditure among individual benefits is given in the table.

    Expenditure on social security benefits paid to sick and disabled people | 1978-79 | 1986-87 (in £ million)

    Sickness benefit | 700 | 160
    Invalidity benefit | 840 | 2,610
    Industrial disablement benefit | 220 | 430
    Attendance allowance | 170 | 780
    Invalid care allowance | 5 | 190
    NCIP/Severe disablement allowance | 70 | 260
    Mobility allowance | 50 | 510
    War disablement pension | 220 | 380
    Supplementary benefit | 170 | 460
    Housing benefit | 50 | 470
    Christmas Bonus | 10 | 20
    Other industrial injuries benefits | 5 | 5
    Total | 2,500 | 6,260

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 10 March 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 10th March 1987.

    Mr. Holt Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he proposes to make any changes in the Supplementary Benefit (Requirements) Regulations.

    Mr. Major We propose to make three small changes in the Supplementary Benefit (Requirements) Regulations dealing with claimants in residential care and nursing homes.

    Since the beginning of the supplementary benefit scheme the policy has been that all charges levied by nursing and residential care home owners or proprietors should be treated together as the board and lodging charge. Recent legal advice has however cast doubts on this long-standing interpretation. We propose, therefore, to amend the regulations to give clear effect to the original policy intention that people in residential care and nursing homes should not be entitled to additional requirements which relate to items which normal charges may be expected to cover, such as heating, extra baths and laundry. At the same time we propose to amend the regulations to ensure that charges for these items can be included with the board and lodging charge. For claimants who are currently getting these additional requirements there will be transitional protection to safeguard their overall benefit entitlement.

    Secondly, we propose to correct an unintended effect in regulation 9(18) of the requirements regulations. This regulation allows transitionally protected claimants an increase in benefit of up to a maximum of £10 to help meet any increase in fees since April 1985. As currently drafted the regulation would allow some claimants to get an increase of more than £10 at the next up-rating. However, at future up-ratings the same claimants would lose that increase and the amount of benefit in payment to them would be reduced. The proposed amendment would restore the original policy intention.

    Thirdly, we propose to clarify the supplementary benefit provisions governing local authority residential accommodation set up under the National Health Service Act 1977 so that it more accurately reflects the diversity of provision that local authorities are now making. Regulations will make it clear that the part III rate should only apply to residential accommodation provided by local authorities where full board is available and which is not a hostel.

    The social security advisory committee has agreed that the proposed amendments do not need to be referred to them. These amendments will be included in the uprating regulations for the supplementary benefit residential care and nursing home limits which will be laid before the House shortly.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Artificial Limbs and Appliances – 10 March 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Artificial Limbs and Appliances on 10th March 1987.

    Mr. Ashley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the current cost of artificial limb and appliance centres; and for how many people they provide appliances.

    Mr. Major The estimated cost in 1986-87 of services provided through the artificial limb and appliance centres is £82.9 million. This includes the cost of artificial limbs and appliances, wheelchairs and administration costs. Artificial limb and appliance centres provide appliances to war pensioners, of whom almost 13,000 currently have an appliance on issue.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Muscular Dystrophy – 10 March 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Muscular Dystrophy on 10th March 1987.

    Mr. Ashley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average life expectancy of children with muscular dystrophy.

    Mr. Major Muscular dystrophy is not a single disorder and the various types are differentiated by mode of inheritance, age of onset, distribution of weakness and rate of deterioration. While in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the commonest, death usually occurs from respiratory infection by the age of 20, and in Becker muscular dystrophy death is likely in middle age, average life expectancy does not provide a prognosis in the individual case. There are five other, even less common forms of muscular dystrophy which may present in childhood.

    Mr. Ashley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children are currently suffering from muscular dystrophy; and if he has been given any information on the proportion of these whose arms are too weak for them to propel their own wheelchair.

    Mr. Major There is no exact information on the number of children currently suffering from muscular dystrophy. There are probably 1,300 to 1,500 boys and young men with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in England and Wales. By the age of 10-12 most sufferers are using a wheelchair. No information is available as to the proportion of children with muscular dystrophy who are unable to propel their own wheelchairs.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Invalid Care Allowance – 10 March 1987

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Invalid Care Allowance on 10th March 1987.

    Mr. George Robertson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, following his statement of 23 June 1986 on invalid care allowance, Official Report, column 21, how many successful invalid care allowance claims require recovery action because of the overlapping benefit rule; and, of these, how many involved supplementary benefit.

    Mr. Major None; but to date arrears of invalid care allowance have been abated in some 8,000 cases on account of other social security benefits paid to or for the claimant. In about 800 cases the other benefit was supplementary benefit.

    Mr. George Robertson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, following his statement of 23 June 1986 on invalid care allowance, Official Report, column 21, how long it will take to clear the backlog of invalid care allowance claims.

    Mr. Major To date about half the invalid care allowance claims received from married women have been decided. We estimate that the remainder will be cleared within the next 18 weeks.