Author: admin

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

Mr. Leigh Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the extent to which pensions have kept pace with inflation since 1979.

Mr. Major The level of retirement pension prevailing for most of 1979 was determined by the uprating of social security benefits in November 1978. Between November 1978 and July 1986 (the latest uprating) the retail price index rose by 90 per cent. and the state retirement pension rose by 98.5 per cent. for a single person and 98.6 per cent. for a married couple.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Severe Weather Payments on 9th March 1987.

Mr. Kirkwood Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement on the operation of this year’s severe weather payment scheme; and whether he is able to estimate the level of uptake of this year’s scheme.

Mr. Major We are satisfied that the new rules for exceptionally cold weather payments are simpler and easier to understand and that as a result of widespread publicity more people have been helped this winter and payments have been made far more quickly than under any previous system of exceptionally severe weather payments. It is not yet possible to make an estimate of take-up among eligible groups.

Mr. Gordon Brown Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claimants have now received £10 severe weather payments in Scotland.

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

Up to 3 March 1987 some 285,000 £5 exceptionally cold weather payments were made in Scotland.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Single Payments on 9th March 1987.

Mr. Buchan Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the policy of his Department towards refusing single payment for a cooker, under regulation 30, on the grounds that the applicant does not require hot food; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Major Regulation 30 provides that a single payment can be made if it is the only means of preventing serious risk to the health or safety of a member of the assessment unit. Whether a payment can be made in an individual case is a matter for the independent adjudicating authorities.

Guidance on the application of regulation 30 is issued by the chief adjudication officer in paragraphs 7521-7586 of the S manual and paragraph 19 of circular S20/86 – copies of which are in the Library. These advise that serious risk can be assumed if there are no cooking facilities and there are children under two in the assessment unit, or hot meals are medically essential to a member of the assessment unit. Whether the absence of cooking facilities in other circumstances constitutes a serious risk will depend on the facts of the particular case.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Maternity Payments on 9th March 1987.

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

Mr. Major Information is not available in the form requested. But in the twelve months ending April 1986, the latest year for which figures are available, the following numbers of claims to maternity allowance were made at the Department’s offices which cover Motherwell South, although the boundaries are not conterminous:

Area | Number
Motherwell | 600
Hamilton | 1,239
Wishaw | 465

Mr. Litherland Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women in Manchester, Central received maternity allowance in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr. Major Information is not available in the form requested. But in the 12 months ending April 1986, the latest year for which figures are available, the following numbers of claims to maternity allowance were made at the Department’s offices which cover Manchester, Central constituency, although the boundaries are not conterminous:

Area | Number
Manchester, Central | 191
Openshaw | 790
Failsworth | 1,003
Longsight | 524
Cheetham | 651

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on SERPS on 9th March 1987.

Mr. Meacher Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set out combined employer and employee national insurance contribution rates for financing the state earnings-related pension scheme for each five years up to 2050, on assumptions of both a price-indexed and earnings-indexed annual increase in the basic retirement pension, and assuming a growth rate in the economy of (a) 1.5 per cent. and (b) 3 per cent. per year; and if he will provide these tables on the basis that (i) the state earnings-related pension scheme is unchanged and (ii) the state earnings-related pension scheme is amended in accordance with the Social Security Act 1986.

Mr. Major I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 8 April 1986, at column 86 and to table 5 in the Government Actuary’s report on the Social Security Bill 1986 (Cmnd. 9711). The estimates of combined national insurance rates published in these were based on assumptions of real earnings, and not on growth in the economy, as real earnings is the relevant economic factor. Additional projections at five-yearly intervals could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Board and Lodging Payments on 9th March 1987.

Mrs. Beckett Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he will take to ensure that arrears of supplementary benefit are paid to all claimants who were affected by the freeze on board and lodging payments imposed on 20 December 1984.

Mr. Major I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury, South (Mr. Sumberg) on 6 March at columns 724–25.

Mrs. Beckett Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claimants were affected by the freeze on board and lodging payments between 20 December 1984 and 28 April 1985; and how many of them are still affected as a result of the transitional protection given by regulation 9(17) of the Supplementary Benefit (Requirements) Regulations 1983.

Mr. Major The number affected is roughly estimated to be about 20,000. It is not known how many will be entitled to transitional protection.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Community Programme on 6th March 1987.

Ms. Clare Short Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will provide full details of how he arrived at the estimate that allowing participants on the community programme to claim unemployment benefit would cost £2 million per week.

Mr. Major It is impossible to be precise about the benefit cost of allowing people working part time in the community programme to receive unemployment benefit for the days on which they do not work and in my statement on 3 March I referred to expenditure of “around £2 million a week”. The actual cost would depend upon the numbers of part timers who had underlying title to UB, had exhausted entitlement, were able to requalify by virtue of the CP work, would in fact be available for work on the days in question and indeed on whether people would choose to claim for these days, bearing in mind that in most cases part-time earnings would be considerably higher than benefit entitlement before joining the scheme. Information is not available on many of these points. £2 million is an approximate mid-point between best and worst assumptions.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Residential Homes on 6th March 1987.

Mr. Meacher Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any plans to change the amounts of capital disregarded when elderly people enter (a) private residential homes, assisted by his Department’s board and lodging payments or otherwise and (b) residential homes owned by local authorities.

Mr. Major The present rules are that residents in private and voluntary homes can claim supplementary benefit if their capital assets are not more than £3,000. When income support is introduced in 1988 new rules will apply. The capital cut-off point will increase from £3,000 to £6,000 but with a tariff income assumed of £1 for every band of £250 between £3,000 to £6,000. The joint central and local government working party on supplementary benefit and residential care, which is considering means of harmonising financial support for people in residential care homes, is also considering the future arrangements for financial assessment. Its report is expected at Easter.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Self-Employed (National Insurance) on 5th March 1987.

Ms. Clare Short Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many individuals have paid self-employed national insurance contributions in each year since 1979.

Mr. Major The information is as follows:

Year | Persons paying Class 2 (self-employed) NI Contributions (in thousands)
1979-80 | 1,608
1980-81 | 1,661
1981-82 | 1,697
1982-83 | 1,766
1983-84 | 1,845

Notes:

1. Final figures are not available for later years. The Government Actuary has estimated that currently about 2 million people in the United Kingdom are paying self-employed national insurance contributions.
2. Self-employed people with profits above the lower profits limit are liable to pay class 4 contributions in addition to class 2. Precise information on the numbers involved is not available but it is estimated that between 1.25 and 1.5 million people are currently liable to pay class 4 contributions.