Author: admin

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Invalid Care Allowance on 17th February 1987.

Mr. Hardy Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services by what date he expects the processing of claims for invalid care allowance by married women to be completed; and what proportion of such claims have now been dealt with.

Mr. Major As at 13 February, some 103,000 claims to invalid care allowance had been received from married women of which about 47,000 had been decided. The remainder, which are at various stages of processing and include cases where further information is awaited from claimants, will be cleared as soon as possible. The question implies a final date for clearance of all claims to invalid care allowance from married women, but because claims are still coming in and will continue to do so for the indefinite future, no such date can be set.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Heating Allowance on 17th February 1987.

Mr. Bill Walker Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give details of the total number of supplementary benefit recipients who were in receipt of heating allowance in 1984; and how many of them were paid the maximum allowance.

Mr. Major A total of 2,829,000 supplementary benefit claimants were in receipt of a heating addition in 1984. The maximum standard heating addition payable is the estate rate heating addition for a dwelling with five or more rooms. In 1984, 10,000 such additions were in payment.

Source: “Annual Statistical Enquiry 1984.”

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Income Replacement on 17th February 1987.

Mr. Alfred Morris Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list for each country in the European community in the last year for which figures are available the proportion of his previous earnings an insured person with average earnings would receive from statutory income replacement schemes, whether administered by Government or another body (a) during the first six months of incapacity for work, (b) during incapacity for work which has lasted between six and 12 months, (c) during incapacity for work which has lasted more than 12 months, (d) during the first six months of unemployment and (e) on retirement at the normal retirement age in each country.

Mr. Major Most income replacement schemes on the continent of Europe are on an earnings-related basis and the figures requested by the right hon. Member are contained in the DHSS publication, “Tables of Social Benefit Systems in the European Communities (Position at 1 January 1986)”, a copy of which is in the Library.

The United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands operate mainly flat rate income replacement schemes, so that the replacement rate will vary between high and low earners. The figures for the United Kingdom for a person on average earnings are given in section 5 of “Abstract of Statistics for Index of Retail Prices, Average Earnings, Social Security Benefits and Contributions” – August 1986, a copy of which is also in the Library. Comparable weekly earnings figures for Ireland and the Netherlands are not readily available.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Pension Schemes on 16th February 1987.

Mr. Wigley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to ensure that the profits that accumulate in a pension fund, held for the benefit of employees, can only be used for the direct benefit of those employees, and not appropriated for other uses by the company or by the trustees in charge of the pension scheme.

Mr. Major Trust law already requires the trustees of pension schemes to act in the members’ best interests. The powers to tax pension fund surpluses which last year’s Finance Act gives to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer provides a powerful incentive for schemes to use surpluses to reduce contributions or enhance benefits.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Allowances on 16th February 1987.

Mr. Barry Jones Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people were in receipt of (a) attendance allowance and (b) mobility allowance in Wales for the latest date for which such figures are available.

Mr. Major The latest available figures for Wales are that there were an estimated 44,000 recipients of attendance allowance (at 31 March 1986) and 40,600 recipients of mobility allowance (at 6 February 1987).

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Severe Weather Payments on 16th February 1987.

Mr. David Marshall Asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps are being taken to ensure that all claims made for severe weather payments will be processed in such a way as to ensure that all those eligible for benefit receive it.

Mr. Major I have been asked to reply.

The exceptionally cold weather claim forms have been designed to allow ease of completion whilst at the same time providing the information needed to decide entitlement and make payments quickly. Cases of doubt are referred back to the claimant for additional information before a decision is made.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Severe Weather Payments on 13th February 1987.

Mr. David Marshall Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many pensioners in (a) Scotland, (b) Strathclyde region, (c) Glasgow district and (d) Shettleston constituency applied for severe weather payments in the current year; and how many applications were (i) accepted and (ii) refused.

Mr. Major Information on the number of claims by pensioners for exceptionally cold weather payments is not available.

Statistics are being maintained on the total number of exceptionally cold weather payments made, the amount of those payments and the number refused, and these will be published in due course.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Hard-to-Heat Designations on 11th February 1987.

Mr. Tony Banks Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the number of hard-to-heat designations made to council tenants in the borough of Brighton for each year since 1983; and if he will break down the figures by month for each year.

Mr. Major No heating systems have been designated in the borough of Brighton as being disproportionately expensive to run.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Retirement Age on 11th February 1987.

Mr. Janner Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services to what extent the costs of establishing a voluntary retirement age of 60 years for both men and women would be offset by a reduction in unemployment and other benefits.

Mr. Major After taking account of savings of about £1.6 billion in unemployment and other benefits, the net cost of establishing a common minimum pension age of 60 for both men and women would be about £3 billion in public expenditure, on our best estimate.

Mr. Janner Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average age at which (a) men and (b) women retire from work in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Major I shall let the hon. and learned Member have a reply as soon as possible.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Mobility Allowance on 11th February 1987.

Mr. Carter-Jones Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will amend the mobility allowance regulations to ensure that no elderly disabled people who are currently in receipt of the allowance are deprived of it when they reach the age of 75 years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Major The limit of age 75 for the payment of the allowance will not affect any recipients before November 1989 and we shall consider whether the legislation should be amended rather nearer that time.