Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Residential Care Homes on 20th November 1986.
Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the annual aggregate figure for the amount of benefit being paid to those in residential care homes; and how many people are living in homes run by: (a) private organisations, (b) voluntary organisations and (c) local authorities.
Mr. Major I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Severe Weather Payments on 20th November 1986.
Sir Hector Monro Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he intends to lay regulations relating to exceptionally severe weather payments.
Mr. Major We have today laid before Parliament the Supplementary Benefit (Single Payments) Amendment Regulations 1986 which provide for a new system of exceptionally cold weather payments to take effect from 11 December 1986. These payments are in addition to the help given for heating through the main supplementary benefit scale rates and the weekly heating addition – payable automatically to supplementary benefit householders over the age of 65 – which amounted to some £400 million in 1984-85.
The new regulations follow consultation with the Social Security Advisory Committee on proposals submitted to it in August. The committee’s report on the proposals together with the Secretary of State’s response has also been laid before Parliament today.
The committee support the main elements of the proposals as a significant improvement on the previous schemes for exceptionally severe weather payments in terms of simplicity, comprehensibility and certainly of payment.
The regulations provide for a single payment of £5 for each week of exceptionally cold weather. A week will be declared exceptionally cold when the average temperature recorded over a seven-day period Monday to Sunday is minus 1.5C or less. Decisions will be taken on the basis of data collected by the Meteorological Office in respect of 63 weather stations in Great Britain to which local office areas will be linked.
Supplementary benefit householders will be eligible for help where there is a member of the family who is aged 65 or over, chronically sick or disabled, or under age two. As with other single payments, claimants will not be eligible for help if they have savings over £500.
In the light of particular concerns expressed by the committee, the time limit for claiming has been extended to 13 weeks and the regulations make clear that one claim will normally be valid for continuous periods of exceptionally cold weather.
The Government are grateful to the committee for its consideration of the proposals and welcome its general endorsement.
The regulations also include a minor technical amendment confirming that single payments for rent in advance are not available for people taking up board and lodging. The social security advisory committee agreed not to have this matter referred to it.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Consultants (Fees) on 19th November 1986.
Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what will be the spending of his Department on fees to outside consultants in the current year; and what it was in 1979-80 and each intervening year.
Mr. Major The expenditure by the Department in 1984-85, 1985-86 and the estimated expenditure for 1986-87 is as follows:
Year | £ Million
1984-85 | 7,600
1985-86 | 13,646
1986-87 | 17,000
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Hepatitis B on 19th November 1986.
Mr. McCrindle Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he plans to include hepatitis B as a designated industrial disease.
Mr. Major Viral hepatitis, including hepatitis B, has been prescribed as an industrial disease (prescribed disease B8) under the provisions of Section 76 of the Social Security Act 1975 since 2 February 1976. From 3 December 1984 the terms of prescription were widened to cover all employed earners in occupations involving contact with human blood or human blood products, or with a source of viral hepatitis.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on “Not a Penny to Call My Own” on 19th November 1986.
Mr. Alfred Morris Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consideration his Department has given to the report on poverty in mental illness and mental handicap hospitals entitled “Not a Penny to Call My Own”, published by the King’s Fund and Disability Alliance, a copy of which has been sent to him; if there is any action he will be taking; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Major We are currently studying the report and I shall write to the right hon. Member very shortly.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Disabled Persons on 19th November 1986.
Mr. Alfred Morris Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations his Department has received from councillor Neil J. Kearney of the Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea concerning discrimination by the council against residents with disabilities; what action is being taken; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Major I have received a letter from Councillor Neil J. Kearney of the Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea alleging discrimination by the council against disabled residents. Although the question of parking spaces for disabled people is a matter for the local authority concerned, I have asked officials to send a copy of Councillor Kearney’s letter to the Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea asking for their comments.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Population Statistics on 18th November 1986.
Mr. Barry Jones Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many families in Wales have incomes below the tax threshold; and what proportion of these are working families.
Mr. Major I regret that the statistics cannot be broken down reliably in the manner requested.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Jobstart Allowances on 18th November 1986.
Mr. Frank Cook Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether people who accept low paid employment with the intention of applying for jobstart allowances, but who are subsequently refused the allowance, are liable to have their supplementary benefit reduced under regulation 8 of the Supplementary Benefit (Requirements) Regulations if they leave the job as a result of being refused the jobstart allowance; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Major In law, a person who voluntarily leaves a job without just cause is disqualified for receiving unemployment benefit for up to 13 weeks. Any supplementary benefit that he may be entitled to is reduced under regulation 8 of the Supplementary Benefit (Requirements) Regulations for the same period. Whether a person has just cause for leaving his employment is a question for the independent adjudication authorities who have regard to any reasons that the person advances. Whether refusal of jobstart allowances was just cause for leaving a job would be decided by those authorities in the circumstances of the individual case.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployed Persons (Cost) on 18th November 1986.
Mr. Cohen Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total cost in benefits and lost tax and national insurance payments of those who are currently unemployed.
Mr. Major The cost of paying benefit to unemployed people in 1986-87 is estimated to be £6,750 million. Of that total £1,150 million represents housing benefit, a benefit which can continue to be paid to people who are in work. It is not possible to make a sensible estimate of the revenue, including national insurance contributions, forgone because of the number of variables that could affect this.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Social Security Expenditure on 17th November 1986.
Mr. Meacher Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give a table setting out social security expenditure (a) in cash terms, (b) as a percentage of total public expenditure, (c) as a percentage of gross domestic product, (d) showing the real-terms percentage increase on the previous year and (e) the percentage of the real-terms increase spent on (i) increased numbers of claimants, (ii) real-terms increase in benefit levels and (iii) new benefits or extension of eligibility for each year from 1979-80 to 1986-87, including the autumn statement projections.
Mr. Major I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.