Below is the text of the Written Parliamentary Answer on Low Incomes on 25 July 1986.
Mr. Frank Field asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish the low incomes study for 1983.
Mr. Major I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire, South (Mrs. Currie) today.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit Claims (Staff) on 25th July 1986.
Mr. Lambie Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to increase staff complements in his Department’s offices in Ayrshire to handle the growth in the number of benefit claims.
Mr. Major I refer the hon. Member to the reply from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Mr. Stevens) on 7 March at column 322, in which he announced a major improvement to the Department of Health and Social Security manpower. Over 5,000 staff have been made available in addition to the normal complement. Ayrshire’s share of the increase is 38.
A full complement review in social security local offices is currently being carried out and the results will form the basis of the 1987-88 complement.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Social Security Payments (Sunderland) on 25th July 1986.
Mr. Merchant Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he can give the total figures for social security payments in the Sunderland area for the latest year available.
Mr. Major I shall write to my hon. Friend.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Family Statistics on 25th July 1986.
Mrs. Beckett Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will estimate the number of children who live in families in which there are no working adults, giving the most recent figure;
(2) if he will estimate the number of children who live in families in which the head of household is (a) unemployed and (b) has been unemployed for over one year, giving the most recent figures.
Mr. Major I shall write to the hon. Member.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Rent Rebates and Allowances on 25th July 1986.
Mr. Frank Field Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to the answer of 3 June, Official Report, column 514, if he is yet able to give the information there sought by the hon. Member for Birkenhead.
Mr. Major I have written to the hon. Member today explaining the delay.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on British Pensioners (Poland) on 25th July 1986.
Mr. Normanton Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether any steps are being taken to ensure that naturalised Britons of Polish origin who have retired to Poland on British pensions can receive their pensions with annual adjustments to the pension.
Mr. Major We have no proposals for treating this group of pensioners differently from others who go abroad to live in countries with which the United Kingdom has not reached an agreement to provide for payment of pension upratings.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployment Benefit on 25th July 1986.
Mr. Aspinwall Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people were in receipt of unemployment benefit within the county of Avon on 1 April and what was the comparable figure on 1 April 1980.
Mr. Major I shall write to my hon. Friend.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Medical Statements on 25th July 1986.
Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what advice has been given to his Department’s officers in relation to accepting claimants’ own word rather than demanding medical statements especially for weekly additional requirements.
Mr. Major Guidance on the circumstances in which doctor’s evidence is needed to support a claim is set out in paragraphs 4003-4005 of the S manual, a copy of which is in the Library.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Low Income Families on 25th July 1986.
Mrs. Currie Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he proposes to publish the low income families tables for 1983; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Major The tables have been placed in the Library of the House today.
Since the Government first came to office, the real value of supplementary benefit has risen by around 6 per cent., and by more for some families with children. Between the last two years in the tables the real rates rose by about 2+ per cent. Up to one third of the total increase in the number of families included in the tables is directly due to this improvement in the help provided for those most in need.
The technical assumptions underlying the low-income families tables have remained largely unaltered since the first analysis was undertaken. I have therefore set in train a technical review of the methods and assumptions on which the tables are based. Any improvements in measurement methods should be reflected in future issues of the tables. On the wider question of alternative approaches to the measurement of living standards, I refer my hon. Friend to the discussion in the Green Paper “Reform of Social Security” (Cmnd. 9519) Volume 3.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on School Leavers (Benefit) on 24th July 1986.
Mr. McLoughlin Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the position of school leavers who claim social security benefit.
Mr. Major Guidance on the eligibility of school leavers for supplementary benefit is contained in the “S Manual”, paragraphs 225-2292, and in circular S51/85. I am aware that there has been some confusion following a decision by Social Security Commissioners last year which meant that certain young people who had always been regarded as still being at school for benefit purposes became eligible for supplementary benefit in their own right from Easter, with a concomitant loss of child benefit rights to their parents. There is also evidence that some children who have left school before the legal date may have been claiming benefit. The Government’s policy remains that young people who are (or should legally be) still completing their education should normally be treated as dependent upon their parents. We intend to refer to the Social Security Advisory Committee proposals to ensure that the law continues to reflect this intention.