The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

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  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on National Insurance Contributions – 6 May 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on National Insurance Contributions on 6th May 1986.

    Mr. Meacher Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will set out in a table the national insurance contributions liability at its weekly equivalent of (a) contracted-in employees through class 1,(b) contracted-out employees through class 1 and (c) self-employed people through class 2 contributions and class 4 contributions net of tax relief, in 1986-87, assuming their income is at the following constant levels throughout the year (i) £38, £60, £95, £285, and £1,000 per week, (ii) £2,075 and £4,450 per year and (iii) 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 times average female earnings and 0.5, 0.75 and 1.5 times average male earnings, respectively, and at the minimum level of income to benefit in full from the tax relief on class 4 contributions at 40 per cent., 45 per cent., 50 per cent., 55 per cent., and 60 per cent. as a single person with no other tax allowances;

    (2) what would be the current level of class 2 national insurance contributions if they had not been reduced in October 1985 and if they had been increased in April 1986 in line with the usual formula; and at that level what would be the extra income to the national insurance fund or the Exchequer;

    (3) what level of class 2 and class 4 contributions would be necessary to ensure that the self-employed paid the full actuarial cost of the benefits which they receive;

    (4) what would be the gain to the national insurance fund or the Exchequer of removing the upper earnings limit from national insurance payments for the self-employed (a) with present tax relief and (b) without it;

    (5) what would be the gain to the national insurance fund or the Exchequer of removing the upper earnings limit for class 1 national insurance contributions; and what reduction could be made in the standard rate of contribution using that gain;

    (6) what would be the gain to the national insurance fund or the Exchequer of removing the reduced rates of national insurance for very low earners, in such a way that the full rate of contribution were payable down to the lower earnings limit.

    Mr. Major I shall let the hon. Member have replies as soon as possible.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Ethnic Survey – 6 May 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Ethnic Survey on 6th May 1986.

    Mr. Meacher Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he intends to produce guidelines for the recording of ethnic origin with details of individual social security claims; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr. Major We have no intention of producing guidelines for the recording of the ethnic origin of claimants as part of social security claims procedures. This is not information which claimants are required to furnish before their claim is determined by the adjudication officer.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 2 May 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 2nd May 1986.

    Mr. Frank Field Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the cost to his Department of issuing a leaflet to every young person sitting general certificate of education or certificate of secondary education examinations explaining the conditions under which they may claim supplementary benefit, in the light of the decision of the tribunal of commissioners R(F)2/85.

    Mr. Major It is not usual to issue leaflets which provide full details of complex conditions of entitlement. However, the basic cost of a leaflet for young people sitting examinations would be some £40,000 plus distribution costs which would be relatively high since there is no mechanism for such a distribution.

    Mr. Frank Field Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement as to when a young person who is 16 years old after 1 February but attends school in the current term just to take examinations is entitled to supplementary benefit, following the decision of the tribunal of commissioners R(F)2/85 and circular S51/85.

    Mr. Major Such a decision is a matter for the independent adjudicating authorities.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Cookers (Suppliers) – 2 May 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Cookers (Suppliers) on 2nd May 1986.

    Mr. Clelland Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the names of suppliers of reconditioned cookers, paid by his Department’s offices on behalf of claimants, in the Newcastle area over the past three years, together with the total sums paid to each supplier over the same period.

    Mr. Major I regret this information is not available.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on War Pensioners (Housing Benefit) – 29 April 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on War Pensioners (Housing Benefit) on 29th April 1986.

    Mr. Haynes Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many local authorities go beyond the £4 disregard for war pensioners when applying for housing benefit; and if he will list them in the Official Report;

    (2) how many local authorities act on the guidelines to implement the £4 disregard for war pensioners when applying for housing benefit; and if he will list them in the Official Report.

    Mr. Major All 489 authorities administering housing benefit are required by law to apply a £4 disregard to war disablement and war widows’ pensions. (Regulation 16 of the Housing Benefits Regulations 1985).

    Information on the number of authorities applying a discretionary disregard higher than the statutory amount is not held centrally.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Occupational Pensions – 29 April 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Occupational Pensions on 29th April 1986.

    Mr. Clay Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to publish regulations on disclosure of information on occupational pensions; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr. Major The consultative proposals for these regulations produced a very large and detailed response from a wide variety of organisations and individuals and we have tried to take full account of the many different views expressed in that response. In preparing the regulations, we have continued to consult regularly with representatives of the relevant professional bodies as well as representatives of and advisers to occupational pension schemes and we expect to be in a position to publish them very soon.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Computerisation – 29 April 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Computerisation on 29th April 1986.

    Mr. Ashdown Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on progress on computerisation within his Department.

    Mr. Major An outline of the Department’s plans for computerising social security benefits work was published in September 1982 with the issue of “Social Security Operational Strategy – A framework for the future” (copies of the publication are held in the Library). We envisage the progressive installation over the coming years of a network of mainframe computers linked to visual display terminals in every local office. Existing mainframes will be replaced as they approach the end of their natural life cycle, or built on where it is sensible and economic to do so. New systems will be built for benefits where no computer support exists at the moment.

    The computerisation strategy is comprised of a series of separate projects, some of which have already reached the implementation stage. For example, in local unemployment benefit offices the teletype terminals linking them to the ICL 2966 mainframe computers at the Reading and Livingston national unemployment benefit computer centres are being replaced. The new system provides for Honeywell visual display units to be installed which will be linked to the computer centres by British Telecom Packet Switchstream Service. Two hundred and sixty-eight terminals have been delivered, out of an eventual national total of 844. Seventy-nine offices are now converted, and approximately 10 offices a week will be added on a rolling programme which is scheduled for completion in October 1987.

    In local social security offices assistance in the short term is being provided by the wide-scale introduction of microcomputers for some of the most difficult and laborious supplementary benefit tasks. British Telecom microcomputers have already been installed in the majority of the 450 offices scheduled, with the full agreement of the departmental trade union side. Completion and full running of the three separate micro applications in all offices is expected by the summer.

    In the longer term the local office project (LOP) will link social security offices into a national network and provide mainframe computer support for the assessment and payment of supplementary benefit income support and incapacity benefits. Approval has been given for a prototype to be established at a development centre at Lytham in 1988. If successful, three new area computer centres will be constructed and national implementation of the project will begin in 1989.

    Approval has also been given for the establishment of a departmental central index which will begin to provide indexing and tracing facilities for local office staff in 1988. Other projects, providing on-line access via visual display units for local office staff to existing mainframes dealing with child benefit, retirement pensions and contributions, are at the planning stage.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Free School Meals – 29 April 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Free School Meals on 29th April 1986.

    Mr. Allen McKay Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has received in support of the Government’s proposals to restrict the availability of free school meals.

    Mr. Major Representations have not been generally in a form which can sensibly be used to provide a simple breakdown between those in support of or against the Government’s proposals, but some endorsed the general principle of higher cash payments rather than payments in kind.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 29 April 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 29th April 1986.

    Mr. David Atkinson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many representations he has received on the new method of assessment of housing benefit.

    Mr. Major Over 2,000 submissions were made by individuals and organisations in response to the housing benefit proposals contained in our Green Paper “Reform of Social Security.” Further comments have been received on our subsequent White Paper. Virtually every submission commented – favourably – on the proposed new method of assessing housing benefit on the same basis as income support.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Claimant Statistics – 29 April 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Claimant Statistics on 29th April 1986.

    Mr. Wallace Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the expenditure in single payments, both in total and per capita, to social security claimants in 1978-79 and 1984-85.

    Mr. Major Expenditure was £37 million in 1978-79 and £241 million in 1984-85. On a per capita basis this is equivalent to slightly over 20p per week to each claimant on benefit in 1978-79, and about £1 in 1984-85.