Category: 1983-1987 Parliament

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Occupational Pensioners on 2nd April 1987.

Mr. Andrew Bowden Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his most recent estimates of the number of occupational pensioners who both pay income tax and are in receipt of housing benefit.

Mr. Major The latest estimate, based on information from the family expenditure survey 1985, is that the number of tax units (single people or married couples) in receipt of an occupational pension, paying income tax and in receipt of housing benefit is 1 million.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 1st April 1987.

Mr. McCrindle Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether any consideration is being given to amending supplementary benefit regulations for people aged over 50 years to allow higher part-time earnings before supplementary benefit is reduced; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will estimate the cost of raising the earnings limit to £20 per week for people aged over 50 years, before supplementary benefit is reduced; how many people he estimates would benefit; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Major We have no present plans to increase the amount that people, including those aged over 50, can earn before supplementary benefit is reduced. To increase the limit to £20 for all those in this age group including those who are already receiving supplementary benefit would give increased entitlement to some 35,000 people at a cost of £20 million a year. We do not have a reliable estimate of the number who might be brought into entitlement or what the additional cost might be.

For the future we have announced proposals for changes in the levels of disregards of earnings in the income support scheme that replaces supplementary benefit from April 1988. The standard disregard would be increased from £4 to £5 a week although the separate disregard of work expenses would end. There would be a higher disregard of £15 a week for couples who have been unemployed two years, lone parents and those qualifying for the disability premium.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits (Age Limit) on 1st April 1987.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has about the age at which young people are entitled to claim social security payments on their own behalf in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) other OECD countries.

Mr. Major In all countries social security payments under contributory benefits schemes depend primarily on the individual’s contribution record, which is normally a function of length of time in covered employment. The minimum age for the payment of contributions to the United Kingdom national insurance scheme is 16.

Payment of non-contributory benefits is much more various. The age at which child allowance ceases ranges between 16 and 27 in the countries referred to, and is linked with the status – student, trainee or other – of the young person. This clearly influences the age at which social welfare payments can be made available to the young person on his own behalf. There may in any case be a gap between the end of the child allowance and entitlement (if any) to welfare payments during which a young person is still considered dependent on his parents. In some countries (for example, United States of America, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland) young people without dependants have no entitlement to social welfare payments.

In the United Kingdom child benefit continues to age 19 if the young person is in non-advanced education. Young people aged over 16 are eligible to claim supplementary benefit in their own right from fixed dates at the end of the holiday following the term in which they complete their full-time non-advanced education.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Motability on 1st April 1987.

Mr. Freud Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has any plans to review the criteria for eligibility to Motability; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Major Motability is an independent voluntary organisation set up in 1977 with Government support, specifically to help disabled people in receipt of mobility allowance to exchange the cash benefit for a vehicle.

In view of Motability’s independent status any review of the criteria for eligibility under the scheme would be essentially a matter for Motability itself in conjunction with the Department which meets the organisation’s administration expenses. There are, however, no plans for such a review at present.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Pensioners (Benefits) on 1st April 1987.

Mr. Austin Mitchell Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the cost in a full year at 1987-88 rates of (a) increasing the state pension by £5 per week for single and £8 for married persons, respectively, and (b) increasing supplementary benefits for pensioners between mid-December and the end of March by £5 per week to cover fuel bills.

Mr. Major The estimated cost (a) of increasing the state pension (retirement, invalidity and widow’s pension, supplementary pension and the linked needs allowance for housing benefit) by £5 a week for single and £8 a week for married persons would be £2.7 billion in a full year, (b) of paying £5 a week between mid-December and the end of March to those pensioners currently receiving supplementary benefit would be £150 million; there could also be a substantial extra cost in respect of other pensioners who would then become entitled to supplementary pension during the winter months.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Disabled Persons Act 1986 on 1st April 1987.

Mr. Wigley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many representations he has received in the current year concerning the implementations of the Disabled Persons Act 1986.

Mr. Major Since the beginning of 1987, 60 written representations have been received from organisations or individuals relating to implementation of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986. I also met representatives of the local authority associations on 24 February to discuss a number of issues relating to the implementation of the Act and today, at their request, I met members of the steering group of major disability organisations which has been set up to monitor implementation.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Maternity Payments on 31st March 1987.

Mr. Lawrence Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he proposes to introduce the new lump sum maternity grant of £80 from the new social fund following the withdrawal of the £25 grant on 6 April.

Mr. Major I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage (Mr. Wood) on 20 March at column 669.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Severe Weather Payments on 31st March 1987.

Mr. Wigley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many payments of severe weather allowance have been made in Wales this winter.

Mr. Major Up to 3 March 1987, the latest date for which figures are available, approximately 125,000 £5 weekly payments for exceptionally cold weather were made in Wales.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Board and Lodging Claimants on 30th March 1987.

Mr. Meadowcroft Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his answer on Monday 9 March, if he will give the number of children belonging to the 6,000 claimants who received supplementary board and lodging payments, and who were said to have dependent children.

Mr. Major [pursuant to his reply, 16 March 1987, c. 409]: In December 1984, an estimated 10,000 dependent children were in families receiving supplementary benefit board and lodging payments.