Category: 1983-1987 Parliament

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

Mr. Cartwright Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many applications for severe weather payments have so far been (a) received and (b) paid by his Department’s Woolwich office.

Mr. Major The number of applications for exceptionally cold weather payments is not recorded by individual local offices. However, up to 3 March 1987 the Department’s Woolwich office had made about 4,200 £5 payments.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 12th March 1987.

Mr. Corbett Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether those Commonwealth citizens required to register citizenship under the Nationality Act 1981 by 31 December who are in receipt of supplementary benefit can be given a single payment to cover the £60 registration fee.

Mr. Major There is no provision in the supplementary benefit regulations for single payments to be made for Home Office citizenship fees. Supplementary benefit is intended to cover necessary living expenses, not the cost of acquiring the rights of citizenship.

Mr. Frank Field Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will make a statement on changes to regulations in the position of young people leaving school at Easter who claim supplementary benefit;
(2) when he will publish new regulations governing the position of young people leaving school this Easter who wish to claim supplementary benefit.

Mr. Major I have considered the report of the Social Security Advisory Committee on the Government’s proposals for regulations to restore our policy that young people who are entered for examinations when they leave school should be treated as remaining in relevant education until they have completed those examinations. I expect to lay regulations before the House very shortly.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on National Insurance on 12th March 1987.

Mr. Austin Mitchell Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate (i) the revenue effect to the National Insurance Fund of abolition of the upper earnings limit and (ii) the loss to the fund of counting personal allowances for income tax purposes against the employee’s liability to contributions.

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 Population Statistics on 12th March 1987.

Mr. Meacher Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate for the years 1987, 2007 and (a) the number of people in the working population, (b) the number of people in the retired population, (c) the average gross income from employment per member of the working population and (d) the average gross income from pensions per member of the retired population, subdivided between state pensions, occupational pensions and lump sums from occupational pension schemes, with money expressed at 1987 prices and the figures for 2007 and 2027 assuming rates of growth of (i) 1 per cent. per year and (ii) 3 per cent. per year and the impact of personal pensions ignored.

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 Pensioners (Income) on 12th March 1987.

Mr. Meacher Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will indicate on what basis he calculates that the average weekly net income of pensioners rose by 18 per cent. in real terms during 1979 to 1985.

Mr. Major Figures obtained from the family expenditure survey and adjusted to 1985 prices show that pensioners’ average weekly net income from all sources was £70.60 in 1979 and £83.10 in 1985, giving a real terms increase of 18 per cent. over the period.

(Note – Figures are for pensioner tax units, that is either single pensioners or married couples where the husband is over 65.)

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Draught-Proofing Grants on 11th March 1987.

Mr. Patrick Thompson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has to ensure local authority tenants are fully aware of the single payments for draught-proofing currently provided by his Department.

Mr. Major Publicity for these payments is not specifically targeted on local authority tenants. Single payments for draught-proofing materials are referred to in two leaflets produced by the Department, and callers to the Department’s freephone service are informed of their availability where appropriate. The Monergy hotline and freepost services, through which callers are referred to “Neighbourhood Energy Action”, have also been widely advertised by the Department of Energy.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Occupational Pensions on 11th March 1987.

Sir David Price Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people at work in 1979 were contributing to an occupational pension, or were covered by a non-contributory occupational pension scheme; how many in 1987; and in both cases what percentage of the working population it represented.

Mr. Major The Government Actuary’s surveys of occupational pension schemes indicate that in 1979, 11.6 million employees were covered by an occupational pension scheme, whether contributory or noncontributory, representing some 50 per cent. of employees in employment. In 1983, the latest survey available, 11.1 million employees were covered, representing some 52 per cent. of those in employment. In addition, about 1.8 million people were either in employment without occupational pension scheme coverage, but had preserved rights from earlier employments, or had preserved rights but were not in employment at the time.

Sir David Price Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many retirement pensioners received an occupational pension in 1979, additional to their basic state retirement pension; how many in 1987; and in both cases what percentage of all retirement pensioners it represented.

Mr. Major The best information available is derived from the “Family Expenditure Survey” and relates to tax units with heads over minimum state pension age. These units may represent single pensioners or married couples. It shows that in 1979, 41 per cent. of pensioner tax units – 2.6 million – received at least one occupational pension, whereas by 1985, the latest figures available, some 51 per cent. (3.4 million) did so. In 1985, some 70 per cent. of recently retired married couples had an occupational pension. The Government Actuary’s surveys of occupational pension schemes show that in 1979 there were 3.7 million occupational pensions in payment, and 5 million in 1983.

However, these figures include pensions to widows and to persons below state pension age.

It is not possible to say precisely how many pensioners received an occupational pension in addition to their basic state retirement pension. The great majority of pensioners with entitlement to an occupational pension would also have entitlement to a state basic pension where they had reached minimum state pension age and had retired.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Pensions on 11th March 1987.

Mr. Higgins Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the extra cost to public funds of increasing the national insurance pension to pensioners who have no other source of income by £1 per week.

Mr. Major No estimates are available of the number of pensioners with no income other than the basic pension. Most pensioners without income from other sources would qualify for supplementary benefit in addition to their basic pension, and for housing benefit if they were householders. The cost of increasing the basic pension by £1 for all single pensioners and by £1.60 for a married couple in 1987-88 would be about £450 million. This estimate does not take account of any savings on supplementary benefit or housing benefit.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Severe Weather Payments on 11th March 1987.

Mr. Deakins Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many single payments for additional heating expenditure incurred this winter have been made in Walthamstow; what was the total cost; and what was the average cost of each payment.

Mr. Major Up to 24 February 1987, the Walthamstow local office had made some 4,000 cold weather payments at £5 each. The total amount paid out was about £20,000.

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Invalid Care Allowance on 11th March 1987.

Mr. George Robertson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) following his statement of 23 June 1986 on invalid care allowance, Official Report, column 21, if he will state (a) the number of successful invalid care allowance claims to date and (b) the number of unsuccessful invalid care allowance claims to date;
(2) following his statement of 23 June 1986 on invalid care allowance, Official Report, column 21, if he will state the number of invalid care allowance claims received to date.

Mr. Major The latest available information is set out in the table:

Invalid Care Allowance: Claims by Married Women at 27 February 1987

Claims | Number
Received | 106,000
Decided | 53,000
Successful | 40,000
Unsuccessful | 13,000