The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Category: 1983-1987 Parliament

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on the Attendance Allowance – 25 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Attendance Allowance on 25th November 1986.

    Mr. Ashley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many people are in receipt of the higher rate attendance allowance; and what percentage live on their own;
    (2) how many people are currently in receipt of the higher rate attendance allowance and are living alone; and for how many of these people there is someone receiving an invalid care allowance in respect of that person’s care needs.

    Mr. Major At 31 March 1985, the latest date for which figures are available, the estimated number of people in receipt of attendance allowance at the higher rate is 222,000. It is not known how many live on their own. Information is not kept for either attendance allowance or invalid care allowance to indicate whether an attendance allowance beneficiary lives alone.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 25 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 25th November 1986.

    Mr. Ashley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many severely disabled people are estimated to be currently receiving additional payments with their supplementary benefit because of their disability which total more than the illustrative rates which the severely disabled will receive under the provisions of the Social Security Act.

    Mr. Major I refer the right hon. Member to tables 1A and 1B, and 10A and 10B of the technical annex to the White Paper, “Reform of Social Security” (Cmnd. 9691) and to pages 9-14 of the annex which explain the basis on which the tables were constructed. The tables illustrate the effect of income support on sick and disabled people eligible for the disability premium, as compared to their entitlement to supplementary benefit, including additional payments.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployment Benefit – 25 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployment Benefit on 25th November 1986.

    Mr. Gareth Wardell Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any plans to include the new increased 13-week exclusion period of disallowance from benefit for industrial misconduct and so on as a period of exclusion from the one-year’s entitlement to unemployment benefit.

    Mr. Major Section 18(4) of the Social Security Act, 1975 provides regulation-making powers to treat days of disentitlement or disqualification for receiving unemployment benefit as days of entitlement for the purpose of determining whether a person has exhausted his 312 days of benefit. The application of this power in connection with days of disqualification under section 20 of the Act in cases of voluntary unemployment, industrial misconduct and so on, is currently being considered.

    Mr. Gareth Wardell Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make it his policy that any young person who is completing an A-level or other part-time further education course and who completes the declaration form to say he or she is genuinely prepared to withdraw from the course should an employment opportunity arise, will continue to be regarded as available for work and entitled to benefit; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr. Major The current rules governing part-time study by people who are receiving supplementary benefit as unemployed are: the course must not be designated full-time by the institution and must not require more than 21 hours per week of supervised study; a qualifying period of three months in receipt of benefit or on a YTS course must be completed; and the claimant must be willing to terminate the course immediately if a suitable vacancy becomes available. We have no plans to change this policy.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployed Persons (Mortgage Interest) – 25 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployed Persons (Mortgage Interest) on 25th November 1986.

    Mr. Deakins Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he intends to announce his proposals with regard to mortgage interest payments for the newly unemployed.

    Mr. Major We shall be making an announcement as soon as our considerations are complete.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on the Invalid Care Allowance – 25 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Invalid Care Allowance on 25th November 1986.

    Mr. Skinner Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will introduce measures to ensure that the invalid care allowance is paid to those widows and others who (a) do not currently qualify and (b) lose equivalent dependants benefits under existing arrangements.

    Mr. Major We have no plans to do so.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Artificial Limbs – 25 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Artificial Limbs on 25th November 1986.

    Mr. Dubs Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are waiting for artificial limbs to be (a) fitted or (b) repaired or adjusted.

    Mr. Major The artificial limb service does not operate a waiting list. As soon as a patient is referred to one of the Department of Health and Social Security artificial limb and appliance centres and following medical examination and prescription, arrangements are made for the supply of an artificial limb or limbs. Duplicate artificial limbs are generally provided to cover the eventuality of the need for repairs or other adjustments to the limbs in use. Once provided with their prostheses, patients are then given an on-demand service for repair and re-adjustments which vary greatly in the amount of work required; the majority are completed on the day. At any point in time approximately 9,000 artificial limbs are being constructed (4,500) or repaired (4,500).

    In asking this question the hon. Member may have in mind the effect on patient services of the J. E. Hanger industrial dispute. Since the start of this dispute 78 patients have had their appointments postponed, several of which have now been re-instated. A larger number have experienced delay. Arrangements have been made to identify these countrywide and where necessary steps are being taken to deal with them in conjunction with the company. Additionally, I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East (Mr. Nellist) on 17 November at column 75.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Claimants (Statistics) – 24 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Claimants (Statistics) on 24th November 1986.

    Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give for the latest available year the number of claimants under the Pneumoconiosis, Byssinosis and Miscellaneous Diseases Benefit Scheme who asked for a decision to be reconsidered, and the number of reconsiderations which have resulted in the reversal of a decision.

    Mr. Major In the year ending 30 June 1986 there were 12 applications by claimants for a decision to be reconsidered. One application was subsequently withdrawn and five resulted in a reversal of the decision. A decision is awaited on one application.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Asbestos – 24 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Asbestos on 24th November 1986.

    Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has as to the ability of optical microscopes to find asbestos fibres as distinct from large asbestos bodies.

    Mr. Major Asbestos bodies and a proportion of asbestos fibres can readily be identified by the use of an optical microscope. Fine uncoated fibres are difficult to find by this method because their diameters are often at or below the limits detectable by the optical microscope.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Special Medical Boards – 24 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Special Medical Boards on 24th November 1986.

    Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services on how many occasions hon. and right hon. Members have written to him about individual findings of the special medical boards in 1985.

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

    Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what advice is available to sufferers from non-malignant respiratory diseases such as asbestosis and bilateral diffuse pleural thickening in relation to applications to special medical boards.

    Mr. Major Advice is available in leaflets NI2, NI3 and NI237 issued by the Department. In addition, staff in local social security offices are always willing to give help and advice to claimants.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Mesothelioma – 24 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Mesothelioma on 24th November 1986.

    Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what assessment he has made of the significance of the proportion of awards of industrial death benefit to cases where mesothelioma is shown on the death certificate.

    Mr. Major There are a number of reasons why industrial death benefit is not awarded in all cases where mesothelioma is shown on the death certificate. Benefit will be awarded only if the deceased was exposed to asbestos dust when working as an employed earner. Moreover, claims are not made for all such deaths. The deceased may not have left a widow, for example.

    Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, if he will give for 1985 the number of cases of mesothelioma diagnosed by each medical board centre during the claimant’s lifetime, and the number of cases in which the claimant had died before a decision was made.

    Mr. Major There were 245 cases in 1985 where diffuse mesothelioma was diagnosed. Information about whether the decision was made in the claimant’s lifetime could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.