The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Category: 1983-1987 Parliament

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 24 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 24th March 1986.

    Mr. Andrew Bowden Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many pensioner households lost all housing benefit as a result of the changes which came into effect in November 1985; and, of these, how many were tenants and how many owner-occupiers.

    Mr. Major [pursuant to his reply, 11 March 1986, c. 439]: It is estimated that about 210,000 fewer pensioner households received housing benefit as a result of the increase in the rate rebate taper above the needs allowance, offset where appropriate by the real improvement in the dependent child addition to the needs allowance in November 1985. About three-quarters of these were owner-occupiers, the remainder tenants.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on National Insurance Credits – 24 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on National Insurance Credits on 24th March 1986.

    Mr. Ralph Howell Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many unemployed people in Great Britain were claiming national insurance credits but were not receiving either unemployment benefit or supplementary allowance, at November 1985; and how many of these people (a) had been unemployed for over one year and exhausted their entitlement to unemployment benefit, (b) had claimed unemployment benefit but had their claims disallowed or (c) were ineligible for other reasons.

    Mr. Major At May 1985, the most recent date for which figures are available, there were 429,200 unemployed claimants who were in receipt of neither unemployment nor supplementary benefit. 207,800 had exhausted their entitlement to unemployment benefit, and of these 151,600 had been unemployed for over a year during the current spell of unemployment. There were 102,100 people whose claims for unemployment benefit were disallowed of whom 11,000 would not be entitled to national insurance credits because, for example, they left their jobs voluntarily, and 119,300 whose entitlement had not yet been determined or who were serving the three waiting days for unemployment benefit.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 24 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 24th March 1986.

    Mr. Ralph Howell Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are currently receiving (a) supplementary benefit and (b) supplementary pensions, in the Norfolk, North constituency area.

    Mr. Major The constituency of Norfolk, North is covered for social security purposes by three local offices, Norwich (Chantry), Great Yarmouth and Kings Lynn, but their boundaries are not conterminous.

    On 11 February 1986 (the latest date for which information is available) there were 27,328 people receiving supplementary allowance and 18,492 receiving supplementary pension from those offices.

    Mr. Pendry Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total number of claimants in receipt of supplementary benefit in the Greater Manchester area, by constituency; of these, how many are pensioners, families with children, and young people under the age of 25 years; and of each of these three categories, what information he has regarding additional requirements which are included in their supplementary benefit assessment, by type and average amount of additional requirements.

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

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on the State Pension (Interest Payments) – 24 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the State Pension (Interest Payments) on 24th March 1986.

    Mr. Cartwright Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether Her Majesty’s Government have any plans to seek to pay interest to pensioners who receive their state pension in arrears on either a four weekly or quarterly basis for that period between the pension being due and the pension being paid; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr. Major I have no such plans.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Single Payments – 24 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Single Payments on 24th March 1986.

    Mr. Kirkwood Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will correlate the numbers of single payment awards made in each Department of Health and Social Security office with the number of claimants in each of those offices; and if he will place the information in the Library.

    Mr. Major The information requested is already available in the Library.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Urgent Needs Payments – 24 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Urgent Needs Payments on 24th March 1986.

    Mr. Kirkwood Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will place in the Library the following guidance issued to staff in local offices of his Department: (a) code AX concerning the recovery of urgent needs payments and (b) code LB concerning the recovery of moneys from liable relatives.

    Mr. Major It would not be in the public interest to do so.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Pensions – 21 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Pensions on 21st March 1986.

    Mr. Meacher Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set out the average level of (a) the state earnings-related pension scheme additional component and (b) the guaranteed minimum pension paid out each year since 1978, both at current and constant prices; and on the basis of the economic assumptions of the five-year rolling Public Expenditure Survey Committee programme, what he estimates will be their levels over the next five years.

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

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Goods and Services (Payment) – 21 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Goods and Services (Payment) on 21st March 1986.

    Mr. Ottaway Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average time it takes his Department to pay suppliers of goods and services to his Department.

    Mr. Major Payments to suppliers are not centralised, but may be made from any of the local, regional or central offices of the Department. No figures are therefore available for an average time for payment across the Department as a whole.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Severe Weather Payments – 21 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Severe Weather Payments on 21st March 1986.

    Mr. Michie Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what provision is being made by his Department for extra staff to be available to deal with exceptionally severe weather payments in order to avoid the long delays to routine claims.

    Mr. Major The manpower provided for DHSS local offices contains a margin to deal with peaks of work such as that relating to exceptionally severe weather which, by their nature, cannot be planned in advance.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 21 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 21st March 1986.

    Mr. Kirkwood Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps are taken by his Department before it seeks to recover certificated housing benefit overpaid so as to ensure that the claimant has first been notified by the relevant local authority (a) that a decision to recover has been made and (b) that the claimant may apply to the authority for a review of that decision.

    Mr. Major Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to notify claimants of all determinations of benefit, including any given rise to an overpayment. The notification must inform the claimant of his right to seek a review of the determination. It is a matter for individual authorities to decide how best to inform claimants of actual amounts of any overpayments and the proposed method of recovery. The Department’s local offices become directly involved in recovering only certain categories of overpaid certificated benefit which are referred to them by the local authorities. In these cases the local office informs the claimant of the reason for the overpayment, the proposals for recovery, and that if the claimant disagrees with the calculation of the overpayment he should take this up with the relevant local authority.