The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Category: 1983-1987 Parliament

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Low Income Families – 17 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Low Income Families on 17th March 1986.

    Mr. Gordon Brown Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make it his policy to update in the Official Report the information on the income level of poorer households provided in his reply of 24 October 1983 to the hon. Member for Dundee West (Mr. Wilson) Official Report, column 51, as soon as the 1983 low income families tables are placed in the Library.

    Mr. Major I shall let the hon. Member have the information as soon as the tables are placed in the Library.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployment Benefit and Pensions – 17 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployment Benefit and Pensions on 17th March 1986.

    Mr. Gordon Brown Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the latest information available on the percentage of gross average earnings, unemployment benefit and the basic state pension each represents in the United Kingdom; and how this compares to each of the other members of the European Economic Community and the Scandinavian countries.

    Mr. Major The basic rates of retirement pension and unemployment benefit for a married couple introduced in November 1985 were at that date 36 per cent. and 29 per cent. respectively of the average weekly gross earnings of adult male manual workers in Great Britain. Information on the level of benefit in other countries is given in the Department’s publications “Tables of Social Benefit Systems in the Member States of the European Communities” and “Comparative Tables of the Social Security Systems in Council of Europe member states not belonging to the European Communities”, available in the Library. Information is not available for reliable comparisons with gross average earnings in the relevant countries.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Pensioners – 17 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Pensioners on 17th March 1986.

    Mr. Adley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many pensioners there are now and how many there were in 1979.

    Mr. Major In November 1979 there were 8.6 million retirement pensioners in Great Britain. By September 1985, the latest figures available, this figure had risen to 9.2 million.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Departmental Staffing Levels – 17 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Departmental Staffing Levels on 17th March 1986.

    Sir Geoffrey Finsberg Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the level of staffing and speed of response to public inquiries at his Department’s office in Melton Street, London NW1.

    Mr. Major A further 5,000 staff for DHSS local offices was announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services on 7 March 1986. This very substantial increase, of which the Melton Street office will receive an appropriate share, will ensure adequate levels of service throughout the coming financial year.

    Sir Geoffrey Finsberg Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his answer of 7 March, Official Report, column 322, how many of the extra local office staff referred to will be added to those already employed at the Melton street office NW1, and the Cricklewood office, NW2 of his Department.

    Mr. Major The method of distributing the extra local office staff has still to be decided. It is not possible at this stage to say how many extra staff individual local offices will receive.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Overseas Pensioners – 17 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Overseas Pensioners on 17th March 1986.

    Sir Eldon Griffiths Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the countries with which Britain has agreements to provide cost of living increases to British pensioners who reside there.

    Mr. Major Pensions are payable at the same rates as in the United Kingdom to pensioners in European Community States, and under reciprocal agreements to pensioners in the following countries:

    Austria

    Cyprus

    Finland

    Guernsey

    Iceland

    Israel

    Jersey

    Malta

    Mauritius

    Sark

    Switzerland

    Turkey

    Yugoslavia

    Pensioners in a further group of countries receive the increases which become payable after the date an agreement entered into force:

    Bermuda, from 1 November 1969

    Jamaica, from 1 October 1972

    United States of America, from 25 September 1969

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on the Departmental Office (Bloomsbury) – 17 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Departmental Office (Bloomsbury) on 17th March 1986.

    Mr. Chris Smith Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many items of outstanding post are awaiting action at the Bloomsbury local Department of Health and Social Security office, Tavistock Square; and how long, on average, they have been outstanding.

    Mr. Major On 11 March 1986, there were 2,443 items of unlinked post outstanding of which 2,198 were over two days old. Only 33 of the total number of outstanding items were new or repeat claims to supplementary benefit. Records are not kept of how long, on average, items of post are outstanding.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on the Departmental Office (Camberwell New Road) – 13 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Departmental Office (Camberwell New Road) on 13th March 1986.

    Mr. John Fraser Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the level of staffing and speed of response to public inquiries at his Department’s office at Camberwell New Road, SE5.

    Mr. Major I refer the hon. Member to the reply by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services to my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Mr. Stevens) on 7 March at column 322 in which he gave details of an extra 5,000 posts for local offices in the Department for 1986-87. I am confident that this increase will result in satisfactory staffing levels in individual local offices, including the local office at 6 Camberwell New Road, SE5. The office’s speed of response to public inquiries has shown a steady and considerable improvement since the beginning of the year.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 13 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 13th March 1986.

    Ms. Harman Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are in receipt of supplementary benefit in the area of Oxted, Surrey.

    Mr. Major Separate figures showing the number of people receiving supplementary benefit in Oxted, Surrey, are not available. Oxted forms a small part of the area covered for supplementary benefit purposes by the Department’s office at Redhill. On 11 February 1986, the latest date for which information is available, there were 7,945 people receiving supplementary benefit from Redhill office.

    Mr. Sean Hughes Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are presently awaiting single payments in the north-west region of his Department and nationally; and how many have been waiting for more than four weeks, eight weeks and 12 weeks, respectively.

    Mr. Major I regret that this information is not available.

    Mr. Sean Hughes Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many single payments were made from the Huyton office of his Department during each of the last five years and in 1986 to date.

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

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on the Departmental Office (Southampton) – 12 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Departmental Office (Southampton) on 12th March 1986.

    Mr. Chope Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the approximate turnover in 1985 of staff in the grades of clerical assistant and clerical officer in the Southampton social security office.

    Mr. Major Following is the information for the year ender 31 December 1985.

    Turnover is defined as those staff who leave the Department (including those who retire), change offices within the Department or are promoted within an office. The number of staff who leave the Department (including those who retire) is lower. Both sets of figures are set out in the table:

    Clerical Assistant

    Total turnover 25 54.3%

    Total leavers 10 21.7%

    Clerical Officer

    Total turnover 26.5 21.5%

    Total leavers 19.5 15.9%

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on the Earnings Rule – 12 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Earnings Rule on 12th March 1986.

    Mr. Watts Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services at what level of income the earnings rule has operated in respect of retirement pensions in each year from 1978-79 to date.

    Mr. Major The weekly limits above which retirement pension is affected are shown in the table. The limit in force since November 1985 will remain unchanged when benefits are next uprated in July 1986.

    November | £

    1978 | 45

    1979 | 52

    1982 | 57

    1983 | 65

    1984 | 70

    1985 | 75