The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Tag: Benefits

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployment Benefit – 14 April 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployment Benefit on 14th April 1986.

    Mr. Marlow Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what studies he carries out into the numbers of persons drawing unemployment benefit who are classed as suitable and competent to obtain available employment but who are not actively seeking to do so.

    Mr. Major The Department has not carried out any studies specifically into the extent to which unemployed benefit claimants are actively seeking work but a considerable volume of information on this subject is available from some more general studies. I would draw my hon. Friend’s attention in particular to the report on the DHSS cohort study of unemployed men, “For Richer, For Poorer?” (pages 40 to 43) and to the report on some aspects of the labour force survey (Employment Gazette for October 1985, pages 393 and 396), copies of which are in the Library.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Pensions and Benefits – 14 April 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Pensions and Benefits on 14th April 1986.

    Mr. Meacher Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been (a) the single person’s pension, (b) the married couple’s pension and (c) supplementary benefit scale rates for (i) a single person and (ii) a married couple as a proportion of national average earnings each year since 1979; and what information he has on comparable figures in France, Germany, the United States of America, Sweden, Italy and Belgium.

    Mr. Major Details of the rates of benefit and the amount of such rates expressed as a proportion of national average earnings are contained in the “Abstract of Statistics for Index of Retail Prices, Average Earnings, Social Security Benefits and Contributions” (tables 5.1, 5.6 and 5.7) a copy of which is in the Library.

    Such information as is available regarding benefits in France, Germany, Italy and Belgium is contained in the Department’s annual publication “Tables of Social Benefit Systems in the Member States of the European Communities, Portugal and Spain”. Copies are held in the Library for each year since 1973. I regret that information is not available which would enable reliable comparisons to be made to the national average wage in each member state of the European Community.

    For information on benefit levels in the United States of America, I refer the hon. Member to the Social Security Bulletin of January 1986, Vol. 49, No. 1, page 74, as issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Information regarding Sweden as at 1 July 1984 is contained in the Council of Europe publication “Comparative Tables of the Social Security Systems in Council of Europe Member States not belonging to the European Communities”. Copies of both publications are in the Library. I regret that there is no information readily available regarding Sweden for earlier years.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 14 April 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 14th April 1986.

    Mr. Wareing Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of supplementary benefit claimants at the Westminster office of his Department in Regency street, London, are normally permanently resident in (a) Liverpool and (b) Merseyside; what are the numbers involved; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr. Major I regret this information is not available.

    Mr. Leighton Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children in the London borough of Newham are in families on supplementary benefit now; and what were the comparable figures in 1979.

    Mr. Major In the year ended December 1984, the latest for which information is available, there were approximately 13,000 children in families on supplementary benefit in the London borough of Newham. A comparable figure for 1979 is not available.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits – 10 April 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits on 10th April 1986.

    Mr. Boyes Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much a single 22-year-old male (a) living with parents and (b) living in a council flat received in benefit if he was unemployed on 1 April in each year between 1979 and 1986; and if he will express these payments in real terms, taking 100 as the base for 1 April 1979.

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

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 10 April 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 10th April 1986.

    Mr. Wareing Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many supplementary benefit appeals are outstanding in the Merseyside region; to what extent the number of tribunal sittings has increased; and if he will make a statement on the current position.

    Mr. Major At the end of March 1985, the latest date for which national statistics are available, there were 5,216 supplementary benefit appeals in the north-western region which had been lodged but not yet heard by a tribunal. The local DHSS offices had forwarded submissions to the tribunal clerk in respect of 3,854 of these appeals. I understand that since then the number of tribunal sittings has been increased and are now running at some 130 sittings a week in the region. The president of Social Security Appeal Tribunals is responsible for the administration of these tribunals, and any further information may be obtained from his office.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 8 April 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 8th April 1986.

    Sir Peter Hordern Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement about the treatment of home income plans for the purpose of calculating housing benefit entitlement.

    Mr. Major The current guidance to local authorities, consolidated in a manual issued last summer, reflects the legal advice we have received on how home income plans should be treated when assessing entitlement to housing benefit. We have received a number of representations suggesting an alternative approach, which would require an amendment to the Housing Benefits Regulations, and are considering the position. We expect to be able to announce the outcome in the near future.

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

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

    Mr. Marlow Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the numbers of people in receipt of supplementary benefit who are of working age, are not disabled and are not actively seeking work.

    Mr. Major This information is not collected by the Department.

    Mr. Leighton Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many households in the London borough of Newham receive supplementary benefit; what were the numbers in each of the last six years; and what percentage of the total number of such households the latest figure represents.

    Mr. Major The London borough of Newham is covered by three of the Departments offices, Canning Town, Plaistow and Woodgrange park, but their boundaries are not conterminous.

    Information about the number of households receiving supplementary benefit is not available. The following figures show the total number of people claiming supplementary benefit from those offices at 11 February 1986 and at comparable dates for the last six years. There will in some circumstances be more than one claimant in a household.

    Years | Numbers

    1980 | 17,113

    1981 | 19,643

    1982 | 23,853

    1983 | 26,788

    1984 | 28,127

    1985 | 30,552

    1986 | 31,897

    This Department has no information on the total number of households in Newham.

  • 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 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 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.