The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Tag: Benefits

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits – 13 January 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits on 13th January 1986.

    Mr. Skinner Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons received (a) unemployment benefit and (b) family income supplement in (i) 1979-80 and (ii) 1984-85.

    Mr. Major Information is not available for the whole of the periods requested, but is available for November of each year. The figures for November in the financial years requested are given in the table:

    Benefit Type | November 1979 | November 1984

    Unemployment Benefit | 467,000 | 896,000

    Family Income Supplement | 77,000 | 200,000

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

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

    Mr. Skinner Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons claimed supplementary benefit in 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 and to the nearest available date in 1985.

    Mr. Major The table shows the number of claims to supplementary benefit received nationally for each of the years 1979 to 1984, and the number of persons receiving supplementary benefit at 30 July 1985 – the latest available – and at comparative dates since 1979. The figures of claims to benefit for 1985 show the number received up to 19 November only – the latest available figures.

    Year | Claims received | Benefit recipients*

    1979 | 5,169,992 | 3,197,019

    1980 | 5,828,263 | 3,379,728

    1981 | 5,456,585 | 3,780,980

    1982 | 6,103,862 | 4,376,895

    1983 | 5,889,787 | 4,661,318

    1984 | 6,359,881 | 4,968,956

    1985 | 5,482,137 | 5,169,435

    * Source: 100 per cent. count of cases in action.

    Mr. Rooker Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will name the local office which had received recent guidance from the chief adjudication officer referred to in the reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr, on 28 October, Official Report, column 381.

    Mr. Major The guidance was given to one of the adjudication officers at Birmingham, Perry Barr integrated local office.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefits – 20 December 1985

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefits on 20th December 1985.

    Mr. Soley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what were the total estimated amounts defrauded from supplementary benefits for each year from 1979.

    Mr. Major No reliable estimate is available of the extent of supplementary benefit fraud.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit Claimants – 20 December 1985

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit Claimants on 20th December 1985.

    Mr. Caborn Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what criteria is adopted by his Department for visiting claimants of benefits at home;

    (2) how claimants are selected for interview at home by his Department.

    Mr. Major Details to support a claim to supplementary benefit made by a pensioner or someone not required to sign on at the unemployment benefit office, ray be taken at an interview in the claimant’s home if the claimant prefers this to filling in a postal claim form. At present most claimants who make a claim by post are visited within six months of their claim to check that benefit entitlement has been correctly assessed; thereafter most claimants are visited every three years for the same purpose.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 19 December 1985

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 19th December 1985.

    Mr. Gordon Brown Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the cost of housing benefit in (a) 1985-86, (b) 1986-87, (c) 1987-88, (d) 1988-89 and (e) 1989-90, respectively.

    Mr. Major The figures for the total cost of housing benefit underlying the last public expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 9428) published in January 1985, are £4,330 million in 1985-86, £4,500 million in 1986-87 and £4,600 million in 1987-88 including rate rebates which do not count as public expenditure. Up to date estimates for those years, and an estimate for 1988-89 will be included in the next public expenditure White Paper to be published in January.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit Claimants – 18 December 1985

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit Claimants on 18th December 1985.

    Mr. Caborn Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of (a) single claimants and (b) couples were interviewed in connection with their claims for Department of Health and Social Security payments at home nationally and in the Sheffield district in the last three years.

    Mr. Major The information requested is not available. Statistics kept on home visits do not differentiate between single claimants and couples. However, the total numbers of effective visits made in the last three years were as follows:

    Year Ending | Nationally | The Four Sheffield Offices

    April 1983 | 3,370,575 | 40,880

    April 1984 | 3,515,234 | 38,413

    April 1985 | 2,999,693 | 34,398

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 16 December 1985

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 16th December 1985.

    Mr. Stern Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of the expenditure of his Department in 1984-85 on housing benefit and housing benefit supplement was expended in satisfying the rate bills of recipients of those benefits.

    Mr. Major About one third of housing benefit expenditure was expended on rate rebates in 1984-85.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 16 December 1985

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 16th December 1985.

    Mr. Cohen Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the number of supplementary benefit claimants in Leyton and Leytonstone in each of the past six years.

    Mr. Major The London postal districts of Leyton and Leytonstone are covered by the Department’s office at Leytonstone, although the boundaries are not conterminous. The number of people receiving supplementary benefit from that office on 30 July 1985 – the latest available figures – and on comparable dates in the past five years were:

    Year | Number

    1980 | 6,444

    1981 | 7,529

    1982 | 8,252

    1983 | 8,980

    1984 | 9,629

    1985 | 10,340

    Source: 100 per cent. count of cases in action.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit Claims – 10 December 1985

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit Claims on 10th December 1985.

    Mr. Deakins Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the number of supplementary benefit claimants in Walthamstow in each of the past six years.

    Mr. Major The table shows the number of people receiving supplementary benefit from the Department’s office at Walthamstow on 30 July 1985 – the latest figures available and at comparable dates in the preceding five years.

    Date | Numbers

    July 1985 | 13,486

    July 1984 | 13,160

    July 1983 | 13,081

    July 1982 | 12,401

    July 1981 | 10,840

    July 1980 | 9,557

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 10 December 1985

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 10th December 1985.

    Mr. David Atkinson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any evidence of abuse of the housing benefit scheme; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr. Major The housing benefits review indicated that there was little hard information about the nature and extent of abuse of the housing benefits scheme, but expressed concern about the potential for abuse by both claimants and landlords. This concern has also been voiced by others, including individual local authorities and the Audit Commission. The Green Paper, Reform of Social Security (Cmnd. 9518) included proposals for strengthening safeguards against abuse of the scheme.