The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Tag: Benefits

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 1 December 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 1st December 1986.

    Mr. J. Enoch Powell Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, pending legislation, he will authorise the extra-statutory concession, corresponding with Northern Ireland circular 522/86 and providing continuity of supplementary benefit at the long-term rate for beneficiaries who have removed from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.

    Mr. Major My right hon. Friend has already authorised extra-statutory payments. I refer the right hon. Member to circular S22/86, a copy of which is in the Library.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Heating Additions – 28 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Heating Additions on 28th November 1986.

    Mr. Baldry Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, when calculating the level of supplementary benefit, what specific consideration is given to heating costs; and how this is calculated.

    Mr. Major The supplementary benefit scale rates are uprated in line with increases in the retail price index (excluding housing costs) which, among other things, reflects changes in fuel costs. Heating additions are reviewed separately against movements in the fuel element of the price index.

    Mr. Leadbitter Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to (a) simplify the qualifying requirements for fuel allowances and (b) remove the average temperature level assessment, and establish the principle of direct payments for all retirement pensioners during the winter period.

    Mr. Major This Government have simplified the system of weekly heating additions for supplementary benefit claimants by introducing automatic entitlement for certain groups, including householders aged 65 or over, long-term sick or disabled people, and families who have a child under five. These additions are paid throughout the year.

    For payment in periods of exceptionally cold weather I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Sir H. Monro) on 20 November at columns 326-27.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Industrial Disablement Benefit – 27 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Industrial Disablement Benefit on 27th November 1986.

    Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the 100 per cent. disablement benefit awards made by special medical boards in 1984 were first awards as opposed to re-assessments; and how many were for asbestos-related diseases.

    Mr. Major [pursuant to his reply, 24 November, c. 137-38]: In 1984 special medical boards made 210 initial assessments at 100 per cent., of which 202 were for asbestos-related diseases. There were 199 re-assessments at 100 per cent., of which 47 were for asbestos-related diseases.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Industrial Death Benefit – 27 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Industrial Death Benefit on 27th November 1986.

    Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of deaths where the death certificate mentions mesothelioma result in awards of industrial death benefit.

    Mr. Major [pursuant to his reply, 24 November, c. 138]: In 1984, the latest year for which figures are available, industrial death benefit was awarded in 39 per cent. of cases where mesothelioma was shown on the death certificate.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 27 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 27th November 1986.

    Mr. Gould Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what account has been taken in constructing the scales of supplementary benefit of the substantial increase in house insurance premiums.

    Mr. Major The supplementary benefit scale rates are intended to meet all normal day-to-day living expenses except housing costs, but including insurance of the contents of the home. Claimants who are owner-occupiers or who are otherwise liable for the maintenance and insurance of the structure of their homes receive a special addition of £1.85 a week, increasing to £1.95 a week from April 1987. Where the actual cost of insurance exceeds the standard allowance a higher allowance may be payable if, because of special circumstances (for example high fire risk) higher than average expenditure is justified.

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

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

    Mrs. Beckett Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether it is proposed to cease issuing forms for claiming child benefit to all mothers on the birth of their child?

    Mr. Major No. The ending of non-contributory maternity grant will lead to revised arrangements for the issue of child benefit claim forms. They will be issued by local social security offices upon request.

  • 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 Housing Benefit – 21 November 1986

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

    Mr. Stephen Ross Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he anticipates honouring housing benefit claims submitted by district councils in respect of residents in local authority owned homes in the period prior to 28 July.

    Mr. Major The Department makes monthly payments on account to local authorities to enable them to award benefit under the housing benefits scheme, but authorities’ entitlement to subsidy is not established until after the end of the financial year when final audited claims haw been received by the Department. Authorities’ final subsidy claims for housing benefit expenditure in 1985-86, including amounts in respect of residents in local authority accommodation, were due to be submitted by 31 October and will be settled in the normal way.

    Final claims for expenditure incurred in the current financial year are not due until October 1987. In the meantime payments on account of subsidy are being withheld on certain benefit expenditure which the Department is not satisfied has been paid in accordance with the housing benefit regulations.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits and Allowances – 6 November 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits and Allowances on 6th November 1986.

    Mr. Thurnham Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people had their mobility allowance renewal applications refused during (a) the 12-month period prior to the House of Lords’ decision Leeds v. Secretary of State for Social Services on 25 April 1985 and (b) the 12-month period since that date; how many of those in (b) above were refused because: (i) their condition had changed and (ii) they were adjudged differently from their original successful claims in the light of the Leeds decision; and how many of those in (b) above were (i) severely mentally handicapped, (ii) severely behaviourally disturbed and (iii) with other severe disabilities.

    Mr. Major In the 12 months up to 25 April 1985, 4,360 renewal claims for mobility allowance (16.7 per cent. of the renewal claims decided in that period) were disallowed at the initial stage. The figures for the 12 months after that date were 4,250 and 15.7 per cent. respectively. I regret that records are not maintained of the reasons for disallowance of renewal claims or of the nature of the disability of unsuccessful claimants.

    Mr. Thurnham Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people had their original mobility allowance applications refused during (a) the 12-month period prior to the House of Lords’ decision Leeds v. Secretary of State for Social Services on 25 April 1985 and (b) the 12-month period since that date; and of these how many were (i) severely mentally handicapped, (ii) severely behaviourally disturbed and (iii) blind with other severe disabilities.

    Mr. Major In the 12 months up to 25 April 1985, 33,500 initial claims for mobility allowance (30.7 per cent. of the initial claims decided in that period) were disallowed. The figures for the 12 months after that date were 43,600 and 34.8 per cent. respectively.

    I regret that records are not maintained of the nature of the disability of unsuccessful claimants.

    Mr. Wigley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if local offices of his Department can identify every person receiving supplementary benefit or supplementary pension, who has a dependent child under the age of two years, or is over the age of 65 years, or is in receipt of attendance allowance and mobility allowance.

    Mr. Major The Department’s local offices do not keep these statistics. To mount a special exercise to identify every person within these groups would be disproportionately costly.

    Mr. Ashdown Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many extra civil servants he has employed in dealing with outstanding claims for invalid care allowance in respect of married women; and when he anticipates the backlog will be brought down to a similar level of outstanding claims as those pertaining to men and single women.

    Mr. Major The Department has engaged an additional 320 staff to deal with claims for invalid care allowance from married women. Experience with the cases processed so far indicates that the majority of these claims should be cleared by early in the new year.

    Mrs. Beckett Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many workers in the Midlands social security region have claimed disablement benefit during the last 10 years; and how many of those were claiming for injuries assessed at between 1 per cent, and 14 per cent.

    Mr. Major Information is not available in the form requested, as the Midland social security region was only formed on 12 April 1982.

    Between then and 23 September 1986, 95,097 claims for disablement benefit were made. We do not have a regional breakdown either of successful claims or of how many were for disablement below 14 per cent.