The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Tag: Benefits

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 15 July 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 15th July 1986.

    Mr. Raynsford Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress has been made by his Department in its consultations with representatives of local authorities on the detailed arrangements for the new housing benefit scheme; and when he expects to be able to publish firm proposals in respect of (a) certification and liaison between authorities and his Department, (b) service charges, (c) amenity charges, (d) recovery of overpayments, (e) net income assessments and (f) subsidies.

    Mr. Major Substantial progress has been made in discussion on future subsidy arrangements, and exploratory discussions are nearing completion on assessment of net income and liaison arrangements between local authorities and local social security offices.

    Our firm proposals on liaison arrangements, service and amenity charges, recovery of overpayments and net income assessment will be set out in regulations. We will consult the local authority associations on these in the usual way, before laying the regulations in draft before Parliament early next year. Firm proposals on subsidy will be set out in an order early in 1988.

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

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

    Mr. Clay Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the cost of extending the payment of unemployment benefit for a further (i) one year, (ii) two years, (iii) three years and (iv) as long as unemployment lasted; and what would be the cost if the single person’s rate of unemployment benefit were increased by £7.35.

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

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 10 July 1986

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

    Mr. Raynsford Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East of 25 June, Official Report, columns 209-10, which of the objectives for the revised housing benefit subsidy arrangements were considered by his Department not to be met by the proposal to restrict direct subsidy to 80 per cent. of benefit expenditure.

    Mr. Major As I explained in my reply to the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East (Mr. Nellist), the proposal to include 20 per cent. of benefit costs in the rate support grant arrangements did not meet our objectives of providing an adequate incentive for authorities to control costs and a fair level of support for expenditure they properly incur.

    Mr. Alton Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list in the Official Report a borough breakdown of moneys paid to landlords on behalf of public and private tenants in housing benefit during 1985-86; and if he will make a statement;
    (2) what is the highest individual weekly sum currently paid to a landlord in housing benefit;
    (3) what percentage of the sum paid in housing benefit during 1985-86 was paid to private landlords;
    (4) how many domestic hereditaments owned by private landlords house tenants in receipt of housing benefits.

    Mr. Major We do not collect information on direct payments of housing benefit to landlords, or on the number of dwellings owned by private landlords which are occupied by tenants in receipt of housing benefit. In 1985-86, an estimated £780 million was paid in rent allowances (including those paid direct to the landlord, but excluding in all cases any expenditure classified as rate rebates) for around 1.2 million private tenants. This represented about 17 per cent. of total housing benefit expenditure.

    Mr. Alton Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he intends to send a reply to the letter of the hon. Member for Liverpool, Mossley Hill, of 15 May on housing benefit and to which he said on 2 July, Official Report, column 1040, he had signed a reply.

    Mr. Major I have written to the hon. Member.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployment Benefits – 4 July 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployment Benefits on 4th July 1986.

    Mr. Prescott Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, for the latest year for which figures are available, what is the total number of unemployed people who, during the course of the year, exhausted their unemployment benefit entitlement but were not subsequently eligible for supplementary allowance.

    Mr. Major The precise information requested is not available, but it is estimated that of those who exhaust their entitlement to unemployment benefit something like 15 to 20 per cent. are not subsequently eligible for supplementary allowance.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 4 July 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 4th July 1986.

    Mr. Pike Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people in Burnley at the latest date for which figures are available were receiving (a) rate rebates, (b) rent rebates and (c) rent allowances; and how many of these are certificated claims.

    Mr. Major On the basis of information from Burnley borough council’s latest subsidy claim it is estimated that the average number of people in receipt of rate rebate, rent rebate and rent allowance is:

    Rent Rebate | Rent Allowance | Rate rebate

    Certificated | 2,930 | 1,050 | 6,260
    Standard | 2,330 | 570 | 4,640
    Total | 5,260 | 1,620 | 10,900

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 4 July 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 4th July 1986.

    Mr. Kirkwood Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the number of supplementary benefit claimants, and the value of the claims, for claimants (a) under 26 years and (b) 26 years and over in receipt of the no fixed abode allowance for 1981, and in each subsequent year to the latest convenient date.

    Mr. Major Separate statistical information on this subject is not maintained and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, our monitoring of the impact of the 1985 boarder changes does not show any evidence of general increases in homelessness among young people attributable to those changes.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Child Benefit – 1 July 1986

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

    Mr. Ralph Howell Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will state the total number of families receiving child benefit at the present time and in 1979, respectively.

    Mr. Major On 4 June 1986, 6.85 million families were receiving child benefit. The comparable figure for 31 May 1979 was 7.23 million.

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

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

    Mr. Pike Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people were in receipt of supplementary benefit in (a) the north-west region and (b) Burnley in 1979 and each subsequent year.

    Mr. Major North-western region was formed in 1983 by the amalgamation of the former north-west (Manchester) and north-west (Merseyside) regions with parts of the former northern region. The table shows the number of people receiving supplementary benefit in (a) Burnley and (b) those offices which now form northwestern region.

    Figures given show the position at 6 May 1986, the latest available, and at comparable dates for each of the years since 1979.

    Year | Burnley | Region

    1979 | 10,239 | 454,955
    1980 | 10,156 | 458,474
    1981 | 11,984 | 534,489
    1982 | 14,345 | 628,573
    1983 | 15,351 | 672,937
    1984 | 16,167 | 713,229
    1985 | 17,062 | 745,329
    1986 | 16,579 | 762,492

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

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 1 July 1986

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

    Mr. Freeson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish the housing benefit returns for each of the past three years for the London boroughs of Brent, Barnet and Camden.

    Mr. Major On the basis of information provided by the London boroughs of Brent, Barnet and Camden in connection with their subsidy claims, it is estimated that the average number of recipients of rent rebate, rent allowance and rate rebates is:

    Benefit | 1984-85 | 1985-86 | 1986-87

    Brent
    Rent rebates | 13,500 | 13,500 | 10,200
    Rent allowances | 8,000 | 8,100 | 9,700
    Rate rebates | 39,800 | 39,900 | 33,500

    Barnet
    Rent rebates | 12,300 | 12,000 | 11,500
    Rent allowances | 7,500 | 7,700 | 7,400
    Rate rebates | 30,700 | 30,400 | 29,200

    Camden
    Rent rebates | 17,800 | 17,800 | 17,800
    Rent allowances | 9,100 | 9,800 | 9,600
    Rate rebates | 29,500 | 30,400 | 30,000

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 1 July 1986

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

    Mr. Raynsford Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate (a) the number of recipients of housing benefit who will receive less benefit than would otherwise have been their entitlement as a result of the Government’s decision to change the basis for uprating the needs allowance in July and (b) the saving which Her Majesty’s Government will make in a full year as a result.

    Mr. Major I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 12 May at column 381. I have also written to him about the detailed points he raised in the debate on the uprating orders on 11 June, at columns 361-65.