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Supplementary Benefit

Volume 897: debated on Monday 4 August 1975

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asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the latest available estimate of the number of people drawing supplementary benefit.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the Department's estimate of the number of additional persons who would be drawing supplementary benefit in the absence of local authorities' rent and rate rebates in the form that has existed since October 1972.

The necessary information on which to base an estimate is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is her Department's estimate of the number of additional persons who would be drawing supplementary benefits in the absence of the increase in long-term national insurance benefits over the last two years.

I am afraid that no estimate is possible. It is known that a total of over 20,000 persons with long-term national insurance benefits ceased to need supplementary benefit over the last three upratings, and it is possible that some who have chosen to receive rent rebates and so on instead of supplementary benefit would not have done so if their national insurance benefit had not been increased. There is, however, no information on which to judge how many persons would have claimed supplementary benefit but for the increase in their national insurance benefit.