asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all the national insurance and other benefits which are raised each year in line with the cost of living or earnings, together with their estimated cost to public funds in the current year; and if he will state the annual cost of the increase in each of the last three years in £ sterling and as a percentage of the total increase in public spending in the relevant year.

Following is the information:

	£ million
	1977–78
National Insurance Benefits
Retirement pension	6,204
Widows benefit	484
Guardians allowance	2
Unemployment benefit	597
Invalidity benefit	569
Sickness benefit	560
Maternity benefit	56
Industrial injury benefits:
Injury benefit	46
Disablement benefit	178
Death benefit	26
Other benefits (under the Old Cases Act)	5
Other Benefits
War pensions	297
Attendance allowance	152
Invalid care allowance	8
Old persons retirement pension	36
Non contributory invalidity pension	53
Supplementary pension*	546
Supplementary allowance*	1,245
Family income supplement*	22
* These benefits have in practice been uprated broadly in line with earnings or prices though there is no statutory requirement to this effect.

The increase in total expenditure on those benefits in cash and as a percentage of the increase in total public expenditure at outturn prices, excluding debt interest, in each of the last three financial years was as follows:

	£ million	per cent.
1974–75	1,319	13
1975–76	2,160	21
1976–77	1,658	32