Benefits

                    The text on this page has been created from Hansard archive content, it may contain typographical errors.
                

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table showing expenditure on each of short-term national insurance benefits and supplementary benefits, at current and at 1978 prices, in every year since 1966, distinguishing between payments to people with and without dependent children and between two-parent families and one-parent families, and including the numbers of claimants and children involved.

Some information is not held in the form requested and some could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The first table shows the total cost of each of the short-term national insurance benefits and supplementary allowance without differentiating between persons with and without children. Supplementary allowances will include the cost of long-term rates paid to some persons in receipt of supplementary allowance for two years or more. The

TABLE 1
£ million
	Sickness benefit		Unemployment benefit		Maternity allowance		Injury benefit		Supplementary allowance
	Current prices	1978 prices	Current prices	1978 prices	Current prices	1978 prices	Current prices	1978 prices	Current prices	1978 prices
1966–67	262	859	78	256	17	56	32	105	132	433
1967–68	323	1,043	122	394	16	52	35	113	193	623
1968–69	348	1,061	123	375	19	58	34	104	221	674
1969–70	386	1,119	127	368	19	55	34	99	245	710
1970–71	379	1,027	150	406	19	51	33	89	279	756
1971–72	326	805	239	590	22	54	31	77	366	904
1972–73	295	681	209	483	23	53	33	76	416	961
1973–74	314	663	174	367	25	53	34	72	412	869
1974–75	358	644	214	385	31	56	35	63	532	958
1975–76	443	629	454	645	40	57	39	55	779	1,106
1976–77	518	648	559	699	66	82	46	58	1,060	1,325
1977–78	613	662	629	679	77	83	50	54	1,316	1,421
1978–79^*	655	655	688	688	85	85	51	51	1,390	1,390
^* Estimated

TABLE 2
Thousands
	Sickness benefit*		Unemployment benefit †		Maternity allowance ‡		Injury benefit^*		Supplementary allowances ç
	Claimants	Children	Claimants	Children	Claimants	Children	Claimants	Children	Claimants	Children
1966–67	N/A	N/A	276	217	249	N/A	74	N/A	N/A	N/A
1967–68	903	N/A	318	257	244	19	76	N/A	753	695
1968–69	934	N/A	294	235	241	17	76	N/A	777	737
1969–70	923	N/A	279	217	232	14	72	N/A	813	770
1970–71	932	N/A	302	217	239	13	65	N/A	836	783
1971–72	857	433	459	343	243	13	56	52	990	958
1972–73	455	298	352	229	221	11	55	50	1,002	941
1973–74	449	299	197	131	214	10	53	49	831	789
1974–75	455	309	259	181	216	8	50	49	872	867
1975–76	403	284	525	322	252	11	45	43	1,113	1,069
1976–77	424	288	587	362	243	9	49	39	1,253	1,166
1977–78	452	302	561	284	N/A	N/A	46	37	1,253	1,149
1978–79	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	1,215	N/A
^* Numbers in receipt of sickness and injury benefit are based on a sample of claims made on a day in June. Long-term sickness cases received invalidity benefit from 23rd September 1971.
† Numbers in receipt of unemployment benefit are based on a 5 per cent, sample of claims made on a day in November except for 1976 which was a 4 per cent, sample in May.
% Numbers for maternity allowance are the number of claims in the year ending March based on a sample The numbers of children are also annual figures but the relevant year ending was not March in all years.
ç The numbers of supplementary allowance claimants will include some persons in receipt of the short-term national insurance benefits. Prior to November 1977 the figures were obtained by counting live documents in supplementary benefit local offices. From that date the figures are estimates derived from a sample of cases receiving a payment for the week of the inquiry and exclude some cases previously included in the count. With the exception of 1978, which is based on a May sample, figures relate to a week in November.

Volume 957: debated on Thursday 9 November 1978