Benefits

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish in the Official Report tables corresponding to Table 2.12 of "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1979–80 to 1982–83", Command Paper No. 7439, but giving the identifiable public expenditure

IDENTIFIABLE PUBLIC EXPENDITURE PER HEAD OF THE POPULATION IN ENGLAND, SCOTLAND AND WALES ON SOCIAL SECURITY
(at current prices)
1973–74
£per head
	England	Scotland	Wales
Pension benefits: national insurance
Retirement pensions	50	47	53
Invalidity benefit	4	4	9
Industrial disablement benefit	1	2	3
Widows' pension and industrial death benefit, etc.	4	4	5
Pension benefits: other	5	5	6
Supplementary benefit
Supplementary pensions	5	5	5
Supplementary allowances	7	10	9
Family benefits
Child benefit (up to 1976–77 family allowances, including child interim benefit)	6	7	6
Tax revenue from reduction in child tax allowances	—	—	—
Net Exchequer cost of child benefit	—	—	—
Family income supplement	—	—	—
Other non-pension benefits: national insurance
Sickness and injury benefits and maternity allowance	6	9	11
Unemployment benefit	3	5	4
Widows' allowances, maternity/death grants	1	1	1
Administration and miscellaneous services	5	2	2
Total^*	99	102	115

per capita and per capita of those receiving such benefits, respectively, in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively.

I have been asked to reply.Estimates of identifiable public expenditure in England, Scotland and Wales are available at current prices and for past years only. The latest figures available are for 1977–78. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services has already stated in a reply given on 12 February, comparable estimates are not available of the average numbers receiving the main benefits in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively. The table below however gives identifiable public expenditure on social security for 1973–74 to 1977–78, in England, Scotland and Wales respectively, per head of the population, analysed as in table 2.12 of Command 7439 but with the smaller elements aggregated. The figures are mainly derived from Post Office encashment statistics, and are on the same basis as those given in the Answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesend (Mr. Ovenden) on 17 January 1979.— [Vol. 960, c. 781–794.]

1974–75
£per head
	England	Scotland	Wales
Pension benefits: national insurance
Retirement pensions	66	60	67
Invalidity benefit	5	9	12
Industrial disablement benefit	2	2	4
Widows' pension and industrial death benefit, etc.	5	5	6
Pension benefits: other	7	7	8
Supplementary benefit
Supplementary pensions	6	7	7
Supplementary allowances	6	12	11
Family benefits
Child benefit (up to 1976–77 family allowances, including child interim benefit)	6	7	6
Tax revenue from reduction in child tax allowances	—	—	—
Net Exchequer cost of child benefit	—	—	—
Family income supplement	—	—	—
Other non-pension benefits: national insurance
Sickness and injury benefits and maternity allowance	7	9	11
Unemployment benefit	4	5	5
Widows' allowances, maternity/death grants	1	1	1
Administration and miscellaneous services	7	2	3
Total^*	125	126	141

1975–76
£per head
	England	Scotland	Wales
Pension benefits: national insurance
Retirement pensions	88	81	89
Invalidity benefit	7	13	17
Industrial disablement benefit	3	3	5
Widows' pension and industrial death benefit, etc.	7	6	7
Pension benefits: other	7	7	9
Supplementary benefit
Supplementary pensions	7	8	8
Supplementary allowances	14	15	17
Family benefits
Child benefit (up to 1976–77 family allowances, including child interim benefit)	10	11	9
Tax revenue from reduction in child tax allowances	—	—	—
Net Exchequer cost of child benefit	—	—	—
Family income supplement	—	—	—
Other non-pension benefits: national insurance
Sickness and injury benefits and maternity allowance	9	12	14
Unemployment benefit	8	11	10
Widows' allowances, maternity/death grants	1	1	1
Administration and miscellaneous services	10	3	3
Total^*	171	171	189

1976–77
£ per head
	England	Scotland	Wales
Pension benefits: national insurance
Retirement pensions	103	98	106
Invalidity benefit	9	16	21
Industrial disablement benefit	3	3	5
Widows' pension and industrial death benefit, etc.	7	9	9
Pension benefits: other	8	8	11
Supplementary benefit
Supplementary pensions	9	8	9
Supplementary allowances	19	21	24
Family benefits
Child benefit (up to 1976–77 family allowances, including child interim benefit)	10	11	9
Tax revenue from reduction in child tax allowances	—	—	—
Net Exchequer cost of child benefit	—	—	—
Family income supplement	—	—	—

£ per head
	England	Scotland	Wales
Other non-pension benefits: national insurance
Sickness and injury benefits and maternity allowance	11	14	17
Unemployment benefit	10	14	12
Widows' allowances, maternity/death grants	2	2	2
Administration and miscellaneous services	11	4	4
Total^*	202	209	230

1977–78†
£ per head
	England	Scotland	Wales
Pension benefits: national insurance
Retirement pensions	119	113	123
Invalidity benefit	11	20	25
Industrial disablement benefit	3	3	7
Widows' pension and industrial death benefit, etc.	8	10	11
Pension benefits: other	12	12	15
Supplementary benefit
Supplementary pensions	10	10	11
Supplementary allowances	24	27	31
Family benefits
Child benefit (up to 1976–77 family allowances, including child interim benefit)	16	18	15
Tax revenue from reduction in child tax allowances	−4	−4	−4
Net Exchequer cost of child benefit	12	14	12
Family income supplement	—	1	1
Other non-pension benefits: national insurance
Sickness and injury benefits and maternity allowance	12	16	20
Unemployment benefit	11	18	15
Widows' allowances, maternity/death grants	2	2	2
Administration and miscellaneous services	13	5	5
Total^*	240	250	276
^* Figures are independently rounded to nearest £, and may not sum to totals.
† Provisional.

Volume 962: debated on Friday 16 February 1979