Welfare Milk And Vitamins

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many pregnant women (a) receive and (b) qualify for free welfare milk and vitamins on each of the following grounds (i) on supplementary benefit, (ii) on family income supplement, (iii) other low income grounds, (iv) with large families; and what in each case is the cost to public funds and would be the cost to public funds if take-up were 100 per cent.;(2) how many families with children and how many children altogether (

a) receive and ( b) qualify for free welfare milk and vitamins on each of the following grounds (i) on supplementary benefit, (ii) on family income supplement, (iii) other low income grounds, (iv) in large families; and what in each case is the cost to public funds and would be the cost to public funds if take-up were 100 per cent.

[pursuant to the reply, 22 November 1979, c. 311–13]: The estimates of numbers in England receiving and eligible for free welfare milk and vitamin tokens are given in the table below and relate to December 1977, the latest date for which the figures are available. Current prices have, however, been used in the cost calculation.

England
	Estimated numbers of beneficiaries at December 1977 and related cost (see Note 2)					Estimated numbers entitled at December 1977 and related cost (see Note 2) (see Note 1)
	Expectant mothers 000s	Cost £ million	Children 000s	Cost £ million	Families 000s (Note 3)	Expectant mothers 000s	Cost £ million	Children 000s	Cost £ million	Families 000s (Note 3)
Free Welfare Milk
Supplementary benefit	6	0·33	263	14·87	214	6	0·33	273	15·43	214
Family income supplement	2	0·11	39	2·20	29	2	0·11	40	2·26	29
Low income families	1	0·05	13	0·73	10	29	1·59	343	19·39	269
Large young families	15	0·82	40	2·26	Not available	27	1·48	43	2·43	41
Total	24	1·31	355	20·06		64	3·51	699	39·51
Free Vitamins
Supplementary benefit	6		263		214	6	0·01	273	0·23	214
Family income supplement	2		39		29	2	0·01	40	0·03	29
Low income families	1		13		10	29	0·05	343	0·28	269
Large young families	15		40		Not available	27	0·05	43	0·04	41
Total	24	0·01	355	0·03		64	0·12	699	0·58
		(Note 4)		(Note 4)
Notes:
1. Derived by apportionment of estimates prepared on a Great Britain basis.
2. Based on current prices. The figures for milk for children include an allowance for the cost of dried milk which a proportion of beneficiaries take instead of liquid milk. Those for vitamins allow for tablets for expectant mothers costing more per unit than drops for children.
3. Columns have not been totalled as families include beneficiaries in more than one category.
4. Beneficiaries receiving tokens for free welfare milk automatically receive tokens for free vitamins. The costs (which cannot be apportioned between categories) show that there is a low usage of tokens.

Volume 975: debated on Tuesday 4 December 1979