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Family Incomes

Volume 983: debated on Thursday 1 May 1980

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asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North, Official Report, 3 April, column 406, if he will republish the figures for November 1979, comparing net weekly spending power from earnings with net weekly spending power from supplementary benefits, but assuming that the families in receipt of supplementary benefit have maximum disregarded earnings, and that the working families have weekly work expenses of (a) £2·45, (b) £5, (c) £7·50 and (d) £10; and if he will also show the gross weekly earnings figures used.

The information requested is given in the table below. I again remind my hon. Friend that illustrative figures such as these should be used with caution and only in the context of the assumptions on which they are based. For example, it would be rare for such families on supplementary benefit to have maximum disregarded earnings. In only a few thousand out of half a million cases does the unemployed claimant have part-time earnings.

TOTAL INCOME SUPPORT ON EARNINGS AT LOWEST DECILE AND ON SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFIT WITH DISREGARDED PART-TIME EARNINGS (NOVEMBER 1979)
Total income support assuming work expenses ofSupplementary benefit etc. as percentage of

Family constitution

Gross earnings

£2·45(a)£5(b)£7·50(c)£10(d)

Supplem entary benefit etc.

££££££(a)(b)(c)(d)
Married couple69·0045·1242·5740·0737·5733·7074·779·284·189·7
Couple with 2 children69·0055·7953·2451·7949·2948·6587·291·493·998·7
Couple with 4 children69·0069·2166·6664·1661·6670·60102·0105·9110·0114·5

Notes:

1. Total income support for earners comprises gross earnings plus child benefit, family income supplement, rent and rates rebates, free school meals, and free welfare milk; minus tax, national insurance contributions, gross rent and rates, and work expenses.

2. Total income support on supplementary benefit comprises scale rates plus free school meals, free welfare milk, the 1979 standard heating addition for children under 5 years, and net earnings of £4 a week, the maximum part-time earnings of the husband which can be disregarded under the regulations. No earnings have been assumed for the wife in order to keep the figures comparable with those for working families, where all the earnings are assumed to be the husband's.

3. The figure for gross earnings is provisional and has been derived from the 1979 new earnings survey by extrapolation based on the Department of Employment's monthly indices of average earnings.