asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking, in the light of the result of a test case involving a former British Shipbuilders worker in Southampton, in September 1986, to ensure that unemployment benefit is paid to former Scott Lithgow workers by the Greenock and Port Glasgow offices of his Department during the first 13 weeks of their redundancy; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Lee) to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) on 24 November 1986 at column 57.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the benefits and allowances to which a married man with eight children under 11 years is entitled if his gross weekly earnings are (a) £90, (b) £120 and (c) £180 and he is paying average rent and rates (i) if he is working and (ii) if he is unemployed and showing the total net weekly spending power in each case.

The information requested is given in the table.

Benefits, Allowances and total net weekly spending power at various earnings for a married man with eight children under 11 years and a non-working wife
	£	£	£
Gross Weekly Earnings	90·00	120·00	18000
Family Income Supplement	43·15	30·10	—
Child Benefit	56·80	56·80	56·80
Rent Rebate	15·51	11·19	2·52
Rate Rebate	6·09	4·64	0·75
Free School Meals	9·00	9·00	9·00
Free Welfare Milk	6·72	6·72	—
Total Income Support	179·25	177·23	165·05

Families with the age and size specified are extremely rare — out of a total of almost 7 million families with children in the country as a whole they are likely to number fewer than 100. If the head of the family was unemployed and claiming supplementary benefit, total income support would total £147·92 per week.The phenomenon whereby net income can fall as gross earnings rise and income-related benefits are withdrawn will not occur after April 1988 when family credit replaces family income supplement under the terms of the 1986 Social Security Act.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people in (a) Dundee and (b) Tayside are in receipt of supplementary benefit; and if he will break down the figures showing the number of recipients who are pensioners, one-parent families and unemployed in each case.

I regret that information cannot be given in the precise form requested. Dundee is covered by the Department's local offices at Dundee East and Dundee West but their boundaries are not conterminous with those of Dundee. Tayside region includes areas covered by these two offices together with areas covered by the Department's local offices at Arbroath and Perth but their boundaries are not conterminous with those of Tayside.Information about the number of pensioners, unemployed people and others under pension age receiving supplementary benefit from the local offices covering Dundee and Tayside on 10 December 1986—the latest available figures—are shown in the table.Separate figures for one parent families receiving supplementary benefit are not available.

	Dundee	Tayside
Pensioners	6,038	11,242
Unemployed	9,478	15,501

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has any plans to stop single payments for repairs to owner occupiers in receipt of supplementary benefit.

No, we have no plans to amend the single payments regulations in relation to single payments for repairs to owner-occupied property.