To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost of increasing the disregard in the bereavement benefits to (a) £20, (b) £30, (c) £40 and (d) £50. [78031]
The information is in the table.
| The estimated total costs of increasing the proposed disregard for Widowed Parent's Allowance | ||||
| £ million | ||||
| WPA disregard in all benefits | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Long run |
| £20 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 10 |
| £30 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 15 |
| £40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 25 |
| £50 | 55 | 55 | 55 | 35 |
Notes:
1. The proposed disregard for Widowed Parents Allowance is £10 for Income Support and £15 for Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Working Families Tax Credit. The figures estimate the cost of increasing these rates for these benefits to the requested levels.
2. The estimates presented are broad orders of magnitude. They are rounded to the nearest £5 million and are our best estimate of the cost of increasing the disregards, but are nonetheless subject to a degree of uncertainty.
3. Estimates use information from the 1996–97 Family Resources Survey, the Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry and forecasts from the Government Actuary's Department. The offset ratio is assumed to remain constant across the years in order to provide illustrative estimates.