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Dept of Social Security

Answer

Sir Andrew Bowden: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost in 1997-98 of reducing the assumed income from savings for (a) pensioners and (b) all recipients of income support, with savings between £3,000 and £8,000, to (i) £1 a week for every £500 over £3,000 and (ii) £1 a week for every £1,000 over £3,000. [14289] Mr. Evans: The information is set out in the table: _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Cost in income support and jobseeker's allowance in 1997-98 (£ million) Tariff income rule Pensioners All claimants £1 for every £500 above the lower capital 20 30 limit £1 for every £1,000 above the lower capital 40 50 limit _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 1. Estimated using the 1994-95 family resources survey, uprated to 1997-98 case loads and benefit levels. 2. Estimates exclude cases in residential care and nursing homes. 3. Estimates include consequential costs in housing benefit and council tax benefit from new income support claimants being "passported" onto these benefits. 4. Estimates for all claimants include the costs of introducing the same capital limits in jobseeker's allowance. 5. Adjustments to these estimates are made using the May 1995 income support quarterly statistical inquiry and the May 1995 housing benefit-council tax benefit management information system. 6. Estimates are rounded to the nearest £10 million.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

14289; 290 c505W

Session

1996-97

Subjects

Income support Earnings rules Pensioners Personal savings

Contains statistics

Yes