Written question asked by Andrew Bowden (Conservative), in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 10 February 1997. It was answered by Oliver Heald (Conservative) on Monday, 10 February 1997 on behalf of the Department of Social Security.

Dept of Social Security

Question: What would be the value of the £10 Christmas bonus in 1997-98 if it had been uprated by (a) prices and (b) earnings since its introduction; and if he will estimate how much it would cost to increase it to these levels. - Figs given.

Answer: Sir Andrew Bowden: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the value of the £10 Christmas bonus in 1997-98 if it had been uprated by (a) prices and (b) earnings since its introduction; and if he will estimate how much it would cost to increase it to these levels. [14282] Mr. Heald: The £10 Christmas bonus would be £68.35p in December 1997 if it had been uprated in line with prices since its introduction in 1972. It is estimated that the additional cost would be around £800 million. If the increase had been in line with average earnings, the bonus would be £115.45. The additional cost would be around £1.4 billion. Source: Retail Prices Index (all terms) and the Average Earnings Index (Whole Economy), as published by the Office of National Statistics.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 14282; 290 c73-4W
Session: 1996-97
Subjects: Costs Pensioners Social security benefits Uprating Christmas bonus
Contains statistics: Yes