asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will supply further details regarding the double payment for social welfare recipients this Christmas; and in what way, if any, the double payment arrangements this year differ from those of 1983.
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Double Payment.
627.
As announced on 25 October last a double payment is being made for Christmas to recipients of the following social welfare payments:— old age, retirement, blind and invalidity pensions, occupational injury benefit and payments for widows and orphans, deserted wives, unmarried mothers, single women and prisoners' wives.
The double payment will also be made to recipients of the following health allowances:—disabled persons' maintenance allowance, infectious diseases maintenance allowance, blind welfare allowance and domiciliary care allowance for handicapped children. These are the same categories who benefited from the Christmas double payment in the last four years 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983. In all, some 414,000 persons will benefit from the extra payment at a cost to the Exchequer of some £20 million.
The double payment is being made at post offices this week. Old age, blind and widows' and orphans' pensions will be paid on Friday 7 December, the other categories on Thursday 6 December. The amount of the extra payment will be equal to the face value of the weekly pension or allowance order and will include all increases in respect of adult and child dependants and any supplements such as the living alone allowance which form part of the regular weekly payment. For example, an old age contributory pensioner with an adult dependant will receive an extra £78.05. Certain long term recipients of occupational injury benefit by way of pension are being paid by cheque monthly in advance and these are being issued with cheques at the equivalent of five weeks payment instead of four. Persons receiving health allowance payments will be paid the extra amounts by the health boards.