Social Welfare Bill, 1988

Public bill · Government · Presented

The Social Welfare Bill, 1988 would increase most weekly welfare payments, with larger rises for unemployment assistance and adjustments to child-related payments; the tables on pages 2–4 show examples such as long-term urban unemployment assistance rising from £37.80 to £42 a week. It would extend social insurance to many self-employed people, requiring contributions but giving access mainly to contributory retirement, widow’s and orphan’s pensions. It would also create a pre-retirement payment for older people unemployed for at least 15 months, improve pension access for some people with gaps in their records, protect trainees against workplace injuries and increase penalties for welfare offences. Overall, it would raise support for many recipients while bringing more self-employed people into the pension system.

Last updated 11 June 2020