Allowance recipients and costs
Wyse requested recipient numbers for deserted wives’ and prisoners’ wives’ allowances from 1984 to 1986 and their costs; Woods gave costs to date and said the remaining figures would be circulated.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of women in receipt of deserted wife's allowance and prisoner's wife's allowance for the years 1984 to 1986 inclusive; and the cost of both services to date.
Comment on this
Deserted wife's allowance was introduced in October 1970 and the cost to date is about £81 million. Prisoner's wife's allowance was introduced in July 1974 and the cost to date is about £6.8 million. In relation to the remaining information sought by the Deputy the relevant details are set out in the form of a tabular statement which I propose to circulate in the Official Report. The following is the tabular statement: