Ministry of National Insurance and successors: Newcastle Central Office, Family Allowance...

PIN 36

1945-1977

This series contains files of the Newcastle Central Office of the Ministry of National Insurance, the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance, the Ministry of Social Security and the Department of Health and Social Security relating to policy and the administration of the Family Allowance Act 1945 and the various regulations made under that act.

FY file series

Public Record(s)

English

112 file(s)

Subject to 30 year closure unless otherwise stated

Topics

Pay and pensions

Series is not accruing.

The family allowance scheme came into operation in 1946 following the passing of the Family Allowance Act in 1945. The Act provided for payment of an allowance for families of two or more children for the benefit of the family as a whole. Family allowances were usually paid by means of a book of weekly orders which were cashed at a post office chosen by the payee. The allowance was non-contributory and non-means tested, the cost was met entirely from taxation: in law it belonged to the wife in a two parent household but the orders were encashable by either husband or wife.

Family allowances were payable from birth until the minimum school leaving age. In addition the allowance was payable whilst the child was in full time education or was an apprentice, initially until July following the child's fifteenth birthday: from 1 August 1956 to any date up to the eighteenth birthday and from 30 March 1964 to any date up to the nineteenth birthday.

Parents were entitled to the allowance for their child as long as the child was living with them or they were contributing at least the minimum weekly rate the allowance in cash or kind towards the cost of providing for the child elsewhere. A child who was not their own could also be counted in their family provided the natural parent did not contribute at least the equivalent of the family allowance rate towards the maintenance of the child.

A child who had been removed from the control of the parents or over whom a local authority had assumed parental rights was, in certain circumstances excluded from any family for allowances purposes. A child in the care of a local authority in other circumstances could continue to be included in a family provided maintenance payments at a rate equivalent to the family allowance rate were being made to the local authority.

In April 1977 the family allowance scheme was replaced by the provisions of the Child Benefit Act.