Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Attendance Allowance on 24th November 1986.
Mr. Kirkwood Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claims for attendance allowance have been disallowed over the past five years because claims were made after the claimants had reached the age of 66 years; and if he will estimate the increased cost for each year if these claims had been allowed.
Mr. Major None. There is no upper age limit for the allowance.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Nursing and Residential Homes on 24th November 1986.
Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give, for each year since 1978, the total social security payments supporting residents of private and voluntary nursing and residential homes, breaking the figures down into the categories (a) elderly, (b) mentally ill, (c) mentally handicapped, (d) physically handicapped and (e) others.
Mr. Major I regret that the information required is not available.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Industrial Disablement Benefit on 24th November 1986.
Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make it his policy to collect information to determine the average length of time for which 100 per cent. industrial disablement benefit is paid.
Mr. Major No. This would not be justified on grounds of cost.
Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, if he will give the number of cases in 1985 in which asbestosis accompanied by lung cancer was diagnosed by each medical board centre following a claim for industrial disablement benefit.
Mr. Major Information is not available in the form requested. In 1985 special medical boards diagnosed eight cases of lung cancer where there was accompanying evidence of asbestosis or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening.
Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the 100 per cent. disablement benefit awards made by special medical boards in 1984 were first awards as opposed to re-assessments; and how many were for asbestos-related diseases.
Mr. Major I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 21st November 1986.
Mr. Stephen Ross Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he anticipates honouring housing benefit claims submitted by district councils in respect of residents in local authority owned homes in the period prior to 28 July.
Mr. Major The Department makes monthly payments on account to local authorities to enable them to award benefit under the housing benefits scheme, but authorities’ entitlement to subsidy is not established until after the end of the financial year when final audited claims haw been received by the Department. Authorities’ final subsidy claims for housing benefit expenditure in 1985-86, including amounts in respect of residents in local authority accommodation, were due to be submitted by 31 October and will be settled in the normal way.
Final claims for expenditure incurred in the current financial year are not due until October 1987. In the meantime payments on account of subsidy are being withheld on certain benefit expenditure which the Department is not satisfied has been paid in accordance with the housing benefit regulations.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Job Training Programme on 20th November 1986.
Mr. Ernie Ross Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if those 20 long-term unemployed claimants who were invited to participate in the new Manpower Services Commission’s funded job training programme during interviews held in Dundee will be eligible for free prescriptions whilst on the scheme.
Mr. Major Participants in the job training scheme receiving housing benefit supplement will be entitled to free prescriptions in in the same way as recipients of supplementary benefit. Other participants will be able to claim refunds on the ground of low income and if they were entitled to receive to refunds before going on the course they will continue to receive them so long as their circumstances remain unchanged.
Mr. Ernie Ross Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if those 20 long-term unemployed claimants who were invited to participate in the new Manpower Services Commission’s funded job training programme during interviews held in Dundee will be eligible for free schools meals for their families whilst on the scheme;
(2) if those 20 long-term unemployed claimants who were invited to participate in the new Manpower Services Commission’s funded job training programme during interviews held in Dundee will still be eligible for additional benefits such as single payments.
Mr. Major Participants in the job training scheme receiving housing benefit supplement will be entitled to free school meals and to single payments in the same way as recipients of supplementary benefit. Other trainees will have no entitlement to single payments under supplementary benefit rules nor is there a statutory obligation on local authorities to provide free school meals on the ground of low income, although most do. However, people on the scheme found to have lost entitlement to either of these benefits will be compensated by additions to the training allowance.
Mr. Ernie Ross Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if those 20 long-term unemployed claimants who were invited to participate in the new Manpower Services Commission’s funded job training programme during interviews held in Dundee will still he eligible for diet additions whilst on the scheme;
(2) if those 20 long-term unemployed claimants who were invited to participate in the new Manpower Services Commission’s funded job training programme during interviews held in Dundee will still be eligible for heating allowances whilst on the scheme;
(3) if he will make a statement setting out the benefit entitlement position of those accepting places on the new Manpower Services Commission’s funded job training programme begun in selected areas.
Mr. Major Instead of receiving benefit, a participant in the new job training scheme will receive a training allowance which will be equal to the total amount of unemployment and/or supplementary benefit in payment immediately before the course started. This will include any dietary and heating additions paid as part of the supplementary benefit. The training allowance will be increased during the course if the person’s benefit would have been increased on a change of circumstances, but it will not be decreased if there is a change of circumstances that would have reduced or eliminated the benefit had he remained unemployed.
Mr. Ernie Ross Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if those 20 long-term unemployed claimants who were invited to participate in the new Manpower Services Commission’s funded job training programme during interviews held in Dundee will still be eligible for certificated housing benefit whilst on the scheme.
Mr. Major Participants in the job training scheme will not be entitled to supplementary benefit and certificated housing benefit ceases automatically when supplementary benefit stops. However, the trainees will be entitled to standard housing benefit, topped up where appropriate by housing benefit supplement, so that they will be no worse off while on the scheme.
Mr. Ernie Ross Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if those 20 long-term unemployed claimants who were invited to participate in the new Manpower Services Commission’s funded job training programme during interviews held in Dundee who work on fuel direct schemes will still be assisted.
Mr. Major As participants in the job training scheme will receive a training allowance instead of supplementary benefit, payments under the fuel direct schemes will no longer be possible. The training allowance will include any fuel costs previously deducted from supplementary benefit and the trainees will assume full responsibility for paying their own fuel bills, as would be the case if supplementary benefit had stopped for any other reason.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Invalid Care Allowance on 20th November 1986.
Mr. Gale Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claims are at present awaiting processing by the invalid care allowance unit; and what steps are being taken to expedite those claims.
Mr. Major At 14 November 1986, the latest date for which figures are available, 76,000 claims were outstanding, of which 66,000 were from married women who were made eligible for ICA in July by the Social Security Act 1986. The Department has set up a new unit at Preston and engaged an extra 320 staff to deal with the claims. Every effort is being made to clear the current backlog of claims as quickly as possible. We expect the majority of these to be cleared by early in the new year.
Mr. Freud Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list information available to him on the European Economic Community countries in which widows are eligible to claim invalid care allowance in respect of members of their family.
Mr. Major The United Kingdom is the only European Community country which provides an invalid care allowance, as distinct from attendance allowance paid to the invalid person. Widows are eligible to claim invalid care allowance in the United Kingdom, although receipt of the allowance may reduce other social security benefits in payment, including widows’ benefits.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Residential Care Homes on 20th November 1986.
Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the annual aggregate figure for the amount of benefit being paid to those in residential care homes; and how many people are living in homes run by: (a) private organisations, (b) voluntary organisations and (c) local authorities.
Mr. Major I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Severe Weather Payments on 20th November 1986.
Sir Hector Monro Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he intends to lay regulations relating to exceptionally severe weather payments.
Mr. Major We have today laid before Parliament the Supplementary Benefit (Single Payments) Amendment Regulations 1986 which provide for a new system of exceptionally cold weather payments to take effect from 11 December 1986. These payments are in addition to the help given for heating through the main supplementary benefit scale rates and the weekly heating addition – payable automatically to supplementary benefit householders over the age of 65 – which amounted to some £400 million in 1984-85.
The new regulations follow consultation with the Social Security Advisory Committee on proposals submitted to it in August. The committee’s report on the proposals together with the Secretary of State’s response has also been laid before Parliament today.
The committee support the main elements of the proposals as a significant improvement on the previous schemes for exceptionally severe weather payments in terms of simplicity, comprehensibility and certainly of payment.
The regulations provide for a single payment of £5 for each week of exceptionally cold weather. A week will be declared exceptionally cold when the average temperature recorded over a seven-day period Monday to Sunday is minus 1.5C or less. Decisions will be taken on the basis of data collected by the Meteorological Office in respect of 63 weather stations in Great Britain to which local office areas will be linked.
Supplementary benefit householders will be eligible for help where there is a member of the family who is aged 65 or over, chronically sick or disabled, or under age two. As with other single payments, claimants will not be eligible for help if they have savings over £500.
In the light of particular concerns expressed by the committee, the time limit for claiming has been extended to 13 weeks and the regulations make clear that one claim will normally be valid for continuous periods of exceptionally cold weather.
The Government are grateful to the committee for its consideration of the proposals and welcome its general endorsement.
The regulations also include a minor technical amendment confirming that single payments for rent in advance are not available for people taking up board and lodging. The social security advisory committee agreed not to have this matter referred to it.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Consultants (Fees) on 19th November 1986.
Mr. Dobson Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what will be the spending of his Department on fees to outside consultants in the current year; and what it was in 1979-80 and each intervening year.
Mr. Major The expenditure by the Department in 1984-85, 1985-86 and the estimated expenditure for 1986-87 is as follows:
Year | £ Million
1984-85 | 7,600
1985-86 | 13,646
1986-87 | 17,000
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Hepatitis B on 19th November 1986.
Mr. McCrindle Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he plans to include hepatitis B as a designated industrial disease.
Mr. Major Viral hepatitis, including hepatitis B, has been prescribed as an industrial disease (prescribed disease B8) under the provisions of Section 76 of the Social Security Act 1975 since 2 February 1976. From 3 December 1984 the terms of prescription were widened to cover all employed earners in occupations involving contact with human blood or human blood products, or with a source of viral hepatitis.