HC Deb 16 February 1939 vol 343 cc1894-7
42. Sir William Jenkins

asked the Minister of Health whether he will reimburse the Glamorgan County Council the amount paid to old age pensioners as public assistance over and above their pensions of 10s. per week, and accept it as a State liability for the years 1936, 1937, and 1938?

Mr. Elliot

No, Sir. The Government are not prepared to adopt this suggestion.

46. Miss Wilkinson

asked the Minister of Health the number of old age pensioners in the Jarrow, Hebburn, and Felling areas, respectively, who are in receipt of Poor Law relief?

48. Mr. Cecil Wilson

asked the Minister of Health the number of old age pensioners in Sheffield; and how many of them are in receipt of help from the public assistance committee?

49. Mr. Jenkins

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the County Councils Association recently obtained without difficulty from the local authorities information relating to the number of cases and expenditure in supplementing old age pensions; and, under these circumstances, will he review the recent decision, and undertake to supply the House with a tabulated statement giving up-to-date information on that subject?

50. Mr. W. Joseph Stewart

asked the Minister of Health the number of old age pensioners in the administrative county of Durham and the county boroughs of West Hartlepool, Stockton, Gateshead, South Shields, and Sunderland, who were in receipt of Poor Law relief for the year 1938; and the amount provided out of the rates for such purposes?

56. Mr. Price

asked the Minister of Health the number of old age pensioners in the Forest of Dean who are receiving help from the public assistance committees in order to supplement their pensions?

60. Mr. Tinker

asked the Minister of Health the name of the local authority where they are paying the highest proportional amount of money to supplement the old age pensions; the name of the lowest; and state the amount per £ on the rates in each case?

66. Mr. Mander

asked the Minister of Health the number of old age pensioners in the county of Stafford, including Wednesfield and Willenhall, who are in receipt of help from public assistance committees in order to supplement their pensions and the relation this bears to the total number of old age pensioners in the area?

Mr. Elliot

I am anxious to meet the evident desires of many hon. Members in this matter, and to provide a general return accordingly. The necessary information will, I am advised, take several weeks to collect. I propose accordingly to ask public assistance authorities to furnish a return showing, for a week in the near future, the numbers of old age pensioners in receipt of out-door relief and the cost of that relief. When these particulars are received, I shall be prepared to circulate them in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Miss Wilkinson

While thanking the Minister for getting this information, which we have been trying to get for some time past, may I ask him whether he will use the intervening period to persuade his colleagues to do something for these old age pensioners, in order to obviate the necessity for their receiving public assistance relief?

Mr. Elliot

That is not a matter for me alone, I am afraid.

Mr. J. Griffiths

Will the Minister consider collecting information as to the number of persons whose compensation payments are supplemented by public assistance?

Mr. Mander

Does the right hon. Gentleman intend to include in the information which he will give the relation which those in receipt of public assistance bear to the total number of old age pensioners in the area referred to in question 66?

Mr. Elliot

The first thing is to obtain the total number of old age pensioners in receipt of relief. I can get the number in receipt of relief, because that is compiled on a geographical basis by the local authorities, but the total number of old age pensioners is, of course, compiled on a different basis.

Mr. H. Morrison

Will the right hon. Gentleman be good enough to secure two separate figures, one in respect of old age pensioners in receipt of institutional relief and the other in respect of old age pensioners in receipt of outdoor relief?

Mr. Elliot

I will look into that, but at first sight it seems rather difficult.

Mr. Thorne

Will the right hon. Gentleman look into this so that he will have all the returns before Budget day?

Mr. Elliot

I am not, of course, in the confidence of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer as to the day on which he intends to introduce the Budget.

Mr. Gallacher

Will the Minister recommend the appointment of a Select Committee of this House to go into this whole question?

Mr. Lipson

Will the figures include the total amount paid out in the country for old age pensioners?

Mr. Elliot

Yes, it will sum up the number and the amount.

Mr. Gallacher

Cannot I have an answer to my question?