§ 24. Mr. Marksasked the Minister of Social Security if she will include the cost of window cleaning as an allowance when her officers are assessing supplementary benefits for infirm people.
§ Mr. LoughlinThe basic supplementary benefit rates are intended to cover, among other things, small household expenses such as the cost of window cleaning.
§ Mr. MarksIs my hon. Friend aware that in certain cases people are capable of carrying out their normal household duties but are not, particularly in old 1212 houses with high windows and modern flats, able to clean their windows and that this means additional expense? Will he ask his officers to use their discretion in these cases?
§ Mr. LoughlinI appreciate the difficulty caused by certain types of window, and perhaps the same difficulty arises with windows which open outwards. In the last review of the Supplementary Benefits Commission an attempt was made to get away from the constant examination of minor types of expenditure, some of them of less than 1s. a week. That was the reason why the position was recast; and the supplementary benefits rates take into account these additional small items.