HC Deb 09 February 1970 vol 795 cc906-7
40. Mr. Silvester

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will instigate a survey into the number of old people living below supplementary benefit standards.

Mr. Ennals

Work is in progress to establish whether this information can be obtained from special analyses of data collected each year in the Family Expenditure Survey.

Mr. Silvester

Does not the hon. Gentleman agree that whatever the number is it would have been considerably reduced if the Government had not resisted the Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Paddington. South (Mr. Scott)?

Mr. Ennals

There has been a great deal of misrepresentation and hypocrisy on this matter. It has been suggested by hon. Members opposite—and I saw it suggested in a leader in the Sunday Express yesterday—that many of these people have no income at all, the implication being that the Government are not prepared to provide pensions. My information is that about 70,000 of those people are now receiving supplementary pensions, and any of them who are in need are entitled to apply. The question is whether we should now decide to give pensions to those who are not in need, or whether we should be selective and give help to people according to their need.