§ 8. Mr. HainTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to alter the regulations covering entitlement to benefits of students and their parents.
§ Mr. BurtNo. We believe that students should look to the education system, not the social security system, for their maintenance.
§ Mr. HainMay I remind the Minister of the case of Miss Kerry Rees of Neath, whose parents are on invalidity benefit and lost more than £33 in child benefit and income support when she turned 19 a few weeks ago? Is the Minister proud of the fact that Kerry has had to abandon her two-year course at Neath college, just three months before she was due to complete it, and sign on the dole because her parents could not afford to maintain her? It is 718 disgraceful. It is no good passing the buck to the education authority and saying that it should pay a discretionary award, because the Government have cut West Glamorgan education authority's budget by more than £6 million. Surely the Government should abandon such oppressive regulations and allow many thousands of lower-income students like Kerry to claim benefit and continue in higher and further education.
§ Mr. BurtI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving me notice of this particular case, on which we have corresponded. When I wrote to him I mentioned that two possible sources of funds might have helped his constituent, one being the local authority, which has no limit placed on the discretionary amount that it can spend on a particular award and which could have covered this case from the resources it might have. Secondly, the hon. Gentleman's constituent could have had access to further education access fund, which are specifically available to help those who might in other circumstances have their access to education removed.