§ Mr. Geoffrey Lloydasked the Minister of Social Security whether, in view of the fear that when a person is receiving a supplementary pension this might be so reduced as to offset any benefit under the option mortgage scheme, she will issue an assurance, covering this point, as an addition to the explanatory booklet.
§ Mr. PentlandIn assessing the requirements of a claiment for Supplementary Benefit the Supplementary Benefits Commission can only take account of mortgage interest which is actually being paid. If, therefore, the mortgage interest payable by a claimant is reduced, because he has chosen an option mortgage, his Supplementary Benefit normally must necessarily be correspondingly adjusted. Were this not done there would be double provision from public funds for part of the mortgage interest. Arrangements are being made with the Minister of Housing and Local Government for a paragraph about the position of borrowers receiving Supplementary Benefit who choose an option mortgage to be included in the next version of the booklet dealing with the Option Mortgage Scheme.