Earl of Dalkeithasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many cases of hardship among elderly persons in Scotland have been reported to him arising from the failure of the individual concerned to take advantage of financial and other facilities provided by community and voluntary organisations; and whether he will make a statement;
(2) whether he is satisfied that his Department provides old age pensioners' associations in Scotland with sufficiently comprehensive and up-to-date information on the availability of facilities provided by the community and voluntary organisations for the relief of hardship to enable them to give their members the best possible advice on the avoidance of hardship; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Gordon CampbellIndividual cases would not normally be reported to me but to the local authority, one of whose functions is to give advice on the facilities available. I am aware that some elderly people do not take advantake of the assistance available and a wide distribution has been given to various booklets published by the D.H.S.S. and the Scottish Council of Social Service.
Some local authorities are considering the preparation of pamphlets containing information about the various agencies available in the area to help the elderly, and I commend this development.