§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will now introduce a special supplement for lone parents and their children who are in receipt of supplementary benefit, as recommended in the Finer Report.
§ Mrs. CastleNo. The report itself recognised that the need for extra expenses varies among one-parent families. The Government consider that since it has not been shown that all one-parent families have measurably greater needs than other families receiving supplementary benefit their special individual needs should continue to be met through the discretionary powers of the Supplementary Benefits Commission.