§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to ensure that all payments received in lieu of concessionary coal should be disregarded in determining supplementary benefit entitlements; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. OrmeNone. The receipt of concessionary coal itself is entirely disregarded under a traditional discretionary arrangement dating from national assistance days which the Supplementary Benefits Commission does not wish to disturb; but the commission has not thought it right to extend this special concession to payments in cash, which it considers should be treated under the Supplementary Benefit Act in the same way as other regular cash payments, such as pensions, paid to people by their or their late husbands' former employers. £1 a week of the total of such payments is disregarded in establishing entitlement to supplementary benefit.