§ Mr. Soleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will provide the following statistics concerning payments for urgent need made under the provision of the Supplementary Benefits Act 1976 section 4 in each of the years 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979 (a) the total cost to the Supplementary Benefits Commission of payments for urgent need, (b) the total number of payments for urgent need, (c) the total cost of payments for urgent need made by the supplementary benefit offices at Thames North, Thames South and Glasgow Cranstonhill, (d) the total number of payments for urgent need made by the supplementary benefit offices at Thames North, Thames South and Glasgow Cranstonhill, (e) the total number and average amount of payments for urgent need given to claimants before a full entitlement was decided, (f) the total amount of money recovered from claimants who had been awarded a payment for urgent need, and (g) the total amount of money recovered from claimants who had been awarded a payment for urgent need by the supplementary benefit offices at Thames North, Thames South and Glasgow Cranstonhill.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI regret that statistics of payments under section 4 of the Supplementary Benefits Act 1976 are not separately kept, either for the country as a whole or for the three offices mentioned. The only information available relates to (f)—total amount of section 4 payments recovered from claimants—and is as follows—
Financial year £ 1973–74 44,000 1974–75 52,000 1975–76 56,000 1976–77 64,000 1977–78 60,000 1978–79 61,000