§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply of 22 November, Official Report, columns 335–36, if he will list the additional requirements for which a boarder can qualify as prescribed in schedule 4 to the Supplementary Benefit (Requirements) Regulations 1983 (S.I., 1983, No. 1399); and if he will state (a) the top limit that can be claimed for laundry and (b) the average weekly laundry payment where such a payment is made.
§ Mr. NewtonSubject to there being a need for the item and provision for it not being made in the boarding charge, a boarder can, in appropriate circumstances, qualify for the following additional requirements
(a) extra heating; (b) old age addition; (c) attendance needs; (d) extra baths needed on medical grounds; (e) blindness; (f) boarding out fees for a child prior to adoption; (g) special diet due to illness; (h) fares to visit certain close relatives or friends in hospital; (i) laundry expenses; (j) special wear and tear on clothing; (k) extra cost of special clothing or footwear; and (l) storage of furniture.The limit for a laundry addition is the amount by which the estimated average cost exceeds £0.55 a week. The latest figure available on the average laundry addition is £1.56 a week which relates to all claimants in receipt of such an addition and not just those in board and lodging.
§ Mr. Cohenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the number of supplementary benefit claimants in Leyton and Leytonstone in each of the past six years.
§ Mr. MajorThe London postal districts of Leyton and Leytonstone are covered by the Department's office at Leytonstone, although the boundaries are not conterminous. The number of people receiving supplementary benefit from that office on 30 July 1985—the latest available figures—and on comparable dates in the past five years were:
70W
Number 1980 6,444 1981 7,529 1982 8,252 1983 8,980 1984 9,629 1985 10,340 Source: 100 per cent. count of cases in action.