§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will meet Shelter, the Campaign for the Single Homeless, the Child Poverty Action Group, the Disability Alliance and the Central London Social Security Advisers' Forum about his plan for new regulations governing allocation of social security payments for board and lodging to claimants under the age of 18 years.
§ Mr. NewtonI have already agreed to a request from these bodies for a discussion with me.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consultations he proposed to have with the National Association of Probation Officers about his proposals to reduce ceilings on board and lodging charges, to refuse benefit payments to 16 and 17-year-olds except in exceptional circumstances and to reduce the allowances of claimants who move to live out of their normal area after two to four weeks.
§ Mr. WhitneyWe have received a copy of representations made to the Social Security Advisory Committee by the National Association of Probation Officers. These will be taken into account, along with all the other representations received, when we are considering the comments of the Social Security Advisory Committee on our proposals.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what investigations he intends to conduct into rents charged by private landlords in relation to the level of earnings of claimants of board and lodgings payments;
(2) what assessments he intends to make in respect of availability of boarding accommodation to claimants of board and lodgings payments within his Department's individual office areas.
§ Mr. WhitneyMore information about the operation of the market in board and lodging accommodation would, in our opinion, be valuable, and both this Department and the Department of the Environment are seeking ways of improving the information available.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what studies he made of the effects which his proposals to limit the timespan to two to four weeks prior to the reduction of benefit to claimants could have on lodging schemes administered by the probation service for the placement of ex-offenders.
§ Mr. WhitneyI assume the hon. Member is referring to our proposals to reform the arrangements for making board and lodging payments under the supplementary benefit scheme. The effects of our proposals on particular groups of claimants are among the matters we shall be considering in framing our response to the report of the Social Security Advisory Committee.
§ Mr. Andersonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the individuals and organisations who have submitted evidence to the Social Security Advisory Committee in response to its inquiry into the proposed changes in board and lodging regulations for supplementary benefit claimants.
§ Mr. WhitneyI understand that a list of the individuals and organisations who have submitted evidence to the Social Security Advisory Committee on this subject will 71W be published as an appendix to their report to my right hon. Friend on the proposed changes. The report will be laid before the house when draft regulations are laid. In the meantime, I have placed a list of those submitting evidence in the Library.