§ Mr. Frank Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services on what date he issued a circular to local offices safeguarding the rights of claimants to the long-term rate of supplementary benefit on moving from Northern Ireland to the mainland.
§ Mr. LyellCircular S22/86, a copy of which is in the Library, was distributed to local offices on 17 September 1986.
§ Ms. Harmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list for each social services authority area the number of people in receipt of benefit under the Supplementary Benefit (Requirments) Regulations 1983, regulation 9 in residential care for the elderly.
§ Mr. LyellInformation on the numbers of people in receipt of supplementary benefit is not available by social services authority areas. Information on the number of claimants, in residential care homes for the elderly during the period April to July 1985, drawn from special returns by local offices, is available according to social security region in a Department of Health and Social Security document "Supplementary Benefit Board and Lodging Allowances, Results of a Special Statistical Exercise (29 April—29 July 1985)", a copy of which is in the Library.
§ Mr. McTaggartasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the number of people in (a) Glasgow 179W and (b) Glasgow Central currently awaiting an appeal to a supplementary benefits tribunal; and what was the corresponding figure two years previously;
(2) what is the current waiting time for the result of an adjudication from a supplementary benefits tribunal in (a) Glasgow and (b) Glasgow Central.
§ Dr. Godmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the number of people in (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow and (b) Strathclyde currently awaiting an appeal to a supplementary benefits tribunal; and what was the corresponding figure two years previously;
(2) what is the current waiting time for the result of an adjudication from a supplementary benefits tribunal to (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow, (b) Strathclyde region and (c) Scotland as a whole.
§ Mr. LyellI refer the hon. Members to the replies which I gave to the hon. Member for Dundee, West (Mr. Ross) on 23 October at column981.
§ Dr. Godmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people in Greenock and Port Glasgow are currently in receipt of supplementary benefit; and how many are pensioners, heads of one-parent families or unemployed.
§ Mr. LyellInformation is not available in precisely the form requested. The numbers of people receiving supplementary benefit from the Department's offices in Greenock and Port Glasgow on 13 August 1986, the latest available figures, were as follows:
Number Unemployed 7,116 Over pension age 4,898 Others (including one-parent families) 4,925 Total 16,939 Source: 100 per cent of cases in action.