§ 11. Mr. Lewisasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he will give the figure of the extra number of National Assistance grants which have been made to residents in the County Borough of West Ham, since the Rent Act, 1957, to cover rent Increases under this Act and the total financial costs for these increases since the introduction of the Rent Act, 1957.
§ Miss PittI am informed by the National Assistance Board that up to 1st February, 2,443 weekly assistance grants had been increased to provide for rent increases under the Rent Act in the county borough of West Ham. The increases averaged 5s. 2½d. a week. For reasons previously given it is not possible for the board to calculate the total additional expenditure on this account.
14. Mrs. Slaterasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance the number of people in Stoke-on-Trent Who are in receipt of increased National Assistance benefit to meet increases in rents under the Rent Act, 1957.
§ Miss PittI am informed by the National Assistance Board that up to 1st February in the area served by the board's offices in Stoke-on-Trent, which includes nearly all the city but also some districts outside it, 1,546 weekly assistance grants had been increased to provide for rent increases under the Rent Act.
§ 17 and 18. Mr. D. Jonesasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance (1) in how many cases in the Hartlepools area of the National Assistance Board it has been necessary to increase the supplement paid to recipients of National Assistance to provide for increases in rent since 1st October, 1957;
(2) the additional cost to the National Assistance Board of the additional supplementary allowances, consequent on increased rent imposed under the provisions of the Rent Act, 1957, in the Hartlepools area of the National Assistance Board.
104W
§ Miss PittI am informed by the National Assistance Board that up to 1st February 900 weekly assistance grants had been increased to provide for rent increases under the Rent Act in the area served by the board's office at West Hartlepool. The increases in the grants averaged 6s. 3d. For reasons previously given it is not possible for the board to calculate the total additional expenditure on this account.
§ 24. Mr. Lewisasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many of the 260,000 persons who have had an increase in their National Assistance grant to cover the increase in their rent are old-age pensioners.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI regret that this information is not available. The National Assistance Board informs me that it has not been practicable to identify different kinds of recipients of assistance in the special records that have been kept.
§ 27. Mr. Owenasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many persons receiving National Assistance covered by the local offices in Morpeth and Ashington, in the County of Northumberland, have been given an increase as a result of the operation of the Rent Act, 1957; and what is the total additional charge on public funds.
§ Miss PittI am informed by the National Assistance Board that there is no office in Morpeth, and that the office at Ashington serves these two towns and a considerable area besides. In that area 209 weekly assistance grants had been increased up to 1st February, by an average of 4s. 8d., to provide for rent increases under the Rent Act. For reasons which my right hon. Friend has given several times previously it is not possible for the board to calculate the total additional expenditure on this account.