§ 86. Mr. Swinglerasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance to how many applicants for National Assistance in Newcastle-under-Lyme the National Assistance Board is at present paying less than the full amount of rent; what is considered to be the average rent in the locality; and what changes in assessment in this respect have recently been made.
r. MacphersonI regret that the figures asked for are not available. Information about the rents paid by122W recipients of National Assistance allowances is obtained from a sample inquiry on a national basis, and details for the country as a whole, which are given in the Annual Report of the National Assistance Board for 1961, show that at the end of that year the rent was being allowed in full in nearly 99 per cent. of cases. There has been no recent change of practice and none is proposed.