§ Mr. Higginsasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many people she estimates will be in receipt of National Assistance following the approval of the National Assistance (Determination of Need) Amendment Regulations 1964; and what the number is at present.
§ Mr. PentlandThe proposed increases in the National Assistance scale rates are bound to make some people eligible for National Assistance who have not been eligible hitherto. But there are so many factors affecting changes in the numbers of persons receiving assistance over any given period that it is not possible to predict a figure. At the latest available date, October 1964, 1,933,760 persons were in receipt of regular weekly allowances of National Assistance.