HC Deb 23 May 1966 vol 729 cc11-3W
67. Mr. Dean

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many single payments of National Assistance grants were made at the latest convenient date, and at what cost; how many grants were made to meet temporary needs, and at what cost; and how many grants were made for exceptional needs, and at what cost.

Mr. Pentland

During the four weeks ended 26th April, 1966, a total of approximately 250,000 single payments of National Assistance were made costing some £1,047,000. They comprised 180,000 grants to meet immediate need at a cost of about £810,000; 29,000 grants for exceptional needs at a cost of £129,000; and 41,000 grants costing £108,00 to meet charges for spectacles, dentures and dental treatment provided under the National Health Service.

68. Mr. Dean

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many people were in receipt of discretionary additions to National Insurance allowances at the latest convenient date; what was the average amount of the addition; and what was the cost.

Mr. Pentland

At the end of December 1965, 1,157,000 (58 per cent.) of the 1,997,000 people getting National Assistance allowances were in receipt of discretionary additions: the average amount was 10s. per week and the weekly cost approximately £580,000. The average weekly cost over the whole year was however less than 10s., as about 42 per cent. of these additions included provision for extra fuel allowable for the winter months only. The average provision for extra fuel in December 1965 was 5s. 10d. per week.

Mr. Dean

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many people were in receipt of National Assistance allowances at the latest convenient date; how many of these were in supplement of national insurance retirement pensions and other national insurance benefits; what other categories of people were receiving allowances; how many there were in each category; and what was the cost of these allowances.

Mr. Pentland

On 29th March, 1966, there were 2,023,997 people in receipt of National Assistance allowances, 1,503,643 of which were supplementing national insurance benefits, including 1,212,381 retirement pensions. The remaining 520,354 people who had no entitlement to national insurance benefits were receiving National Assistance allowances because of age (176,800, including 49,402 in receipt of Noncontributory Old Age Pension), sickness or disability (138,714), unemployment (75,634), responsibility for dependent children (113,416), and other reasons—mainly the need to stay at home to care for aged or sick relatives (15,790). Some of the allowances provided for the needs of more than one person. The total weekly cost of the allowances was about £4,700,00.

Mr. Dean

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many people in receipt of National Assistance allowances at the latest convenient date were receiving less than the full scale rates owing to capital and income resources.

Mr. Pentland

Of the 1,997,000 people receiving National Assistance in December 1965, 1,530,000 had a National Insurance pension or benefit or noncontributory old-age pension which under the terms of the National Assistance Act was fully set off against their requirements. Many of the remaining 467,000 recipients also had resources wholly or partly taken into account; between them they had 256,000 separate sources of income, such as superannuation payments, family allowances and disability pensions, but as some of them had more than one such source the number of individual recipients with reckonable resources cannot be stated.