§ 77. Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has received a report from Derbyshire County Council on the numbers of children deprived of necessitous school clothing grants; and in how many oases his Department has made grants in lieu by way of supplementary benefit.
§ Mr. Dean:No such report has been received from Derbyshire County Council. These grants are entirely at the discretion of the local education authorities, which are not required to report on the use they make of their discretionary 99W powers. As to the second part of the question, the Supplementary Benefits Commission co-operates closely with the council to ensure that no child goes short of essential clothing. I regret, however, that no information is available on the number of cases in which the commission has made payments for this particular purpose.