§ Mr. David Steelasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many tenants in Scotland have had their rent paid direct by his Department; how many have been on supervised payment of rent; and how many applications for direct or supervised payment were refused during the last three years for which figures are available.
§ Mr. DeanIf the hon. Member is referring to recipients of supplementary benefit, I regret that the information is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. David Steelasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what criteria his Department uses for refusing direct or supervised payment of rent.
§ Mr. DeanThe Supplementary Benefits Commission has explained its criteria for deciding when these procedures are appropriate in paragraph 53 of the Supplementary Benefits Handbook which is available in the Library of the House. The procedures are not adopted unless they are considered to be in the claimant's best interests.