Warley

HC Deb 17 October 1973 vol 861 cc247-8W

Mr. Faulds

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is satisfied that, in the Warley area, there is no undue delay in the payment of increased social security benefits which take account of increased rate assessments.

Mr. Dean

The general method employed in revising benefit to take account of increased rate assessments is to make the revision when a renewal order book is issued. This is essential in order to spread the administrative load but it involves some delay in the payment of benefit increases. Arrears are paid when the renewal book is issued. In order to avoid hardship, however, beneficiaries are told of the procedure when they claim the increase and are invited to ask for immediate payment if this is preferred.

Mr. Faulds

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of persons living in Warley is eligible to have free National Health Service prescriptions.

Mr. Alison

Reliable estimates for particular localities are not readily available; for the population of England as a whole the percentage is about 43.

Mr. Faulds

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many retirement pensioners were in receipt of supplementary benefit on 1st June 1973 in the Warley area; and how this compares with June 1972.

Mr. Dean

I regret that information is not available precisely in the form requested. The number of supplementary pensions paid to retirement pensioners and to widows aged 60 or over by the two local offices which serve Warley—as well as some adjacent areas—was as follows:

	16thMay 1972	15th May 1973
Smethwick	5,160	5,075
Dudley	6,700	10,992

The large increase in the number of pensioners paid from Dudley was caused by an enlargement of the area served by that office.

Mr. Faulds

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why he is unable to provide the figures of butter tokens taken up in Warley since the inception of the scheme.

Mr. Dean

Figures of butter tokens take-up are available only on a national basis since they are derived from the numbers of tokens submitted for redemption by retailers to the central unit at Blackpool and retailers' catchment areas cannot be identified.