§ Mr. Reidasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many Scottish retirement pensioners are in receipt of supplementary benefit; what is the total annual cost of such payments; and what estimate the Department has made of the total number who are theoretically entitled to such benefit.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownAs at 6th November last, about 200,000—including wives entitled to retirement pensions on their husband's insurance and national insurance widow beneficiaries over pension age—at an annual cost of £21 million. No estimate is available of the number of Scottish retirement pensioners who at that time had an unclaimed entitlement to supplementary benefit.