§ Mr. Kenneth Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what new instructions have been given to the Supplementary Benefit Commission to justify the meeting by it of more rents in full as outlined in their "Notes and News" of October 1975; and what are the effects and costs arising out of this.
§ Mr. O'MalleyThe amount to be added for rent in the calculation of supplementary benefit is a matter for the commission's discretion. Some one-parent families and claimants with mortgages are expected to benefit under the revised arrangements, but, as 99.5 per cent. of all rents were already being met in full, the overall effect can be only marginal. The additional cost, if any, cannot be reliably estimated: where the claimant is advised to apply to have a fair rent registered there may be some reduction of expenditure.