§ Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will list all the means-tested benefits. subsidies, rebates and allowances and all the national insurance benefits which will he available to taxpayers above the tax threshold for income tax announced in the last Budget.
§ Mr. Orme,pursuant to his reply [Official Report 5th July 1976; Vol. 914, c. 431], circulated the following information:
The means-tested benefits, rebates and allowances which are available at the moment to tax payers above the tax threshold for income tax are listed below. There are no means-tested subsidies. All national insurance benefits are available to tax payers above the tax threshold.
1. Supplementary benefit.
2. Family income supplement.
3. Free milk and vitamins.
Help with National Health Service charges for:
4. Dental treatment, denture and glasses,
5. Prescriptions,
6. Wigs and fabric supports.
7. Patients' hospital travelling expenses.
8. Legal aid (civil).
9. Legal advice and assistance.
10. Legal aid (criminal).
162W11. Grants to severly disabled people—to assist with excessive cost of fares to work or to set up in business on own account when this appears to provide the only satisfactory means of resettlement.
12. Professional training scheme for disabled people.
13. Awards for students taking certain postgraduate courses.
14. Rent rebates and allowances.
15. Rate rebates.
16. Free school meals.
17. Awards for students on first degree or comparable courses, on teacher training courses and courses leading to the Diploma of Higher Education or Higher National Diploma.
18. Awards for students at long-term residential adult colleges.
19. Remission of direct grant school tuition fees.
20. Accommodation under Part III of the National Assistance Act 1948.
The list above includes several benefits based on statutory assessments administered by local authorities. The local authorities have litle or no discretion to amend the assessment scales. In addition, these authorities administer a number of other means-tested benefits, but both the extent of assistance given and the income scale used in determining entitlement are at the discretion of these authorities; variations in these factors make it impossible to say to what extent these benefits are available to people above the tax threshold.