§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what flexibility officers of his Department have when considering applications for supplementary benefit, to have regard to the actual return received by the applicant on capital he may possess, as opposed to the notional return normally used for these purposes, particularly where the captal in question is tied up and cannot be used directly, or reinvested at a more advantageous rate of interest.
§ Mr. OrmeThe Supplementary Benefits Commission is required to have regard to capital on the basis of notional income as laid down in paragraph 20 of56W Schedule 1 to the Supplementary Benefits Act 1976, and not on the basis of the actual income it produces. In an exceptional case where the whole of a claimant's capital is temporarily inaccessible to him the Commission can use its discretion to make such payments of benefit as are necessary to avoid hardship.