§ Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the transfer from the non-contributory pension to supplementary benefit at age 17 years for a disabled claimant will be an automatic administrative procedure or if the claimant will have to make a claim for supplementary benefit.
§ Mr. PrenticeA recipient of noncontributory invalidity pension, like any other social security beneficiary, will need to make a claim for supplementary benefit if he wishes to receive it. Many indeed may as now be entitled to supplementary benefit before they reach the age of 17 if, as is quite possible, they have special needs for heating and so on and the leaflet on NCIP will be revised to make this clear. It is, however, intended that non-contributory invalidity pension recipients under 18 who have not already claimed supplementary benefit should after a year have the possibility of a claim drawn to their attention.
§ Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, upon transfer from non-contributory invalidity pension to supplementary benefit at age 17 years, what provisions will be made to ensure that a disabled claimant is made aware of any exceptional circumstances additions to which he or she is entitled.
§ Mr. PrenticeStanding instructions provide that any person being interviewed in connection with his claim for supplementary benefit should be invited to draw attention to any special needs which might give rise to additional provision. Local officers have been reminded particularly about the possible special needs of young non-contributory invalidity pension beneficiaries in this respect. Information about the main kinds of special need provided for is also included in a leaflet issued to each claimant at his first interview.
§ Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of those currently in receipt of invalidity benefit, 542W expressed both numerically and as a percentage of the total, have been so for (a) less than one year, (b) more than two years, (c) more than five years and (d) more than eight years.
§ Mr. PrenticeOn 3 June 1978, the latest date for which statistics are available, a total of 557,209 people were in receipt of invalidity benefit. Of this total, the number in receipt of the benefit for (a) less than one year was 182,741 (32.8 per cent.); (b) more than two years was 284,037 (51.0 per cent.); (c) more than five years was 140,190 (25.2 per cent.).
As invalidity benefit was introduced only in 1971, it is not possible for anyone to have been in receipt of it for more than eight years.
§ Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the new measures announced in respect of disabled 16-year olds' benefit claims will apply only to those who make their first claim after November 1980 or to those who are currently in receipt of non-contributory invalidity pension and who, consequently, will have been in receipt of non-contributory invalidity pension for one year at some time between November 1980 and November 1981.
§ Mr. PrenticeIt is intended that, as from November 1980, a supplementary benefit claimant aged 16 to 17 will be able to count a period on non-contributory invalidity pension, either before or after November 1980, as if it were a period on supplementary benefit, in order to qualify for the long-term rate of benefit which in future will apply to young people aged 17.
§ Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether regulations will make provision for a disabled claimant who claims supplementary benefit instead of non-contributory invalidity pension at the age of 16 years to be informed fully of his or her right to claim non-contributory invalidity pension and the financial consequences or his or her claim for supplementary benefit.
§ Mr. PrenticeStanding instructions already provide that any claimant for supplementary benefit who appears to be entitled to a social security benefit should have his attention drawn to the matter I would expect the possible effect on his 543W supplementary benefit entitlement to be explained at the time, but we intend to see that the particular concession in relation to non-contributory invalidity pension is included in the advice to claimants affected.