§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what advice he has issued to local authorities concerning the effects of paragraph 28 of part III of schedule 1 to the Supplementary Benefits Act 1976 on the assessment of means of people in residential care; if he is satisfied that young disabled people are not prevented from spending any capital they have on facilities they need to maintain their integration into the community; and if he will make a statement.
446W
§ Sir George YoungA memorandum of guidance was published by the Department and the Welsh Office in 1978 on charging and assessment procedures in residential homes under part III of the National Assistance Act 1948. It advised local authorities that if a resident intentionally deprived himself of assets in order to secure accommodation, or pay less for it than he would otherwise have been assessed to pay, or both, those assets could be taken into account when calculating his contribution towards the cost of that accommodation.
I am not aware that young disabled people have been prevented from spending their capital on facilities necessary for them to lead independent lives in the community, but if the right hon. Gentleman has evidence to the contrary, I would be interested to have details.