HC Deb 04 March 1980 vol 980 c137W
Mr. Michael McGuire

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in the Official Report the financial assistance made available by his Department to enable prisoners' wives living in England who are in receipt of supplementary benefits to visit their husbands in prison (a) in England and Wales, (b) in Scotland and (c) in Northern Ireland.

Mrs. Chalker

[pursuant to her reply, 25 February 1980, c. 468]: On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Supplementary Benefits Commission pays the cost of fares and, if necessary, overnight accommodation for visits, normally at four-weekly intervals, where the husband is in prison in Great Britain and the relative making the visit satisfies the appropriate financial conditions. This arrangement does not apply where the husband is in prison in Northern Ireland.