§ Dr. McDonaldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list in the Official Report all the local authorities which have introduced charges for the home help service, giving in each case the cost per week to the client;
(2) if he will give an estimate of the increase in the number of local authorities introducing charges for home helps during 1979–80.
§ Sir George YoungDetailed information about the policies of individual local authorites on charges for the home help service is not available centrally.
§ Dr. McDonaldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the numbers of additions to weekly benefit for home helps expected by the Supplementary Benefits Commission between April and November.
§ Mrs. ChalkerFollowing the decision of the Supplementary Benefits Commission to award no further additions to weekly supplementary benefit from 29 February 1980 in respect of home helps provided by a local authority, we do not expect any increases between April and November this year in the number of cases in which such a reckonable expense is taken into account. As far as private home helps are concerned, we are unable to estimate the number of new additions that will be awarded during the period. The local authority associations have been informed that, in the Government's view, local authorities' discretionary power to charge for home helps should not be exercised in respect of people living at the supplementary benefit level.