§ Mr. Squireasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his assessment of the number of people who are currently making the wrong choice as between claiming supplementary benefit and local authority housing benefits; and how many of these have wrongly chosen housing benefits.
§ Mr. StanleyThere is no reliable estimate available of those currently choosing wrongly between claiming supplementary benefit and local authority housing 25W assistance, but, in February 1979, para 4.5 of the "Response of the Supplementary Benefits Commission to `Social Assistance: A Review of the Supplementary Benefits Scheme in Great Britain'" suggested, on the basis of earlier data, that 400,000 people were getting less help 26W than they were entitled to because they had made the wrong choice. This figure included 300,000 who were receiving assistance with housing costs from local authorities.