HC Deb 19 May 1981 vol 5 cc74-5W
Mr. Christopher Price

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving officers and other ranks, respectively, serving within the sovereign base areas of Cyprus, have been court-martialled in each of the last five years; and if he will give a breakdown of the offences involved.

Mr. Goodhart

The information requested is as follows:

designed to meet the needs of someone who has no, or insufficient, resources, it would be wrong to ignore resources held on trust which are available for a person's support. Decisions in individual cases are a matter for the independent adjudicating authorities, the benefit officer in the first instance.

In deciding to what extent any resources held under a trust should be taken into account, the benefit officer is required, among other things, to have regard to the terms of the trust—regulation 4(8)(b)—and he would therefore treat funds held on trust as a resource only to the extent that the terms of the trust gave the trustees discretion to release them. For example, where the trustees have discretion to apply only income from the trust, regard may be had to this but no regard would be had to the trust capital. Where the trustees have discretion to release for a person's support, capital which exceeds, or together with any other capital he has exceeds, £2,000 there is no entitlement to supplementary benefit.

Mr. Iain Mills

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what procedures exist for the acceptance of the mentally handicapped and mentally ill, on transfer from National Health Service hospitals, into local authority hostels; what representations he has received on such procedures; and if he has any plans to amend such procedures.

Sir George Young

Arrangements for the transfer of mentally handicapped and mentally ill people from National Health Service hospitals to local authority hostels are made in consultation between the health and local authorities concerned and the patients. They are not subject to any set procedures laid down by the Department. We propose to issue a consultation document shortly discussing financial and other mechanisms to facilitate the transfer of people who are now inappropriately cared for in hospital.