§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in view of the extra fuel bills faced by retirement pensioners and the shortfall in the 1981 uprating, he will arrange for a double pension payment to all retirement pensioners one week in February 1982.
§ Mr. RossiNo. It makes better use of the resources which are available to concentrate extra help with higher fuel bills on those most in need of it. Where a householder who is receiving supplementary benefit is, or has a 65W dependant who is, aged 70 or over a weekly heating addition is paid automatically. In addition in view of the severe weather conditions experienced this winter a memorandum was issued last week by the Chief Supplementary Benefits Officer giving guidance on the application of regulation 26 of the Single Payment Regulations. This enables payments to be made to meet the extra cost of additional fuel consumption incurred by supplementary benefit claimants during exceptionally severe weather. A copy of the Memorandum has been placed in the House of Commons library. We shall take steps to give appropriate publicity about the regulation and its application. Retirement pensioners already have an assurance that the next uprating due in November 1982 will make good the shortfall from the 1981 uprating and also compensate for the forecast increases in prices between November 1981 and November 1982.