§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the current maximum permitted board and lodging charge for a single person, not incuded in the categories of people mentally ill or people in nursng homes, in his Department's local offices in Norwich (both offices), Yarmouth, Diss, Highgate (London), Finsbury Park (London) and Surbiton (Surrey).
§ Dr. BoysonThe maximum limit on the amount of supplementary benefit payable to a single person to meet the charge for full board and lodging accommodation in the area of each of the offices concerned is as follows:
£ Norwich (Chantry) 72.30 Norwich (Mountergate) 72.80 Great Yarmouth 56 Diss 66 Highgate 90 Finsbury Park 90.30 Surbiton 81 These amounts can be extended by a sum not exceeding £15.35 in certain circumstances, for example on account of age or disability, if this is necessary to enable the claimant to meet a high charge. The actual benefit payments made to supplementary benefit claimants reflect the actual charges made and will generally be below the maximum. The average payments at December 1982 for single people in private board and lodging accommodation in Great Britain was £36.38. We are collecting more up-to-date information which we shall use to judge the effectiveness of the system for fixing the maximum limits.