§ Mr. Iain Millsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will legislate to ensure that his Department's benefits can be paid direct to local authorities for rate bills.
§ Mr. RossiNo. National insurance benefits are not intended to cover specific items of expenditure and it is not our policy to seek to influence how they are spent. Such an arrangement would also involve unacceptably high administrative costs.
As regards supplementary benefit, provision for rates ceases when the new housing benefit scheme begins next April. Instead claimants will receive a rate rebate from their local authority.