§ Mr. Stallardasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, further to his answer to the hon. Member for St. Pancras North, 24 January, Official Report, c. 302, he is satisfied at the time lapse between implementation of certain changes to the supplementary benefit regulations on 22 November 1982, and their eventual publication in supplement 12 of "The Law Relating to Supplementary Benefit and Family Income Supplement" on 17 January; 28W and if he will make a statement on the nature of such changes and on what advice was given to claimants, local department of health and social services offices and others prior to publication.
§ Mr. NewtonSupplement 12 incorporates into The Law Relating to Supplementary Benefits and Family Income Supplements Regulations which were laid before Parliament and published in July 1982. Its contents have therefore been publicly available since that date, and the substantial extra costs which would have been incurred by publishing it before 22 November were not considered justified. Prior to that date explanatory instructions, and copies of the instruments themselves, were distributed to the Department's local offices.
The changes made are described in the explanatory notes published with the regulations and reproduced in supplement 12. The latest edition of the Supplementary Benefits Handbook, published in November 1982 incorporates the changes; new rates of benefit are shown in the latest editions of leaflets; and particular changes, such as those deriving from housing benefit, were explained to the claimants affected.