§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the Minister for Social Security will now make a further statement about the pensioners and others in the city of Manchester whose homes were wrongly denied the designation "hard-to-heat", leading to the loss of heating allowances; how many such homes have been so designated since the matter was first raised with him by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe; how many cases are still under review; how much will be lost by people in Manchester by the Minister of State's decision not to backdate the entitlement; and if he will now reconsider the decision on backdating.
§ Dr. BoysonAs indicated in my reply to the right hon. Member on 29 March, at column281, certain properties in Wythenshawe were designated by the Secretary of State 289W as disproportionately expensive to heat on 15 March before any representations were received from the right hon. Member. A further 12 blocks in Wythenshawe are under consideration, and a decision will be taken as soon as possible when further information on the electric heating systems in those properties is available. The number of dwellings and the number of tenants receiving supplementary benefit in these properties is not known.
Supplementary benefit claimants in properties with central heating systems that have not been designated as disproportionately expensive to heat already receive central heating additions of £2.05 per week or £4.10 a week depending on the size of their home. Some tenants receive higher heating additions of £5.05 per week instead. If their heating system is designated as disproportionately expensive to heat they will receive estate rate heating additions of £4.10 a week or £8.20 a week, depending on the size of their home, where these are higher than their existing heating additions. The supplementary benefit regulations do not provide for estate rate heating additions to be paid for any period before the heating system is designated as disproportionately expensive to heat. Any amendment to the regulations to provide for such backdating would increase expenditure, though it is not possible to estimate accurately the extra cost that would be incurred in the Manchester area, and I have no plans to introduce any such amendment.