§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the availability of readily comprehensible information to the general public regarding allowances payable to them when being cared for at home and needing 24 hours per day attention and surveillance; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NewtonI am satisfied that the leaflet FB18, which is published by the Department for the use of people who are housebound and disabled, is readily available. The leaflet describes allowances payable to people who are disabled and includes a coupon for ordering forms on which claims to those benefits can be made.
The FB18 leaflet is distributed through social services departments and health authorities to those people who work in the community and are most likely to come into contact with housebound disabled people — social workers, district nurses, general practitioners. Copies are freely available from the Department's leaflet unit, and are also held by local social security offices.