§ Mr. Spellerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will amend the regulations so that the basic payments for bed and breakfast may be made direct to landlord or landlady, rather than only to the claimant.
§ Dr. BoysonThe supplementary benefit regulations already allow for payment for a board and lodging charge to be made direct to a landlord if the boarder has failed to budget to meet the charge and it would be in his interests to introduce this arrangement. There is also power to make direct payments in respect of residents in centres for alcohol or drug misusers, and in voluntary hostels similar to resettlement units. Any extension to these provisions, which I know is desired by many people, would have to be considered against the principle that supplementary benefit claimants should, wherever possible, be responsible for managing their own income in the normal way.