§ 47. Mr. Andrew Bowdenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, if he will reconsider the decision to alter the available scale margin for pensioners over 70 years of age.
§ Mr. NewtonWe have no plans to do so. Supplementary pensioners receive the long-term rate of benefit. This higher rate was originally given partly in order to remove the need for claimants receiving it to claim additions to their benefit for special needs such as extra heating or special diets. The whole of the difference between this rate and the ordinary rate of benefit was therefore deducted from any additions for special needs to which claimants were entitled: it was not intended that claimants should have both. The difference between the two rates has increased to, for example, £11.55 for a couple from this week, but the deduction from additions for special needs remained at 50p for 16 years. It was reasonable therefore to increase the deduction to £1 a week, and to apply it once again to heating additions as was the case before 1973. No one will be worse off in cash terms as a result of these changes and they have enabled us to extend automatic heating additions to supplementary pensioner householders aged 65 to 69 and to pay heating additions at the higher rate of £5.20 a week to all supplementary pensioner householders aged 85 or over.