§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how much was paid in board and lodging allowances by the three local offices serving the Birmingham, Perry Barr constituency, namely, Walsall road, Soho road and Kingsbury road in the latest period for which figures are available; and how this compares with one, three and six years previously;
(2) how many of the current payments in respect of bed-and-breakfast accommodation by his local offices at Walsall road, Soho road and Kingsbury road, Birmingham are at the maximum rate; and what percentage these are of the current total;
(3) what is the number of board-and-lodging payments at the latest convenient date; and what percentage of these are at the maximum rate.
§ Mr. LyellI regret that the information requested on amounts and on maximum levels of supplementary benefit board and lodging allowances is not collected separately by individual local offices and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Information which is available for Great Britain from the annual statistical inquiry for the six latest years, on numbers of boarders, overall spending and average payments is set out in the table. The inquiry does not identify the number of payments at the maximum rate, and the sample size precludes the provision of reliable figures for small areas.
Supplementary benefit Great Britain Claimants in ordinary hoard and lodging Year Number Annual spending (on basis of December figures) £ million Average payment £ 1979 41,000 52 20.40 1980 55,000 76 26.60 1981 69,000 115 32.15 1982 85,000 166 37.80 1983 112,000 278 47.87 1984 164,000 503 59.37 Notes:
(i) Data are taken from the Annual Statistical Enquiry showing the position at December of each year.
(ii) Average benefit figures include the personal expenses allowance, but are net of other income, such as unemployment benefit, which falls to be taken into account in the supplementary benefit assessment.
§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what action his local offices take to check the quality and quantity of breakfasts where social security benefits are used to pay bed-and-breakfast charges;
219W(2) what action his local offices take to check that charges for bed-and-breakfast accommodation for those in receipt of benefit are the same for those not in receipt of benefit at the same establishment.
§ Mr. LyellThe Department cannot intervene in claimants' decisions on how to spend their own money, but local offices do notify apparently sub-standard accommodation to local authorities, which are responsible for protecting all consumers, whether or not in receipt of state benefits. No claimant can receive more than a maximum amount for charges (£55 per week in Birmingham), set in the light of information about charges and the operation of the accommodation market, and taking into account the Government's view of what it is reasonable for the taxpayer to meet.
§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list by amount the 10 establishments in respect of which the largest payments of board-and-lodging allowances in Birmingham and the west midlands have been made in the latest convenient period; and if he will list the reasons why such establishments cannot be identified;
(2) what information he has regarding the numbers and size of establishments in Birmingham, and the west midlands in which claimants in receipt of board-and-lodging allowances are living.
§ Mr. LyellI regret that information from benefit claims about the names and addresses of board and lodging premises is confidential and cannot be disclosed. I also regret that comprehensive information on the numbers and size of board and lodging establishments is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.