§ Mr. SoleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security who will be responsible for meeting the care costs of disabled people in supported lodgings after April 1989.
§ Mr. ScottFrom next April people in lodgings, including supported lodgers, will receive normal income support and housing benefit in place of the present special payments of income support which include help with accommodation costs. These changes will mean that many disabled people in supported lodgings will be better-off, after meeting charges for accommodation and the provision of care, than under existing benefit arrangements. Existing claimants who might otherwise lose benefit overall will be given cash protection whilst they remain in a supportive environment. The overall effect will be to provide an estimated £1 million extra for supported lodgers as a whole. There will thus be no overall reduction in the level of help to this group.