§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimates he has made regarding the community charge liabilities of income support claimants based on(a) 1988–89 local authority expenditure, (b) projected local authority expenditure in 1989–90 and (c) projected local authority expenditure in 1990–91.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe relevant issue when setting the income support rates for 1989–90 was the level of community charge that would have been payable had it been introduced nationally in that year. It took account of existing local authority expenditure. The compensation was a once and for all adjustment to the income support rates and will, in future, be uprated in the normal manner.
101W
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list in theOfficial Report, those local authorities which do not operate a local scheme for housing benefit covering war widows and pensioners.
§ Mr. Peter LloydLocal schemes for disregarding war widow and war pensioner benefits in excess of the £5 statutory disregard are entirely at the discretion of the local authority. The list has been compiled from the best information available to the Department.
Local authorities not operating a local scheme
- Aberconwy
- Allerdale
- Alnwick
- Alyn and Deeside
- Arfan
- Arun
- Ashford
- Babergh
- Barnsley
- Barrow in Furness
- Basildon New Town
- Basildon
- Bassetlaw
- Bath
- Berwick upon Tweed
- Beverley
- Blaenau Gwent
- Blyth Valley
- Bolsover
- Bolton
- Boothferry
- Brecknock
- Bridgnorth
- Bristol
- Broadland
- Bromsgrove
- Cannock Chase
- Caradan
- Carmarthen
- Carrick
- Castle Morpeth
- Cherwell
- Chester le Street
- Chichester
- City of London
- Cleethorpes
- Colwyn
- Cotswolds
- Croydon
- Cynon Valley
- Dean
- Derwentside
- Dinefwr
- East Northamptonshire
- East Yorkshire
- Eastbourne
- Eldon
- Epping Forest
- Erewash
- Gateshead
- Gillingham
- Glyndwr
- Gravesham
- Greenwich
- Great Grimsby
- Harrogate
- Hastings
- Holderness
- Hove
- Hyndburn
- Ipswich
- Isle of Anglesey
- Isles of Scilly
- Islwyn B C
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Kerrier
- Kettering
- Kingston Upon Hull
102 - Leominster
- Liverpool
- Llanelli
- Malvern Hills
- Manchester
- Mansfield
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Mid Devon
- Mid Suffolk
- Mid Sussex
- Monmouth
- Newcastle Under Lyme
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- North Devon
- North East Derbyshire
- North Norfolk
- North Warwickshire
- Northaven
- Norwich
- Nuneaton and Bedworth
- Oswestry
- Oxford
- Pendle
- Preseli
- Preston
- Purbeck
- Reading
- Redbridge
- Restormel
- Rhymney Valley
- Rochdale
- Rochester
- Rochford
- Rotherham
- Rushmoor
- Rutland
- Salisbury
- Scunthorpe
- Sedgemore
- Sevenoaks
- Sheffield
- Shrewsbury and Atcham
- South Derbyshire
- South Hams
- South Herefordshire
- South Kesteven
- South Oxfordshire
- South Pembrokeshire
- South Shropshire
- St. Albans
- St. Edmundsbury
- Stafford
- Stockport
- Stoke on Trent
- Suffolk Coastal
- Sunderland
- Swansea
- Taff Ely
- Tamworth
- Taunton Deane
- Teeside
- Teignbridge
- Telford Development Corporation
- Thanet
- Torbay
- Torfaen
- Torridge
- Trafford
- Tynedale
- Uttlesford
- Wandsbeck
- Warrington
- Warrington and Runcorn Development Corporation
- Warwick
- Waverley
- Wear Valley
- Wellingborough
- West Devon
- West Dorset
103 - West Lancashire
- West Lindsey
- West Oxfordshire
- West Somerset
- Worcester
- Wrekin
- Wrexham
- Whych Avon
- Wyre
- Wyre Forest
Source: Based on 1988 returns provided by 447 of the 483 local authorities in Great Britain (93 per cent.).
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will extend transitional payments to cover losses incurred by war widows and pensioners as a result of changes to local option schemes for housing benefit, resulting from the 1988 housing benefit regulations.
§ Mr. Peter LloydNo. The new housing benefit scheme which was introduced in April 1988 did not make any changes to the rules that related to the local authority discretionary schemes for war widows and war pensioners. Furthermore, the statutory income disregard was increased by 25 per cent. Prior to this date, local authorities were able to disregard the whole or part of any war disablement pension or war widow's pension that was in payment and this was carried forward unaltered into the reformed housing benefit scheme. Where losses have occurred, this is because some local authorities have voluntarily amended their local schemes and thereby reduced the amount of housing benefit in payment.