§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many questions there are on an income support application form; and how many of them would be relevant to a hospice patient.
§ Mr. Peter LloydHospice patients will be asked to complete one of two claim forms, depending on their age. These forms contain, on average, some 170 questions. Although every question is relevant to the assessment of entitlement to income support, not all questions will be relevant to individual claimants. Hospice patients or their appointees, like other claimants, will be able to follow the clear signposting throughout the forms which indicate when questions or sections may be missed.
§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will establish procedures which provide that income support payments for accommodation could be paid directly to hospices when the recipient of the income support is a hospice patient.
§ Mr. ScottThere are already established procedures for the payment of income support direct to a hospice. These apply when a claimant who is liable for an accommodation charge has fallen into debt due to a failure to budget for that charge, and it is in the best interests of the claimant to make the payment direct.
§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will take steps to amend the regulations so that when hospice patients are awarded income support due to the additional costs, those payments are made from the date of entry to the hospice.
§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) in the last year for which figures are available, how many hospice patients became entitled to and received income support because of the additional cost of 199W the hospice; and how many hospice patients continued to receive income support for which they had a previous entitlement;
(2) in the last year for which figures are available, how much income support was paid to hospice patients to help with their hospice costs;
(3) what estimates he has of the number of hospice patients who become eligible for income support on entering a hospice but do not receive it because they die before their claim is prepared and processed;
(4) what information he has on the proportion of hospice costs that are met by income support payments to hospice patients.
§ Mr. ScottI regret that information is not available in the form requested. Income support is paid to terminally ill people according to the type of care they are receiving, and no distinction is made between hospices and nursing homes.
§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proposals he has for speeding up the process of application for income support for hospice patients.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThere are no plans at present to institute special procedures for people claiming income support from hospices. The process of application for income support is designed to gather the required information to allow for the accurate assessment of benefit entitlement and payment in all cases, wherever the claimant is resident.