Summary of the provisions of the National Assistance Bill.

Date:
1947
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Summary of the provisions of the National Assistance Bill. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    5 feature of a service of assistance according to need, and even wider use_ and the greater variety of circumstances in which assistance may be sought. The Bill requires that the Regulations shall make special provision for blind afforded on special standards. 11. Making of Regulations.—The manner in which these Regulations are to be made follows the established procedure of making Regulations for unem- ployment assistance and supplementary pensions. A draft will be prepared before him, will then make his own draft Regulations and submit them to Parliament. If the Minister’s draft is not in the form of the draft submitted by the Board it must be accompanied by a statement of the variations and the Board’s report on them. Regulations cannot be made until the Minister’s draft has been approved by resolutions of both Houses of Parliament. The Bill directs the Board to prepare draft Regulations as soon as may be after it has become law, and thereafter from time to time as occasion may require. It will be necessary for the first substantive Regulations under the Bill to be made in time to become operative on the appointed day for National Assistance, though if the review of all current cases by reference to the new Regulations cannot be completed by that day, transitional provisions will enable payment to be contimued at the old rates for a limited pericd. 12. Tveatment of resources.—The Regulations will have to include general rules for dealing with resources. The’ needs of a husband and wife living together will be considered jointly, and their joint resources will be con- sidered available to meet the needs of both. The resources of other adult members of an applicant’s household will not be taken into account against the meeds of the applicant, though, where the applicant is the householder, it will be assumed that they are making appropriate contributions towards the rent and overhead expenses of the household. The contribution to be assumed will be prescribed in the Regulations. 13. Income.—The Bill contains directions about the treatment of the resources of applicants for assistance and their wives or husbands. Certain forms of income are to be disregarded in whole or in part. Provisions for oe ee a ee ye tt ay AEP 4 which will be replaced by the unified scheme of National Assistance, but they have developed piecemeal and differ in certain respects between one scheme and another. The disregard rules have now been reconsidered in the light of the provisions in the National Insurance Acts for sick, disabled and other persons, and the proposals in the Bill bring them into harmony 14. Capital._The directions about the treatment of capital belonging to an applicant, the applicant’s wife or husband and any dependants, preserve the protection given in the Determination of Needs Act, 1941, to ‘‘ war savings ’’ within an individual limit of £375, and enable income tax credits occupied houses, provide that the first {50 of the capital (instead of £25 as in existing legislation) is to be disregarded. In so far as the value of the capital exceeds {50 but does not exceed {400 the amount of the weekly
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