asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the Supplementary Benefits Commission is now able to take responsibility for pocket money payments to long-stay psychiatric patients between the ages of 60 to 65 years and 80 years; and if he will make a statement.

As my hon. Friend knows, since November 1975 newly admitted patients have been able to claim supplementary benefit. I am afraid it is still not possible, for cost and manpower reasons, to say when responsibility for payment to other patients will be transferred to the Commission. Those patients who get non-contributory invalidity pension while under pension age can, of course, keep it beyond pension age.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many long-stay psychiatric patients are now receiving non-contributory invalidity pensions; what is the estimate of take-up rate; and if he will make a statement.

Many patients in psychiatric hospitals receive contributory invalidity pension. Our estimate of the number of those who did not, and who would have been eligible for non-contributory invalidity pension when it was first paid, was finally about 60,000. Hospitals were asked to identify all potential beneficiaries, and to claim on their behalf when necessary. The number of people so identified by 18th November 1975 was 56,000. We estimate that by now 60,000 claims have been made in respect of this category of patients. Consequently, it is unlikely that any significant number of people has been missed.