asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how it is possible for a 17-year-old schoolboy, Mr. Verrell Holness, to claim supplementary benefits of up to £25 per week.

Young people at school are normally excluded from claiming supplementary benefit in their own right, but the Supplementary Benefits Commission may exceptionally award benefit if the young person is over 16 and would otherwise suffer harship—eg, in the case where a child is orphaned or, like Mr. Holness, is estranged from his parents.