To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in what ways the arrangements for the provision of income support for residents entering local authority trust care homes differ from the arrangements for a resident entering a private care home.

Eligibility for income support is defined by regulations. They provide that income support is available in respect of fees, up to certain limits, to residents of registered residential care homes and in certain other types of homes. Independent adjudication officers decide on benefit payable and are provided with guidance on the interpretation of the regulations by the chief adjudication officer in the published adjudication officer's guide, a copy of which is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he has taken to ensure that prior to the implementation of the National Health Service and Community Care Act income support payments towards the cost of residential care are only made available to those individuals who actually require such care.

The level of income support payable depends on the type of care the residential care home is providing for the claimant. The adjudication officer must be satisfied that the home is recognised by the registration authority as able to provide a level of care and that the resident is receiving such care. We have no evidence to suggest that residents of registered care homes do not need to be there.