Richard Bruton
Ceist:282 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the extent, if any, to which a rent supplement is affected when a person receives a back to education allowance. [25801/98]
Written Answers - Social Welfare Benefits.
The back to education allowance scheme provides for a standard weekly rate of payment to participants equivalent to the maximum rate of unemployment benefit in the case of people who were formerly unemployed and the maximum rate of one-parent family payment in the case of lone parents. The scheme also provides for the retention of entitlement to secondary benefits, such as rent or mortgage interest supplements under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. This is an important feature as SWA is not normally paid to people in full-time education.
Entitlement to a rent supplement is determined by the health boards. Supplements are normally calculated to ensure that the person after payment of rent has an income equal to the rate of SWA appropriate to their family circumstances, less £6. This £6 represents the minimum contribution which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. In addition to the minimum contribution, applicants are required to contribute any assessable means in excess of the relevant SWA rate for a household in their circumstances.
Almost all participants in the back to education allowance scheme are in receipt of the maximum weekly rate of payment immediately prior to going on to the scheme and continue to receive rent supplement at the same level as previously.
Participants who were previously in receipt of a reduced rate of payment, for example, because they had other means, receive an increase in their basic payment to bring them up to the maximum rate on the commencement of the back to education allowance scheme. This increase in their weekly income has the effect of reducing the level of their rent supplement payable by a similar amount because the amount of rent supplement depends on the income level of the recipient.
Back to education participants are paid for the full duration of their course, including holiday periods. While earnings from part-time employment or holiday work do not affect the basic rate of back to education allowance to which they are entitled, such earnings are assessable for rent supplement purposes in the normal way. This may result in a reduction in the rate of rent supplementation in payment.
In all cases, back to education participants receive the same amount of rent supplement as others in similar financial and household circumstances. The amount of rent supplement payable to participants in schemes such as the back to work allowance and community employment is subject to different rules.
If those rules were applied to back to education allowance participants, it could result in a slightly higher rate of rent supplement being paid in up to 4 per cent of cases, a lower rate in at least 8 per cent of cases and no change in the remaining cases which comprise the great majority.
The whole question of retention of secondary benefits is being examined by my Department at present.