PAYMENTS AND THE MEANS

thi derallea examinauon TIP ~1l person's income IS maa before a supplementary pay ment is fixed. Some forms c income are counted in full o in part, meaning that you ar only given an amount adde to these to make up the scal rates.

Some other payments may be ignored entirely. Possible sources of other income treated in this way are:

State Benefits: Most Nation: Insurance benefits are counted i full. So are family allowance and family incomes supplemen Maintenance Payments Whether voluntary or unde court orders, these are als counted in full as weekly income Earnings: The first £2 of part time earnings are not counted (f if being registered for work is condition for receiving benefit In addition, the first £2 of an earnings your wife may have ar also not counted.

Disability Pension: Up to a week of the total amount will not be counted.

Other Income: The first only a week of the total o other income, including suc items as charitable payment: pensions from former employer: regular payments from friend and relatives, war dependent! pensions and the assumed incom from capital will not be countec The value of a house owne and occupied by the claimant i totally ignored. • Money in th bank or Post Office-or kept a home, if they get to know abou itis ignored completely up t £325. Above this, they do no directly require you to spen: any of it, but they deduct 5p week from payments made t you for every £25 you have ove £325. (5p off for £350, 10p ol for £375 and so on up to £800 after which they take off 12; for each £25.)

You can claim benefit usin Form Sl which can be obtaine from Post Offices, and Social Se curity offices. The form can b sent to your local Social Securit Office or you can take it there Alternatively, you can go to you local office without an appoint ment and be interviewed there If you are ill or disabled some nne else mav go on vour behali veer 0- In the case of a couple wh are married or living together a man and wife the claim must b made by the man.

Anyone unemployed and regis tered for work can claim supple mentary benefit through the un employment exchange. Ask fo Claim Form Bl, fill it in an hand it back to the clerk wh will complete it and send it of to the Social Security office. A interviewing officer will visit you and payment will mad through the exchange. If yo need money in a hurry, however get the employment exchang clerk to complete his part of th form and you can take it imme diately to the Social Securit office and get cash.

An interviewing officer may b sent to your home or the offic may be satisfied with the inter view on their premises. In eithe case they will want to know de tails of your present or previou employment; why you are claim ing benefit, previous wage! present income from all source! outgoings on rent, rates, numbe of children and dependants an any other state payments re ceived. If it'is your first clair and you require money at onc at the Social Security office, the will want some proof of identity, Post Office book or pension book, etc.

The officers may make periodic visits to your home after payment is agreed to see if your circumstances have changed. They also keep in communication with the employment exchange to see if any of their rules have been broken—i.e. failure to take a job offered, failure to register for employment. Anyone interviewed is entitled to have witness present.

Remember: • The benefits payments are grants, not loans. This means you don't have to pay them back. (The only exceptions are the emérgency payments to claimants in full-time employment. These may be repayable.) • Benefits are not charity of any kind. Your labour and that of other workers is the sole creator of wealth. Benefits are paid for by you either directly in taxes and insurance contributions, or indirectly from profits that you have created for the firms you worked at.

Exactly the opposite outlook is promoted by the authoritiesi.e. that supplementary benefits, being non-contributary-not paid for out of weekly National Insurance contributions - are in some way a magnaminous state gift. • Everyone on supplementary benefits or with a low income can claim exemption from prescription charges for themselves or their dependants and receive an exemption certificate from the local social security office. • Families on supplementary benefit are entitled to free welfare milk and vitamin drops and tablets for children and expectant mothers and • free school meals for children in the family at school.

Exemption from payment for dentures, dental treatment and spectacles can be claimed by anyone receiving supplementary benefit, and their dependants. Applicants can ask at the Social tnem try to impiy inat ll aues.

In the Supplementary Benefits Handbook, clause 191 states: "The fact that a man does not have an address when he calls at the local office is not in itself reason for refusing payment, although it is of course an indication that the claim must be dealt with cautiously' It adds that a payment 'to see him through up to the next working day, or to pay a deposit to a landlady' can be made, or a voucher for a lodging house given.

Anyone dissatisfied with a payment awarded is entitled to to an Anneals Trihunal. You do this by writing to the Social Security office, stating that you wish to appeal and giving your reason. Alternatively, you can fill in an appeals form. You are expected to make the appeal within 21 davs of the decision you are disputing, but the chairman of the Tribunal can ignore this rule if you have reason for a longer delay.

Supplementary Benefit Appeals Tribunals are made up of three people, one of whom is usually a trade union official. All three, including a chairman, are stateappointed. You have to go before these and make your case.

You are entitled to take along a witness or representative to the Appeal whose expenses-fares and compensation fon loss of earnings-can be claimed from the Tribunal. The representative can be a friend, relative, social worker or trade union official. You can even take a solicitor, though in this case expenses are not payable and the legal aid system does not apply.

If the appeal is loaded against you by alleged evidence being brought which you did not know about, or if an important witness is unavoidably unable to attend, you are entitled to ask to have the appeal adjourned while you examine the evidence, get more advice or ensure that your witness will be present.

It is not generally known that anyone on supplementary allowances can get free legal advice. A special Law Society scheme entitles an applicant to one hour and thirty minutes of oral advice from a solicitor on any one legal question. The cost 12}p to someone on a very low income and with capital less than £215and free to anyone on supplementary benefits.

For anyone else, the rate is £l for 30 minutes. The solicitors in the scheme are on a legal advice panel maintained by the Law Society. Names and addresses of such solicitors can be got from the citizens' advice bureau, local court offices, probation officers and Law Society offices. This is useful for obtaining professional advice before attending a Supplementary Benefits Appeals Tribunal.

Various benefits may also be obtained from the local authorities, usually by applying at the town hall. For example, help with school clothing, reduced bus fares for the elderly, rent and rate rebates and family planning.

In theory local councils are now required by law to locate and provide special services for he disabled, though reports indicate that in many cases nc more than a nominal effort to do this is taking place.

If your answers in the initial interview are considered satisfactory, a first payment can be made to you in cash immediately over the counter at the Social Security office to cover emergency or urgent need. Likewise, the visit wothere, a pin in cain.

Call Day own nome, again in cash Alternatively the first payment may be sent to you in the form of a money order to be cashed at the Post Office. For regular payment a book of orders is sent to you. Each order has a date on it and is cashable at the Post Office on or after that date.

Unemployed workers 'available for work' receive their Social Security payments at the Employment Exchange together with unemployment benefit.

Tomorrow Bernard Franks explains how supplementary benefit payments can be restricted.

DISCUSSION ON THE ALL TRADES Workers and their families, youth, students and the unemployed are all invited to join in this discussion. If you haven't got a copy of the Draft Manifesto write to your local ATUA branch. can make it possible to improve their lot all round, instead of begging for pitiful grants for social amenities?

I want to raise the question of full representation of all minorities of deaf and handicapped in the unions which I TOM CLARE President of Mitcham 58 ME AUEW branch. At 51 he works as a toolmaker in Sutton, S London.

This Tory government is trying to push us back to the 1920s because they want a cowed July 1970:

Liverpool dockers lobbying Transport House learn thai the 1970 national dock strike is on.