LANGFORD HOUSE

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29734, 30 January 1962, Page 17

LANGFORD HOUSE

Increased Board Discussed

When the chairman of the Langford House committee (Mr W. H. Larcombe) advised the residents that the board would be raised to £5 a week from £4 Is any one who felt he would be affected by the increase was asked to see Mr Larcombe and discuss it with him. said Dr. H. R. Donald, president of the Aged People's Welfare Council yesterday.

Dr. Donald was commenting on a statement by Miss M. B. Howard, member of Parliament for Sydenham, about the increase in board Dr. Donald said that 15 of the residents had seen Mr Larcombe and their individual cases would be discussed by the committee at its next meeting. Means Test

What the committee proposed to do w T as in effect have a meal's *st for the increase in board, he said The committee would try to ascertain which of the residents could pay the extra rent. However, no-one would go without a certain amount of pocket money because of the increase, he said. Miss Howard's statement said that the rise in board was 5s more than the social security rate. Previously the board had been £4 Is and those residents without other means had been getting a subsidy of 15s a week. She said that after the payment of £4 Is for board the residents were left with the sum of £1 9s for the purchase of clothing, tobacco and other small amenities. The subsidy remained the same so the further increase in board would mean the resident would have to go without these small amenities

“Already some of them are looking around for rooms in which to live.” she said.

“Langford House has a lot of Government money sunk into it, this is taxpayer's money, and therefore should be used carefully.” she said The registrar of the Social Security Department (Mr C. B. Pyne) said yesterday that Miss Howard s figures for the payment of board were correct.