§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the terms of reference and the functions of the home telephone service operated by his Department to help claimants in hardship who have not received their girocheques; and when the service was established.
§ Dr. BoysonThe home telephone service was established in 1948. It is intended to deal with cases of 331W urgent financial need which arise outside office hours, and which cannot await attention until the local office next opens.
§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what method of payment for claimants who do not receive their supplementary benefit girocheques is available to those volunteers who operate the home telephone service; and what is the maximum amount that can he paid to claimants at any one time.
§ Dr. BoysonHome telephone service officers can make payments by travel warrant or cash. Cash payments are normally restricted to £7 for single people and £14 to those with dependants. These amounts can be increased at the discretion of the home telephone service officer.
§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many volunteers operate his Department's home telephone service in each of the counties of England and Wales; how many claims are processed by each of these; whether he is satisfied with the staffing levels; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Dr. BoysonThe Department has 396 home telephone service officers in England and Wales outside the Inner London area; these figures are not broken down by county. In London, two emergency offices provide an evening and weekend service. We are satisfied with these staffing levels.
Information on the number of claims processed by each officer is not collected centrally. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.