§ Mr. Colin Shepherdasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many appeal tribunal hearings relating to decisions made by the supplementary benefit office have been convened during the last 12 months for which information is available; and what is the total estimated cost of these.
§ Mr. WhitneyAs a result of industrial action within the Department, the most recent information available is for the 12-month period ended 31 December 1983 when 60,567 supplementary benefit appeals were heard.
It is estimated that £10.855 million was spent on supplementary benefit appeals work in 1983, but this sum includes the cost of work on the 82,212 appeals which were lodged but were resolved without a tribunal hearing.