§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the estimated cost of administering housing benefit transitional payments, in pound sterling and as a percentage of the amount of payments made, up to the latest date for which information is available.
§ Mr. Robin CookTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated administrative cost per successful application for housing benefit transitional payments made by the Glasgow unit of his Department.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answers 27 October and 7 November 1988]: Administrative expenditure on housing benefit transitional payments, excluding capital costs, totaled £3,802,991 up to 31 October. This cannot be sensibly expressed as a proportion of payments made as these vary from week to week and new payments include backdated awards to 1 April this year. A comparison between administration costs and benefit expenditure can sensibly be made only when the full year costs of both are known.