§ Mr. Nicholas BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action he is taking to reduce delays in dealing with applications for family credit.
§ Mr. Peter LloydIn recent weeks clearance of some claims has been delayed by the effects of the postal strike: prior to that the average time taken to deal with a claim was very near our target of 18 working days. Action already taken to reduce delays includes an extension of the arrangements for identifying cases which should be given priority because the claimant or partner has just started work after being on income support.
Delays often occur because of the need to obtain further information from claimants or whilst awaiting earnings information from employers. We are looking at possible improvements both to the claim form to try to ensure that all the required information is provided at the outset, and to the inquiry form about earnings sent to employers. We shall shortly be laying amending regulations to provide for relaxations in the rules about the acceptability of accounts in claims from self-employed people which should enable them to supply information about their earnings more easily and more quickly.
Enhancements to the family credit computer system will become available in the new year and will improve routines and provide more information for management control purposes.