HC Deb 17 March 1995 vol 256 cc746-7W
Mr. Austin-Walker

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he introduced leaflet BAL4; what is its purpose and what was the reason for its introduction at that time; and if he will list the areas in the United Kingdom where the leaflet is being used.

Mr. Roger Evans

The administration of the Benefits Agency is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, its chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.

Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. John Austin-Walker, dated 16 March 1995: The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the introduction, purpose and availability of leaflet BAL4. In 1993, as Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, I met with the National Association of the Citizens Advice Bureau. At that meeting, concern was expressed that the Agency was asking people, as part of the process for allocating National Insurance numbers to new customers, to produce documents they would not normally have in their possession, in order to establish their identity. I arranged for action to be taken and, following further investigation and consultation with other welfare groups, the leaflet BAL4 was published in September 1994. Customers are now more aware, as a consequence, of the type of documents that will be required to provide evidence of identity when claiming benefit. This has allowed the Agency to give a better service to its customers as the allocation of National Insurance numbers is quicker. Consequently, the administration and payment of benefit via the computer system, which of itself offers an enhanced service, can be implemented more speedily. The leaflet was made available to 20000 external organisations as well as Agency offices throughout the United Kingdom. I hope you find this reply helpful.

Percentage
1 Week (1-5 days) 4 Weeks (6-20 days) 6 Weeks (21-30 days) 8 Weeks (31-40 days) Over 8 weeks (41+days)
New Claims 38.45 46.67 10.40 0.79 3.69
Renewal Claims 39.68 46.35 8.74 2.96 2.27

You may also be interested to know that Family Credit operates a Fast Track system for processing claims from the newly employed through the Employment Service. Information required for the assessment is provided by the customer's Client Advisor which enables the unit to assess the claim more quickly. Figures for the month ending 28 February showed that 90.06% of customers using the Fast Track system had their claim decided in 5 working days.

I hope you find this reply useful.