§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the demand on the out-of-hours emergency payments service of the Benefits Agency(a) nationally, (b) in the north-west and (c) in Warrington for the financial year 1995–96. [37556]
§ Mr. Roger EvansThe administration of Income Support is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated 19 July 1996:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking if he will make a statement on the demand on the out of hours (emergency payments) service of the Benefits Agency (a) nationally, (b) in the North West and (c) in Warrington for the financial year 1995–96.The information is not available in the format requested. This is because statistics are collated at Area Directorate (AD) level and not by region. The "North West" region is taken to be the area covered by Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Lancashire. Prior to April 1996, the ADs covering the north west were Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Lancashire and Cumbria.Below I have, listed the number of referrals to the Out of Hours Service (OOHS) for the year 1 April 1995 to 31 March 1996. The number of referrals for Warrington is included in the total referrals for Greater Manchester (AD).It should be noted that a referral means a contact by the customer or by a third party on their behalf. Approximately 50 per cent. of the referrals require a visit by the Benefits Agency. There are no figures kept about the success or otherwise of those visits.1995–96 referrals to OOHS763W
- National: 54,868
- Merseyside AD: 4,405
- Greater Manchester AD: 2,977
- Lancashire and Cumbria AD: 2,648
From April 1996 these ADs have merged into two which are North West Coast and Greater Manchester ADs.
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