§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the procedural steps for assessing eligibility, reviewing, appealing and making payment of(a) severe disablement allowance, (b) maternity allowance, (c) industrial injuries disablement allowance, (d) reduced earnings allowance/retirement allowance, (e) attendance allowance and (f) disability working allowance; indicating which of the offices of his Department and his agencies in Scotland would handle each of these steps. [92356]
§ Mr. TimmsThe administration of benefits 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. Alex Salmond, dated 26 July 1999:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent question asking if he will list the procedural steps for assessing eligibility, reviewing, appealing and making payment of (a) Severe Disablement Allowance, (b) Maternity Allowance, (c) Industrial Injuries Disablement Allowance, (d) Reduced Earnings Allowance/Retirement Allowance, (e) Attendance Allowance and (f) Disability Working Allowance; indicating which of the offices of his Department and his agencies in Scotland would handle each of these steps.Applications advice and information for all of the above benefits can be obtained from each local office of the Benefits Agency in Scotland.The procedural steps on a claim including those for assessment, reviews, appeals and payments are set out in the following booklets, NI252 "Severe Disablement Allowance", NI17A "A Guide to Maternity Benefits", NI6 "Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit", HB5 "A guide to Non-Contributory Benefits for Disabled People" and HB4 "A Guide to Disability Working Allowance".288WCopies of all of these documents are in the House library.All aspects of appeals are handled by the Independent Tribunal Service.I hope this is helpful.
§ Ms Roseanna CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) which Benefits Agency office would handle(a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal relating to the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) (A) Perth and (B) Glasgow and claiming incapacity benefit and (ii) (x) Perth and (y) Edinburgh and claiming family credit; [92392]
(2) which Benefits Agency office would handle (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal relating to the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) (A) Perth and (B) Inverness and claiming jobseeker's allowance, (both income and contribution based) and (ii) (x) Perth and (y) Greenock and claiming disability living allowance. [92393]
§ Mr. TimmsThe administration of Benefit Agency offices 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 Ms Roseanna Cunningham, dated 26 July 1999:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent questions asking which Benefits Agency (BA) office would handle (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal relating to the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) (A) Perth and (B) Glasgow and claiming Incapacity Benefit (IB) and (ii) (A) Perth and (B) Edinburgh and claiming Family Credit (FC); and also, (a)—(f) above for a person living in (i) (A) Perth and (B) Inverness and claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), (both income and contribution based) and (ii) (A) Perth and (B) Greenock and claiming Disability Living Allowance (DLA).For IB, four BA districts cover Glasgow, these are Glasgow North, Glasgow South, Glasgow East and Argyle and West. One district, Tayside, covers Perth.All offices in these districts provide benefit advice and information, and handle assessments, reviews, payment of benefits, recovery of overpayments. They also accept appeals which are sent to the Area Centralised Contributory Benefits Appeals Units in Motherwell and Glasgow, where appeals are prepared.For FC, East Edinburgh and Borders and Lothian West districts cover Edinburgh and Tayside district covers Perth.Advice, information and claim packs can be obtained from offices in these districts, which also accept appeals for onward transmission to the Family Credit Unit (FCU) in Preston. The FCU deals with all aspects of FC claims for the whole of Great Britain.For JSA, in Inverness advice and information can be obtained from Inverness Employment Services Jobcentre (ESJ) or Inverness BA office. Assessment of benefit, reviews and payment of JSA is carried out in the ESJ. Appeals are prepared in Elgin office and recovery of overpaid benefit is processed in Stornoway.In Perth, the principal point of contact for advice and information on JSA is Perth ESJ. Advice and information is also available in Perth BA Office where claims are assessed. Reviews and payments are processed in both the BA office and Perth ESJ. Appeals are prepared in Dundee office and recovery of overpaid benefit is processed in Perth.Information and advice on DLA can be obtained from the BA offices in Perth (Tayside district) and Greenock (Clyde Coast and Renfrew district). Claims are assessed in the Disability Benefit 289W Centres (DBCs) in Glasgow and Edinburgh which also issue payments, carry out reviews and process appeals, although these functions may be carried out at the Disability Benefit Unit (DBU) in Blackpool. Any overpaid benefit is recovered by the DBU.All aspects of benefit appeals are handled by the Independent Tribunal Service.I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) which Benefits Agency office would handle the(a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Peterhead, (ii) Stranraer and (iii) Glasgow and claiming incapacity benefit; [92380]
(2) which Benefits Agency office would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Peterhead, (ii) Stranraer and (iii) Inverness and claiming jobseeker's allowance, both income based and contribution based; [92382]
(3) which Benefits Agency office would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Banff and (ii) Paisley and claiming incapacity benefit; [92384]
(4) which Benefits Agency office would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Elgin, (ii) Banff and (iii) Paisley and claiming jobseeker's allowance, both income based and contribution based; [92386]
(5) which Benefits Agency office would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Elgin, (ii) Banff and (iii) Paisley and claiming disability living allowance; [92387]
(6) which Benefits Agency office would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Peterhead, (ii) Stranraer and (iii) Edinburgh and claiming family credit; [92381]
(7) which Benefits Agency office would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Peterhead, (ii) Stranraer and (iii) Greenock and claiming disability living allowance; [92383]
(8) which Benefits Agency office would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery 290W of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Elgin, (ii) Banff and (iii) Paisley and claiming family credit. [92385]
§ Mr. TimmsThe administration of benefits 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. Alex Salmond, dated 26 July 1999:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent questions relating to procedural steps for Social Security benefits and indicating which officers and agencies would handle each of these steps. A copy of the questions is attached.The local offices and the services they provide for people claiming incapacity benefit are as follows;For Peterhead, Peterhead Benefits office provide (a) advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of overpaid benefit.For Stranraer, Stranraer Benefits office provide (a), Kilmarnock Benefits office provide (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f).There are four districts covering Glasgow. These are Glasgow North, Glasgow South, Glasgow East, Argyle and West. All offices in these districts provide (a)-(f).For Banff, Elgin Benefits office provide (a)-(f).For Paisley, Paisley Benefits office provide (a)-(f), with the exception of (d) which is provided by Johnstone Benefits office.For Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), advice and information can be obtained from Employment Services Jobcentres (ESJ) and local BA offices. Assessments of benefit, review and payment of JSA, lodgement of appeals and recovery of overpaid benefit is processed within the Employment Services and BA district office network as follows:Peterhead - Peterhead Benefit Office provide (a)-(f), with the exception of (d) provided by Aberdeen District Office.Stranraer - Stranraer Benefits office provide (a), (c), (d), (f), Stranraer ESJ (a), (b), (e).Inverness - Inverness District Office provide (a), Inverness ESJ (a), (b), (c), (e), Elgin Benefit Office (d), Stornoway Benefits office (f).Elgin - Elgin Benefit Office (a), (d), Elgin ESJ (a), (b), (c), (e), Stornoway Benefit Office (f).Banff - Banff ESJ (a), (b), (c), (e), Aberdeen District Office (d), Peterhead Benefit Office (f).Paisley - Paisley Benefit Office (a), (d), (f), Paisley ESJ (a), (b), (c), (e).Information and advice on Disability Living Allowance can be obtained from the BA offices in Elgin, Paisley, Peterhead, Stranraer and Greenock. Claims are assessed in the Disability Benefit Centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh which also issue payments, carry out reviews and process appeals, although these functions may be carried out at the Disability Benefit Unit (DBU) in Blackpool. Any overpaid benefit is recovered by the DBU.For Family Credit, advice information and claim packs can be obtained from BA offices in these areas. They will also accept appeals for onward transmission to the Family Credit Unit in Preston, which deals with all aspects of Family Credit claims for the whole of Great Britain.The Area Centralised Contributory Benefits Appeals Units in Motherwell and Glasgow prepare appeal submissions for Scotland. All aspects of appeals are handled by the Independent Tribunal Service.I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. SwinneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) which Benefits Agency office would handle the(a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of 291W over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Blairgowrie, (ii) Duns and (iii) Inverness and claiming jobseeker's allowance, both income based and contribution based; [92354]
(2) which Benefits Agency office would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Blairgowrie, (ii) Duns and (iii) Glasgow and claiming incapacity benefit; [92352]
(3) which Benefits Agency office would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Blairgowrie, (ii) Duns and (iii) Edinburgh and claiming family credit; [92353]
(4) which Benefits Agency office would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Blairgowrie, (ii) Duns and (iii) Greenock and claiming disability living allowance. [92355]
§ Mr. TimmsThe administration of benefits 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. John Swinney, dated 26 July 1999:
292WThe Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent questions asking which Benefit Agency office would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefits.For Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), advice and information can be obtained from Employment Services Jobcentres (ESJ) and local Benefits Agency (BA) offices. Assessment of benefit, review and payment of JSA, lodgement of appeals and recovery of overpaid benefit is processed within the Employment Services and BA district network is set out in the annex.For Incapacity Benefit, the local offices and the services they provide for people are as follows;Blairgowrie-Blairgowrie Benefit Office provides (a), Perth Benefit Office provides (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f).Dunns-Galashiels Benefit Office provide (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f).Four districts cover Glasgow, these are Glasgow North, Glasgow South, Glasgow East and Argyle and West. All offices in these districts provide (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f).For Family Credit (FC), Tayside, East Edinburgh and Borders and Lothian West districts cover Blairgowrie, Dunns and Edinburgh. Advice, information and claim packs can be obtained from all BA offices in these districts, which also accept appeals for onward transmission to the Family Credit Unit in Preston, which deals with all aspects of FC claims for the whole of Great Britain.For Disability Living Allowance, information and advice can be obtained from BA offices in Tayside, East Edinburgh and Borders, Lothian West and Clyde Coast and Renfrew districts. Claims are assessed in the Disability Benefit Centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh which also issue payments, carry out reviews and process appeals although these functions may be carried out at the Disability Benefit Unit (DBU) in Blackpool. Any overpaid benefit is recovered by the DBU.The Area Contributory Benefits Appeals Units in Motherwell and Glasgow prepare appeal submissions for Scotland. All aspects of appeals are handled by the Independent Tribunal Service.I hope this is helpful.
Annex a b c d e f Blairgowrie Benefit Office Yes — — — — — Blairgowrie ESJ Yes Yes Yes — Yes — Dundee Benefit Office — — — Yes — — Perth Benefit Office — — — — — Yes Eyemouth ESJ Yes Yes Yes — — — Galashiels Benefit Office Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Inverness Benefit Office Yes — — — — — Inverness ESJ Yes Yes Yes — Yes — Elgin Benefit Office — — — Yes — — Stornaway Benefit Office — — — — — Yes
§ Mr. WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) which Benefits Agency office would handle the(a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Dundee, (ii) Arbroath and (iii) Glasgow and claiming Incapacity Benefit; [92348]
(2) which Benefits Agency office would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to the claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Dundee, (ii) Arbroath and (iii) Edinburgh and claiming Family Credit; [92349]
(3) which Benefits Agency office would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Dundee, (ii) Arbroath and (iii) Inverness and claiming Jobseeker's Allowance, both income based and contribution based; [92350]
(4) which Benefits Agency office would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefit for a person living in (i) Dundee, (ii) Arbroath and (iii) Greenock and claiming Disability Living Allowance. [92351]
§ Mr. TimmsThe administration of benefits 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. Andrew Welsh, dated 26 July 1999:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent questions asking which Benefit Agency (BA) offices would handle the (a) provision of advice and information, (b) assessment of eligibility to claim, (c) review of the claim, (d) appeal of the claim, (e) payment of the benefit and (f) recovery of over-paid benefits.For Incapacity Benefit, four BA districts cover Glasgow, these are Glasgow North, Glasgow South, Glasgow East and Argyle and West. One district covers Tayside. All offices in these districts provide benefits advice and information, and handle assessments, review, payment of benefit and recovery of overpayments. They also accept appeals, which are sent to the Area Centralised Contributory Benefits Appeals Units in Motherwell and Glasgow, where all appeals for Scotland are prepared.For Family Credit (FC), East Edinburgh and Borders and Lothian West districts cover Edinburgh and Tayside district covers Dundee and Arbroath. Advice information and claim packs can be obtained from all offices in these districts, which also accept appeals for 293W onward transmission to the Family Credit Unit (FCU) in Preston. The FCU deals with all aspects of FC claims for the whole of Great Britain.For Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), advice and information can be obtained from Employment Service Jobcentres (ESJ) and local BA offices. Assessment of benefit, review and payment of JSA, appeals and recovery of overpaid benefits are processed within the Employment Services and BA district network (see appendix).For Disability Living Allowance (DLA), information and advice can be obtained from the BA offices in Tayside (Dundee & Arbroath) and Clyde Coast and Renfrew districts (Greenock).Claims are assessed in the Disability Benefit Centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh, which also issue payments, carry out reviews and process appeals, although these functions may be carried out at the Disability Benefit Unit (DBU) in Blackpool. Any overpaid benefit is recovered by the DBU.After the initial preparation by the BA, all aspects of benefit appeals are handled by the Independent Tribunal Service.I hope this is helpful.
Appendix (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) Dundee Benefit Office Yes — — Yes — — Dundee ESJs Yes Yes Yes — Yes — Perth Benefit Office — — — — — Yes Arbroath Benefit Office Yes — — — — — Arbroath ESJ Yes Yes Yes — Yes — Inverness Benefit Office Yes — — — — — Elgin Benefit Office — — — Yes — — Stornaway Benefit Office — — — — — Yes Inverness ESJ Yes Yes Yes — Yes —