§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the cost of the Debt Accounting and Management System for Housing Benefit; and when was the installation cancelled. [118208]
§ Angela EagleAdministration of benefits and recovery of overpayments are a matter for the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, Peter Mathison. He will write to my right hon. Friend.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Frank Field, dated 7 April 2000:
The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your recent question asking what was the cost of the Debt Accounting and Management System for housing benefit; and when the installation was cancelled.The Debt Accounting and Management System (DAMS) was to provide integrated debt management and accounting capability for the Benefits Agency's programme debt. Housing Benefit is administered by local authorities and therefore was not part of the DAMS development.