§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the average cost to local authorities since April 1999 of implementing the Verification Framework; and how much of that cost has been met by(a) central Government and (b) local government since April 1999. [113625]
§ Angela EagleThe information is not available in the form requested. The cost of implementing the Verification Framework (VF) will vary according to the size and nature of each local authority's caseload, and the extent to which they already have systems required under the VF in place.
The funds the Department makes available to local authorities are distributed on the same basis as they receive their main administration subsidy. We expect to pay over £29 million in total to 229 local authorities for the Verification Framework during 1999–2000. Some authorities will have received set-up costs, some will have received continuing costs and some will have received both set-up and continuing costs.