HC Deb 15 March 2000 vol 346 cc238-9W
Dr. Gibson

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to eliminate the backlog of payments of minimum income guarantee to pensioners in Norfolk. [113829]

Mr. Rooker

I understand that although my hon. Friend refers to Minimum Income Guarantee, for which there are no backlogs, the question should have referred to delays in payments arising because of NIRS2.

In Benefits Agency offices in Norwich and King's Lynn there are a total of 1,064 pension cases which were affected by the delayed implementation of NIRS2 that are still to be reviewed. Not all these cases, however, will result in the current rate of benefit being revised.

Where awards of pension cannot be immediately calculated using information from NIRS2 a clerical calculation is made. This arrangement will continue until all cases can be calculated using NIRS2. Extra staff have been made available for this.