§ Norman LambTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the extent of delays in processing claims for means-tested benefits. [121495]
§ Malcolm WicksTargets for clearance times for both income support and jobseeker's allowance new claims is 12 days, while the target for actioning income support changes of circumstances is four days. The latest 759W statistical information available confirms that on average these targets are being met. The average clearance time for a new claim to income support is 10.39 days and for jobseeker's allowance 10.71 days. The average clearance time for income support change of circumstances is 2.40 days.
Statistics on actual clearance times indicate that 76.19 per cent. of all income support claims are cleared within the 12-day target with 91.78 per cent. of jobseeker's allowance claims cleared within the same period.
The target for clearance of a minimum income guarantee claim is 10 days while the target for actioning minimum income guarantee changes of circumstances is four days. The latest statistical information available confirms clearance time of 12.4 days for minimum income guarantee claims and 3.5 for minimum income guarantee changes of circumstances.