§ Mr. DoddsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average length of time taken 381W to replace pension books when they expired was in Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available. [154411]
§ Mr. SpellarUnfortunately the information requested is not available.
Renewal pension books are issued automatically three weeks in advance of the date of the first order in the new book.
§ Mr. DoddsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pension books were issued in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [154412]
§ Mr. SpellarThe number of pension books issued in each of the last five years is shown in the table.
Number of pension books 1999 196,000 2000 194,000 2001 191,000 2002 189,000 2003 166,000
§ Mr. DoddsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact of the introduction of automated credit transfer for payment of pensions in Northern Ireland. [154413]
§ Mr. SpellarAt December 2003, just over 34 per cent. of Pensions customers were paid by Direct Payment. Between April 2003 and January 2004, the Social Security Agency has contacted 159,000 pensioner customers asking them to convert to Direct Payment. Seventy nine thousand customers have provided account details and these will be activated as the current order book expires. A further 23,000 customers have responded positively to Agency correspondence.
A customer satisfaction survey was carried out in September 2003 for customers who had converted to Direct Payment and the results were very positive. A further survey is to be carried out in April 2004.