§ 88. Mr. Christopher Priceasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now extend the payment of supplementary benefit by Giro to all offices of the Department.
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§ Mr. EnnalsPeople who call at our local offices to claim supplementary benefit have traditionally been paid in cash, after what has all too often been a longish wait, while their claim is checked and the amount they are entitled to is calculated. In recent months we have experimented in some 70 offices with paying callers by Giro order sent through the post. This is, of course the normal method of payment for sickness and other contributory benefits.
The principal advantage of postal payment is that a claimant can leave the office as soon as he has been interviewed. The average time the claimant has to spend in the office is thus approximately halved and, in particular, the very long waits which sometimes occur when there is difficulty in verifying the facts are largely obviated.
A further advantage is that the number of people waiting in the office at any one time is also drastically reduced, thus relieving the overcrowding which has, regrettably, been a feature of many of our offices in recent years. The conditions in which members of the public are received and interviewed are consequently much improved.
The new arrangement has been favourably received by the public and with the agreement of the Supplementary Benefits Commission we propose to extend it to all our offices in the New Year.