§ Mr. Heseltineasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the administrative cost to the Supplementary Benefits Commission in the most recent year for which figures are available of calculating and paying claimants' housing costs; and how many equivalent whole-time staff were occupied in doing so.
§ Mr. DeakinsThe estimated administrative cost to my Department of dealing with all aspects of claimants' housing costs is £16 million. The equivalent of approximately 2,900 full time staff are engaged on this work. Calculation of housing costs is an integral part of assess-672W ing a claimant's requirements and it would be unusual for any staff to be engaged full time on this aspect of work.