§ Mr. Bulmerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claims for child benefit are waiting to be processed at Newcastle at the present time; and what is the average length of time between a claim being submitted and approved.
§ Mr. Nicholas Bakerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the time within which new voucher books under the child benefit scheme should be issued to mothers following application by them for child benefits; and what is the average period of time following such application within which child benefit is actually paid.
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§ Mrs. Chalker, pursuant to her reply [Official Report, 26 June 1979; Vol. 969, c. 160–1], gave the following answer:
No time limit is prescribed. In normal circumstances, the average time taken by the Child Benefit Centre from the receipt of a straightforward new claim to the time an award notice is issued to the mother is four working days. If further investigation is required, the average time taken is 14 working days. The order book is available for collection at the nominated post office by the time the award notice is received by the mother. These figures do not take account either of the effects of recent industrial action or postal delays. At least eight days should be added to each figure to reflect the current situation.