§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set out the details of the contingency plans to provide for the payment of unemployment benefit and other social security benefits to recipients who will be affected by the Civil Service's industrial action.
§ Mrs. ChalkerBenefits for the unemployed are now being paid manually by the staff in unemployment benefit offices, but this service is not being maintained in some offices in Scotland. The unemployed should continue to go to unemployment benefit offices where they will be told how their benefit will be paid. Where payments are no longer being made from these offices, people should go to their local social security office.
New and replacement order books for child benefit are not being issued from the child benefit centre at Washington. Arrangements are being made with the Post Office for benefit to continue to be paid when order books run out by production of the book that has just expired. Most mothers will not be affected, but payments will be delayed for those who have sent their order books back to Washington recently and in respect of new claims. Until further notice, mothers should not send their order books to the child benefit centre but should report any changes of circumstances to their local social security office. Claims for new children can be made in the normal way, although payment will be delayed.
Payment of retirement and widows' pensions is not affected by industrial action, but, since March, people who are within four months of pensionable age have not received the normal invitation to claim retirement pension. Claims forms for pensions are available in local social security offices for people approaching retirement age and these should be completed and returned to local offices in the normal way to safeguard future entitlement. Regulations are being made to enable interim payments to be made in lieu of pensions to those who reach pension age after 10 July and make a claim for retirement pension. Similar arrangements will be made for widows who from a later date reach the end of their period of receipt of widows' allowance and are seeking award of widows' pension. Appropriate publicity will be undertaken soon to help people safeguard their entitlement to pensions.