§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will detail the average length of time claimants wait for the hearing of their appeals against supplementary benefit decisions for each year since 1979; and if these data can be presented for(a)Birkenhead,(b)Merseyside and(c)nationally.
§ Mr. NewtonThe information is given in the following table.
Supplementary benefit appeal tribunals: Time from lodgement of appeal to hearing Number of weeks 1979 1980 1981 Birkenhead 4.1 4.7 7.8 Merseyside 3.8 4.3 8.0 Nationally 3.9 3.9 6.2
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will update the information given to the hon. Member for Birkenhead on 21 May 1981,Official Report, c. 161, on the number of claimants ineligible for unemployment benefit who have had their supplementary benefit reduced or withdrawn.
§ Mr. RossiThe information is not available in the form requested.
(a)Annual totals of the number of claimants who had their supplementary benefit reduced because they left, lost or refused work without good cause are not collected. The following figures relate to the position on one clay in the year and are derived from the supplementary benefits annual statistical enquiry. It is not possible to break down these figures to show separately those ineligible for unemployment benefit and those with an underlying entitlement.
Number of cases with reductions due to voluntary unemployment Year Number 1980 20,285 1981 14,594 (b)Statistics about withdrawal of benefit do not discriminate between claimants who have or have not an underlying entitlement to unemployment benefit. The available information is as follows:
Number of cases where benefit was refused or withdrawn Year Number 1981 5,482
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will update the information on the numbers of supplementary benefit recipients called for interview before unemployment review officers given to the hon. Member for Birkenhead on 21 May 1981,Official Report, c. 158.
§ Mr. RossiThe information requested is as follows:
496W
1981 Number Number invited for interview 425,000 Number who ceased to draw benefit before interview 31,000 Total number of interviews 642,000 Number who ceased to draw benefit after interview 66,000 Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the current length of time Birkenhead claimants wait to appeal against a supplementary benefit officer's decision.
§ Mr. NewtonThis information is not available. Claimants may make an appeal to a supplementary benefit appeal tribunal within 28 days from the date on which notice of the benefit officer's decision is given, or within such further time as the chairman of the tribunal may allow.
§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the recognised date in September for the commencement of processing of claims forms for supplementary benefit submitted by unemployed school leavers; and if the same date was applicable throughout the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. NewtonPupils aged 16-18 who leave school during or at the end of the summer-term become eligible to claim supplementary benefit on the first Monday in September and claims are processed accordingly. This applies throughout the United Kingdom.