§ Mr. Neil Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to ensure that the system of paying benefits by post is ended and replaced by a system of direct debiting into the Giro or bank account of the claimant.
§ Dr. BoysonPayment by direct crediting into Giro and bank accounts is practicable only for those benefits for which the payment processes are computerised. Direct crediting is therefore ruled out for any of the benefits paid from the Department's local offices until computerisation takes place.
For those benefits which are computerised at the Department's central offices such as retirement and widows pensions, payment by credit transfer is being introduced as quickly as possible as an optional method of payment. A high proportion of pensioners and other beneficiaries, however, do not want a switch to payment by credit transfer, and the Government accept that it would be inappropriate to compel them to do so.