§ Mrs. Beckettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services in which parts of Great Britain supplementary benefit claimants may qualify for single payments on the grounds of exceptionally severe weather under the formula laid down by the Chief Adjudication Officer in respect of quarterly fuel bills for periods ended in February.
§ Mr. WhitneyI refer the hon. Member to my replies to the hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) on 14 January at column64 and on 18 February at columns389–93 and to the hon. Member for Walsall, North and my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Kent (Mr. Rowe) on 21 January at columns 349–53.
§ Mrs. Beckettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many wrongful refusals of single payments for furniture were found in the course of his inspectorate's inquiry on this subject; and whether those payments have now been made.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe inspectors were of the opinion that in 18 out of the 200 cases examined there was a possibility that payment might have been wrongfully refused; but 16 of these were subsequently revised after appeal by claimants. Decisions on claims for single payments for furniture are made initially by independent adjudication officers in local offices, subject to the right of appeal to social security appeal tribunals and, on a point of law, to the Social Security Commissioners, As officers of the Social Security Policy Inspectorate are not adjudication officers, their opinion on the merits of individual cases cannot be decisive and does not provide grounds for reopening cases in which the claimant himself is satisfied with the decision.