Dr. Codmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the current average length of time for a decision on an application for a single payment in (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow, (b) Strathclyde, (c) Lothian and (d) Scotland as a whole.
§ Mr. MajorClaims for single payments are determined as soon as possible after all the information required has been collected; and urgent claims are given priority. Owing to a recent upsurge in claims in Scotland, resulting from a number of "take-up" campaigns mounted by local authorities and other agencies, claims are taking longer than usual to process.
Decisions on urgent claims are being given in one to two and two to three weeks, respectively at the Port Glasgow and Greenock local social security offices. Routine claims are taking longer, up to 15 and 8 weeks, respectively. Similar figures for Strathclyde, Lothian and Scotland are not available.
692Wthey currently earn; what consultations he has had with Civil Service unions about these new methods and procedures; and what was the outcome.
§ Mr. MajorIn line with other Departments, this Department pays automatic data processing (ADP) allowances to the following specialist computer staff: