Mr. Robert HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many claims for hardship allowance have been made, over(a) the last three months and (b) the last six months, by those disqualified from benefit as a result of having been unable to find or take up a YTS place; and how many have been granted;
(2) how many claims for hardship allowance have been received in the Grampian region over the last three months from those disqualified from benefit as a result of not having been able to find or take up a YTS place; and how many have been granted.
§ Mr. Peter LloydLoss of benefit results, not from a failure to find or take up a YTS place, but from the provision in the Social Security Act 1988 withdrawing general entitlement to income support from 16 and 17-year-olds. There are circumstances in which benefit can, nevertheless. be paid. These include the situation where the young person would otherwise unavoidably suffer severe hardship.
In the 13 weeks following the withdrawal of general entitlement to income support on 12 September, 1,889 applications for a direction by the Secretary of State under the "severe hardship" provision were received. In 1,269 cases a direction was given to enable payment to be made.
While applications from the Grampian region as a whole are not easily identifiable, a total of 66 applications have been received up to now from the Department's offices in Aberdeen; in 42 instances a direction has been given.
Mr. Robert HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the cost over(a) the last three months and (b) the last six months, of telephone calls from and to local officers of Department of Social Security as a result of having to refer centrally all hardship claims from those disqualified from benefit as a result of having been unable to find or take a YTS place.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe information requested is not available. Telephone calls made from local offices to DSS headquarters in relation to young people's claims for income support on grounds of hardship are not differentiated in accounts from other business calls. Equally, no separate record is kept of the cost of telephone calls from headquarters to local offices on the same matter.