§ Mr. AshdownTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications for transitional payments more than two months old are now outstanding(a) for south Somerset and (b) for the United Kingdom as a whole.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe transitional payments unit processes applications as soon as the necessary information is received from the relevant local authority. A number of cases have not been processed because the inquiry forms have not been returned by local authorities. There are 70 inquiry forms, which have been outstanding for over two months, with South Somerset district council. Information on inquiries outstanding for over two months, in the United Kingdom as a whole, is not readily available.