HC Deb 18 July 1988 vol 137 cc480-1W
Mr. Robin Cook

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (I) how many transitional protection housing benefit payments have been made by the Glasgow unit;

(2) how many written and telephone inquiries have been received by the Glasgow housing benefit unit;

(3) how many of the applications for housing benefit transitional protection payment received by the Glasgow unit have been refused as being ineligible for a payment;

(4) how many applications for housing benefit transitional protection payments have been received by the Glasgow unit.

Mr. Portillo

As planned, the transitional payments unit became fully operational this month, making the first payments on Thursday 14 July. Up to 13 July the unit had received 19,628 written inquiries, 18,867 telephone inquiries and 77,750 applications for transitional payments. Already 14,892 inquiry forms, to obtain the information necessary to assess eligibility for payment, have been sent out to local authorities, and inquiries are now being sent out to local authorities at the rate of 4,500 per day. In the 190 cases where they have been returned assessments have been made. Ninety-six applicants were found to be ineligible for payment and in the other 94 cases applicants have been notified of their award and 18 payments were made on Thursday 14 July. These figures take no account of transitional payments being made to income support cases by the Glasgow unit.