HC Deb 14 November 1988 vol 140 cc444-6W
40. Mr. Butler

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will review the operation of housing benefit as it affects single parents.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

The Government have announced that they will monitor the effects of the recent social security reforms and monitoring the operation of the new housing benefit scheme is part of that exercise. However, the new scheme does already recognise the specific needs of lone parents through the premium and disregard structure and by the fact that the system gives more help than the old where rents are unavoidably high. The effect of the new system on individuals will vary widely, but transitional protection is available for lone parents where they saw a sharp drop in their benefit at the point of change in April.

Mr. Cartwright

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what steps he is taking to clear the backlog of outstanding applications for transitional housing benefit payments;

(2) how many applications for transitional housing benefit assistance have been received; how many have been approved; and how many were still outstanding at the most recent convenient date.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

The transitional payments unit has received 370,138 applications up to 8 November. Of this total 128,529 have been assessed as successful for payment and 117,818 applications are outstanding; 91,447 of these on 8 November are waiting on the return of inquiry forms from local authorities. The transitional payments unit is writing to or telephoning local authorities in all cases where inquiry forms should have been returned by October.

Mr. Cartwright

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) when an application for transitional housing benefit payments was received from Mrs. Irene Towndrow of 108 John Wilson street, SE18; why it has been delayed; and when it will be processed;

(2) when an application for transitional housing benefit payments was received from Mrs. M. Dales of 6 Queensborough House, Felixstowe road SE2; why it has been delayed; and when it will be processed.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Mrs. Towndrow's application was received on 11 July and Mrs. Dale's on 21 June. The delay in these cases has been caused by the local authority's failure to return the inquiry forms issued by the transitional payments unit. The applications were processed on 10 November when the unit obtained the necessary information by telephoning the London borough of Greenwich.

Mr. Cartwright

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when an application for transitional housing benefit payments was received from Mrs. E. Braithwaite of 29 Marshall Path SE28; why it has been delayed; and when it will be processed.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Mrs. Braithwaite's application was received on 13 June. The delay in this case was caused by a delay in the local authority referring the inquiry form to the agency which administers housing benefit for its private sector tenants. The application was processed on 7 November.

Mr. Cartwright

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when an application for transitional housing benefit payments was received from Mrs. Preates of 46 Malthus Path SE28; why it has been delayed; and when it will be processed.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Mrs. Preates' application was received on 13 June. In this case the inquiry form, issued by the transitional payments unit on 7 July was sent to the wrong local authority. It was redirected to the correct local authority on 7 September but was not returned until 10 November because of a delay in the local authority referring the inquiry form to the agency which administers housing benefit for its private sector tenants.

The application was processed on 10 November.

Mr. Robin Cook

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Members for Pembroke (Mr. Bennett), for Livingston (Mr. Cook) and for Lewisham, Deptford (Ms. Ruddock) of 7 November, on what basis the estimate was given in a written answer to the hon. Member of Wyre Forest (Mr. Coombs) of 16 June,Official Report, column 280 that some 350,000 people could benefit from the housing benefit transitional payments.

Mr. Nicholas Scott

The original published estimates for the number of possible beneficiaries from the transitional payments scheme were derived mainly from the same model that produced the tables in the "Impact of the Reformed Structure of the Income Related Benefits", published in October last year, and assumed that all those entitled would claim. To the extent that they were an over-estimate this could be due to a number of factors such as improved employment opportunities and an actual take-up rate of less than 100 per cent.

Mr. Robin Cook

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the average value of payments made by the housing benefit transitional payments unit.

Mr. Scott

Of the housing benefit transitional payments made to date the average weekly value is a little over £4.

Mr. Robin Cook

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of applications to the housing benefit transitional payments unit have been assessed as ineligible for payment.

Mr. Scott

Of the 370,138 applications received at the transitional payments unit 252,320 have so far been processed. Up until 8 November 123,791 cases had been assessed as ineligible for payment.

Mr. Robin Cook

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will place in the Library the housing benefit expenditure returns from local authorities.

Mr. Scott

I have placed in the Library local authorities' latest estimates of their housing benefit expenditure for 1987–88 and 1988–89.