§ 16. Mr. KennedyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the latest average length of time taken to process applications for family credit; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter LloydWe have reduced the average length of time from 22.9 working days in November to 21.7 days in January. Of that only 5.5 days was for work within family credit branch. The remaining 16.2 days were taken up by waiting for responses to enquiries, mainly from employers.
§ 29. Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received regarding the take-up of family credit.
§ 38. Mr. MadelTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what further measures he is considering to increase the take-up of family credit; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter LloydWe have received very few representations about family credit take-up from outside this House, where there has been a concentration on the number of people receiving the benefit. There has been less recognition of the fact that expenditure is running above the levels we originally estimated, which indicates that families who most need the benefit are getting it. The average award is over £25 a week, and I am sure that family credit is welcomed by the quarter of a million families currently receiving it.
We are planning a major campaign, to include television, to coincide with the uprating of family credit in April. The claim form is being revised and a new range of publicity material is being prepared. Our regional information teams will continue to raise awareness of family credit through the local media and by talking to employers, trade unions and others, especially to make clear the levels of income at which it can be paid.