§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many callers were dealt with at his Department's Portree office in each year from 1985 to 1988.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardThe information is as follows:
Numbers 1985 771 1986 1,216 1987 1,724 1988 2,029
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many claimants have been in receipt of supplementary benefit on Skye and Raasay in each of the past five years;
(2) how many claimants were in receipt of income support on Skye and Raasay in each of the past five years.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardSkye and Raasay are administered by the local office in Fort William and no separate figures are held in respect of claimants resident on these islands. The information for the Fort William area as a whole is set out as follows:
Number of claimants in receipt of supplementary benefit at Fort William office 1984 to 1987 Number 12 December 1984 2,596 11 December 1985 2,633 10 December 1986 2,707 18 November 1987 2,619
Number of claimants in receipt of income support at Fort William office in 1988 Number 30 November 1988 2,448 Source: 100 per cent. count of cases in action, this will include cases where benefit is no longer in payment but other action is continuing.
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§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many effective home visits to claimants' homes were made by staff of his Department's Fort William office on Skye and Raasay between 1 January and 30 June.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardThe information is as follows:
Number of effective home visits made between 1 January and 30 June Number Skye 167 Raasay Nil
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many effective home visits were made to claimants' homes by staff of his Department's Portree office in each year from 1985 to 1988.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardInformation is available only from April 1988. From April 1988 to December 1988, 434 effective visits were made.
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people were registered as self-employed on Skye and Raasay at a convenient date in each of the past 10 years.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardI regret that this information is not available.
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many telephone call units were charged on his Department's Portree office in each year from 1985 to 1988.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardThe information is as follows:
Year Call units 1985 12,357 1986 32,504 1987 23,471 1988 27,020
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how much was paid to staff on his Department's Fort William office for travelling arid subsistence in connection with work on Skye and Raasay between 1 January and 30 June.
(2) how much was paid to staff of his Department's Portree office for travelling and subsistence between 1 January and 30 June 1988.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardTravel and subsistence expenditure for specific areas administered by the local office in Fort William is not collated separately. The information for the Fort William area as a whole is set out as follows:
Travel and subsistence expenditure for Fort William local office £ 1st January—30 June 1988 6,692 1st January—30 June 1989 12,383
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received regarding the revised arrangements for providing a social security service on Skye and Raasay.
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§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardA number of representations have been received, the most recent in May 1989. The evidence to date shows that the revised arrangements are working extremely well.