§ Mr. Robin CookTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated cost per successful application for housing benefit transitional payments made by the Glasgow unit of his Department.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 12 June 1989]: The work of the transitional payments unit (TPU) involves the processing of applications and correspondence from applicants and local authorities, making awards and payments to successful applicants, liaising with local authorities, producing leaflets and claim forms, and maintaining a free advice line. Both capital and manpower costs were heavily concentrated in the unit's first year of operation; administrative costs have fluctuated according to the level of activity in the unit and will decline significantly in future years. It is not possible to apportion the costs of the TPU between the activities undertaken, nor to produce a cost per claim. However, the full administrative costs of the unit in 1988–89 amounted to 21p in every pound of expenditure on the transitional payments scheme in that year.