§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average lapse of time between applications made for family credit and the determination thereof in the case of(a) claims made by people who have just started work, (b) renewal claims and (c) all claims.
§ Mr. JackFor the 12 months ended December 1990, the available information on the basis requested is as follows:
(a) Claims made by people who have just started work
A fast-path arrangement is available for people who start work after being on unemployment benefit or income support. 88 per cent. of claims dealt with under this arrangement were cleared within five working days. Claims from those people who have just started work can not be identified separately from those of other claimants who have been in work for some time when they make their first claim. The average clearance time for all new claims was 21.5 working days.(b) Renewal claims
The average clearance time was 19.3 working days.(c) All claims
The average clearance time was 20.45 working days.