§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many times in each of the last three years for which figures are available the Department of Health and Social Security in Northern Ireland has not made an ex-gratia payment recommended by an appeal tribunal.
§ Mr. HanleyWhile this is a matter for the chief executive of the Social Security Agency, I understand that statistics on the number of ex-gratia payments recommended by an appeal tribunal that were not paid by the Department are not readily available and that the answer to this question could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.