§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make an estimate of the number of(a) individual claimants and (b) households in Lambeth dependent upon income support at any one time.
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr.Jhon Fraser, dated 9 February 1993:
As chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matter. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking for an estimate of the number of (a) individual claimants and (b) households in Lambeth dependent upon Income Support at any one time.The information requested could be obtained only at disprotionate cost. However, I have listed below the available information, as at 30 Novermber 1992, of the number of Income Support recipients at the Benefits Agency Districts covering the London Borough of Lambeth. Benefits Agency District boundaries do not correspond wth those of individual boroughs and some may, therefore, live outside the borough of Lambeth. This information has been obtained form the Income Support Management Information Statistics.690W
District Number of Recipients Bankside 25,616 Lewisham and Brixton 57,393 Palace 65,007 South West Thames 55,474 Total 203,490 I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. A copy will also be placed in the Library.
§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many income support claimants who have lost their benefit books have been refused a replacement in the 1991–92 financial year and from April 1992 to date; and where there has been a previously lost book, how many have been subject to unauthorised encashments.
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of income support is a matter for Mr Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Michael Richard to Dr. Lynne Jones, dated 9 February 1993:
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking how many Income Support claimants have lost their benefit books and were then refused a replacement in the 1991–92 financial year and from April 1992 to date; and where there has been a previous lost book, how many have been subject to unauthorized enacashments.The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, I should explain that the number of cased where a customer reported an Income Support order book lost in 1992–92 and up to the quarter ending 30 June 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, were:
1991–92 Q/E 30 June 1992 Number of IS books issued: 6,472,016 1,337,865 Number of IS books reported lost: 66,594 (1.03 per cent.) 19,873 (1.48 per cent.) Number of IS books reported lost, stolen, destroyed after receipt: 28,004 (0.4 per cent.) 10,559 (0.8 per cent.) When customers report that they have lost an order book, they will he asked about the circumstances of the loss, and a replacement will be issued. The interviewing officer will have to be satisfied that reasonable efforts to trace the book have been made. The customer may not automatically receive a replacement book, but could be paid benefit temporarily by girocheques on a weekly basis.
The overall number of payment transactions makes a full reconciliation of order books by weekly counterfoils impracticable and not cost effective. It is therefore not possible to readily identify how many of those missing order books have subsequently been cashed.
I hope that you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. Copies are also being placed in the Library.