§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many 16 and 17-year-olds living in the Durham area are not in full-time education and are not entitled to benefit.
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of social security benefits 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 Mr. M. Bichard to Mr. Gerry Steinberg, dated 11 May 1993:
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security how many 16 and 17 year olds living in the Durham area are not in full-time education and are not entitled to benefit.508W
1991–92 April 1992 to 31 December 1992 Hospital OBS GP Maternity OBS GB Maternity Ards 25 — 20 — Belfast City 64 — 64 — Downe 20 — 20 — Lagan Valley 33 — 27 — Mater 24 — 23 — Royal Maternity 74 — 72 — Ulster 44 — 43 — Ballymena Cottage 20 16 10 16 Robinson Memorial — 14 — 14 Mid Ulster 26 — 26 — Moyle 19 — 19 — Route 19 — 18 — Waveney 25 — 25 — Craigavon Area 61 — 61 — Daisy Hill 52 — 52 — South Tyrone 31 — 29 — This information is not available in the format requested except at a disproportionate cost. This is because the Benefits Agency does not keep statistics relating to disallowed claims by age of applicant. However, I have appended information relating to the number of successful applications for Severe Hardship payments made in the Benefits Agency's North Durham and South Durham Districts during February and March 1993. This information does not equate exactly to the number of individuals in receipt of a Severe Hardship payment, since an individual may have made more than one application during the period. Additionally, directions to make Severe Hardship payments normally last eight weeks, so some of these directions may not now be current.I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
Successful Severe Hardship claims in the Benefits Agency's North and South Durham districts; February and March 1993 February 1993 March 1993 North Durham 32 43 South Durham 34 32