Mr. Robert AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what representations he has received from Coventry concerning undue delay in the payment of income support;
(2) what standard is set for the time to be taken to process and pay income support to a woman who is within 11 weeks of her expected date of confinement;
(3) what information is required of an income support claimant who is within 11 weeks of expected date of confinement in order to evaluate their claim;
(4) what representations he has received from Coventry concerning the Benefit Agency asking unnecessary and irrelevant questions of income support claimants;
(5) to what explanation an income support claimant is entitled in a case of extensive delay in processing and paying a claim;
(6) what investigations are currently being conducted into the processing and payment of income support from the Coventry office.
§ 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.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Robert Ainsworth, dated 8 March:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about claims to, and the payment of, Income Support (IS) in Coventry.National targets for the 1993/94 year for IS claims are that 71% should be decided within 5 working days and 90% within 13 working days. Coventry District Office has achieved clearance rates of 74.1% within 5 working says and 89.7% within 13 working days in the year to date.The Benefits Agency Customer Charter, a copy of which I have enclosed, is freely available in any of the Agency's District Offices and states clearly that, where a delay occurs, the customer should contact the person dealing with their claim who will explain clearly the reason for it. If they are not satisfied with this explanation, they can contact the Customer Service Manager, who will then deal with the complaint. The name and address of the Customer Service Manager is displayed in all public areas of the Agency's offices and is also given on request to customers.Complaints addressed personally to the Manager of the Coventry office are not broken down to record the specific subject. I should also explain that no record is kept of the number, or nature of complaints, answered by IS staff, which were not referred to either the Customer Service Manager or Office Manager at Coventry.A customer who claims IS must supply any information necessary for an independent Adjudication Officer to decide entitlement to benefit. In addition, customers who are pregnant must also provide a certificate of Expected Date of Confinement provided by their GP or hospital.Peter Light, the Manager at Coventry District Office has informed me that he has no complaints under investigation concerning the processing of IS, or delays in making payment by his staff. However, if you have received a specific complaint or allegation, Mr. Light can be contacted and he will investigate it as a matter of priority and provide you with a full written report of his findings.I hope you find this reply helpful.