§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations his Department and its agencies have received since 1 January about delays in paying income support in respect of persons with extreme difficulties in specialised units(a) nationally and (b) in Somerset; what trends there have been in the time taken to settle these claims; and if he will make a statement. [24285]
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§ Mr. Roger EvansThe administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Ian Magee, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ian Magee to Mr. David Nicholson, dated 22 May 1995:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking about delays in making payment of Income Support to customers with extreme difficulties living in specialised units in Somerset and elsewhere in Great Britain.I understand that the Manager of the Benefits Agency's District Office in Somerset wrote to you on 17 May concerning the Income Support claims of four residents of a specialised unit, two of whom had their cases immediately resolved. Since that date the two outstanding cases have also been resolved and full entitlement to benefit including all arrears due has been sent.I am very sorry that there have been difficulties in respect of these particular cases. I am assured, however, that this is an isolated matter and we have no evidence or indication that there is a problem of delays in the payment of Income Support either in Somerset or nationally to customers in these circumstances.I hope you find this reply helpful.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people have been refused income support after failing the habitual residence test since its introduction, in the Euston district office of Glasgow; how many have appealed against this decision; how many of those appeals have now been heard by a tribunal; how many claimants won their appeals; how many are still waiting for an appeal date to be given; and how many of those claimants appealing, have applied for an interim payment, and how many of those applicants have been refused. [25403]
§ Mr. Roger EvansThe administration of income support is. a matter for Mr. Ian Magee, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ian Magee to Mr. Jeremy Corbyn, dated 22 May 1995:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the operation of the habitual residence test (HRT) for Income Support customers of the Benefits Agency (BA) District Office in Euston.The full range of information is not available. Information about the number of customers who pass or fail the HRT is collected and maintained centrally for BA management information purposes. Information is not routinely collected about appeals specifically against HRT decisions, the result of those appeals, or of requests for interim payments on account of Income Support entitlement.However, as an aid to their resource planning and management team at Glasgow Benefit Centre has kept an informal record of appeals against Income Support disallowances from customers of Euston District Office who fail the HRT, and of the decisions of the Social Security Appeal Tribunals, for which a notification has been received, in those appeals. The data available is:
- Habitual Residence Test disallowances—3966
- Habitual Residence Test appeals—364
- Appeals heard—97
- Appeals allowed—72
- Hearing date awaited—116
It should be noted that in a number of cases the local adjudicating authorities revised the disallowance of Income Support as part of a routine review of the decision following receipt of an appeal; a number of appeals have been heard but notification of the Tribunal decision is awaited; and in a number of cases hearing dates have been notified to customers.I hope you find this reply helpful.
§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will re-institute the collection and publishing of data on the length of time claimants have558W been drawing income support by each year of duration above two years, and up to 20 years plus. [25140]
§ Mr. Roger EvansIt is no longer possible to collect reliable information on durations of claims for those people who have been in receipt of income support for relatively long periods. A full explanation is given in the introduction to the 1993 annual statistical enquiry, a copy of which is in the Library.