HC Deb 17 April 1996 vol 275 cc536-7W
Dr. Godman

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list(a) the number of appeals against clawback decisions taken by the compensation recovery unit, (b) the number and percentage of which were successful and (c) the average amount repaid to successful appellants in each quarter of the last five years. [24002]

Mr. Roger Evans

This is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Ursula Brennan to Dr. Norman Godman, dated 16 April 1996: As Peter Mathison is away from the office on annual leave at the moment, the Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking if he will list (a) the number of appeals against clawback decisions taken by the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU), (b) the number and percentage of which were successful and (c) the average amount repaid to successful appellants in each quarter of the last five years. Since the introduction of the scheme in 1990 to the 31 March 1996, 825 appeals against clawback decisions were received by the CRU. 682 have been processed so far, out of which 374 (54.8%) were successful. Of those which were successful, the CRU reviewed the decision without reference to the Independent Tribunal Service (ITS) in 318 cases and in the remainder of the cases the appeal was allowed/partially allowed by the ITS. The average amounts repaid to successful appellants in each quarter of the last five years are given in the annex attached. I hope you find this reply helpful.

Quarterly period Average amount repaid £
1 April 1991 to 30 June 1991 5.81
1 July 1991 to 30 September 1991 675.54
1 October 1991 to 31 December 1991 91.76
1 January 1992 to 31 March 1992 2,972.98
1 April 1992 to 30 June 1992 3,015.68
1 July 1992 to 30 September 1992 1,584.84
1 October 1992 to 31 December 1992 2,199.72
1 January 1993 to 31 March 1993 1,519,10
1 April 1993 to 30 June 1993 2,014,29
1 July 1993 to 30 September 1993 5,948,50
1 October 1993 to 31 December 1993 3,003.87
1 January 1994 to 31 March 1994 2,350.49
1 April 1994 to 30 June 1994 4,610.49
1 July 1994 to 30 September 1994 2,894.40
1 October 1994 to 31 December 1994 2,712,33
1 January 1995 to 31 March 1995 5,447.71
1 April 1995 to 30 June 1995 3,238.33
1 July 1995 to 30 September 1995 5,590.87
1 October 1995 to 31 December 1995 6,032.08
1 January 1996 to 31 March 1996 4,545.16

Ms Lynne

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many incoming telephone calls were made to the Child Support Agency client helpline; how many received ring tone no reply, number busy or number unobtainable; how many were successfully answered; and what percentage of the total number of incoming calls were ineffective. [24645]

Mr. Andrew Mitchell

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Miss Ann Chant to Miss Liz Lynne, dated 16 April 1996: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about telephone calls made to the Child Support Agency. Information on incoming calls to the Child Support Agency Client Help Line (CHL) is available for the period from September 1994 to February 1996, and the details are as follows: incoming calls 7,022,325; answered by BT National Screening Centre 933,844; answered by CHL 2,523,082; call terminated before being answered, number busy or unobtainable 3,565,399. Of the total calls received, 50.77% received neither a personal nor a recorded answer. Like any other organisation where a great deal of contact with clients is by telephone, calls to the Agency that are initially unsuccessful for whatever reason (be it the client choosing to ring at another time or experiencing difficulty in connection) will almost certainly be repeated and the future contact will be successful. Up to February 1995 calls were diverted to the BT National Screening Centre when they were unable to reach the CHL queue, and a recorded message was delivered to the caller. However, this was costly both for the Agency and the callers, and since February 1995 the diversion of calls has only taken place outside office opening hours. I hope this is helpful.