Income Support Computer System (Hansard, 18 December 1996)

§ Mr. Roger Evans

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

Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Andrew Smith, dated 16 December 1996: The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking what information is conveyed to claimants about their claim by the Income Support Computer System (ISCS) used by the BA; what information is provided to claimants who are notified of a mortgage interest direct overpayment in respect of (i) why the overpayment occurred, (ii) how much was overpaid and (iii) when and how recovery will be effected; on whose responsibility changes are made to the ISCS; what plans there are for such changes; and in each case, what is their priority. The ISCS issues award notifications following an initial claim for benefit and on relevant changes of circumstances. These notifications inform the customer of the Adjudication Officer's decision, explain how the award has been calculated, the method of payment and their right of appeal.

Income Support Appeals		March 1995	June 1995	September 1995	December 1995
Total number heard and decided		11,674	9,583	10,720	8,620
Total number decided in appellants favour and percentage		6,033	3,777	3,841	3,057
		(51 percent.)	(39 per cent.)	(35 per cent.)	(35 per cent.)
Decision in appellants favour:	Number decided	1,159	1,328	1,424	1,170
appellant only attended	Percentage success	43	45	43	43
Decision in appellants favour:	Number decided	1,983	480	257	209
representative only attended	Percentage success	78	66	49	48
Decision in appellants favour:	Number decided	1,456	1,473	1,533	1,156
appellant and representative attended	Percentage success	68	65	65	63
Decision in appellants favour:	Number decided	1,435	496	627	522
no attendance	Percentage success	32	12	13	14

Source: "Quarterly Social Scurity Appeal Tribunal Statistics" published by Analytical Services Division.

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The ISCS also notifies a customer when, on behalf of the Secretary of State, Income Support housing costs are to be deducted from the award, for direct payment to the mortgage lender, mortgage interest direct (MID). In the event of a MID overpayment of £25.00 or less the amount is recovered from the Lender by adjusting the subsequent MID payments. The ISCS automatically issues notifications to the customer and the lender. The customer notification details how the overpayment has occurred, the amount overpaid and how recovery will be made, example at Annex A. Procedural guidance is available in the Income Support Guide for Housing Costs. I have arranged for a copy to be placed in the Library. Overpayments of more than £25.00 are repaid by the lender in a lump sum. In these circumstances clerical notifications are issued to both the customer and the lender. Again, the customer notification details how the overpayment has occurred, the amount overpaid and how recovery will be made, example at Annex B. Decisions on whether to commission changes to the BA computer systems are my responsibility and that of my management team. These decisions are based on the business requirement and analysis of alternative solutions within the capacity available. Priority is normally given to enhancements in respect of legislative changes and other unavoidable and essential work. The ISCS work programme to the end of 1997 includes enhancements to allow payments of the new Child Maintenance Bonus; to transfer records of unemployed customers to the Jobseeker's Allowance Payment System; to introduce a payment card facility; to improve accounting data and to implement changes to One Parent Benefit and the Lone Parent Premium announced in the recent Budget. All these changes are regarded as essential. I hope you find this reply helpful.