HC Deb 12 February 1996 vol 271 c468W
Mr. Bradley

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are currently claiming family credit; and what are(a) the total administration costs and (b) the average weekly administration cost per beneficiary. [14773]

Mr. Roger Evans

As at 30 April 1995, 606,000 families were receiving family credit. The estimated total administration costs for 1993–94, the latest date for which information is available, was £53 million, an estimated weekly average cost of £1.90 per beneficiary.

Note:

Administration costs include an apportionment of DSS general and central administrative costs not related to specific benefits.

Sources:

Family Credit Statistics Quarterly Enquiry April 1995. 1995 Social Security departmental report.

Mr. Steinberg

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average time it currently takes to process(a) a new claim for family credit and (b) a claim renewal. [13177]

Mr. Roger Evans

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

Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Gerry Steinberg, dated 9 February 1996: The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what is the average time it currently takes to process (a) a new claim for Family Credit (FC) and (b) a claim renewal. Statistics are produced on a monthly basis and the latest details available are for December 1995. These show the average clearance times to be as follows: New Claims: 11.87 working days Renewal Claims: 10.90 working days The Secretary of State for Social Security has set a target for the clearance of claims to FC. This is that 60% of claims be processed within 13 working days and that 95% be processed within 42 working days. As at 31 December 1995, the FC unit had cleared 70.4% within 13 working days and 98.3% within 42 working days. The FC Unit also operates a Fast Track system for processing claims from the newly employed through the Employment Service. Information required for the assessment is provided by the customer's Client Adviser which enables the unit to assess the claim more quickly. Figures for the month ending 31 December 1995 show that 97.2% of customers using the Fast Track system had their claim decided in 5 working days. I hope you find this reply useful.