§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each of the last five years and for each Benefits Agency office the cost of operating the out-of-hours service. [1431]
§ Mr. Roger EvansThis 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. David Hinchliffe, dated 6 November 1996:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking if he will list for each of the last five years and for each Benefits Agency office the cost of operating the out-of-hours service.The information is not available in the format requested. The total budgets allocated for the operation of the Out of Hours Service for each of the last five years were as follows:
- 1992/93: £0,561 million
- 1993/94: £0,987 million
- 1994/95: £1,720 million
- 1995/96: £1,754 million
- 1996/97: £1,834 million.
Figures are provisional and subject to change.
The budgets allocated to each Area Directorate are detailed in the attached table. Each Area Director decides on the distribution of these budgets to District Offices to support the operation of the Out Of Hours Service across their Area and details could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.I hope you find this information helpful.