HC Deb 17 February 1997 vol 290 cc423-4W
Mr. Austin-Walker

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if a consistent policy or practice has been specified for the various departments of social security offices as regards the procedure for issuing national insurance numbers; if he will set out the criteria that have to be fulfilled to obtain a national insurance number; and if he will publish procedural(a) guidelines or (b) advice he has issued. [16222]

Mr. Heald

The Department of Social Security has a corporate policy and guidance for staff on allocation and registration of national insurance numbers.

Most young people who live in Great Britain or Northern Ireland, and for whom child benefit is in payment, are automatically registered for NI and issued with a plastic NINO card shortly before they reach 16.

pensions, (b) Total receipts of the national insurance funds, (c) the amount of the surplus over receipts and (d) the percentage of (b) and (a) in each year from 1979–80 to 1995, at 1995–96 prices. [14274]

Mr. Heald

The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.

In other circumstances, most usually for people entering this country from abroad, a person applies to be registered by calling into their social security office, taking with them acceptable evidence of identity, and completing an application for NINO allocation and registration.

Thorough checks are made to ensure that the person does not already have a NINO and their identity is established in accordance with the departmental guidance outlined in the "Evidence of Identity Handbook", a copy of which is available in the Library.