§ Dr. IddonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what were, for each relevant year to date, the numbers of people dealt with by the benefit integrity project at the Bolton office for(a) disability living allowance and (b) incapacity benefit, and the outcomes in terms of retention of or loss of benefit. [38426]
§ Mr. DenhamThe Benefit Integrity Project aims to ensure that those in receipt of Disability Living Allowance are entitled to it. While it is right to check that people are receiving the correct amount of benefit, we are determined that those checks should be undertaken as sensitively as possible. We also must ensure that all decisions taken as a result of the project are right. We have, therefore, acted to introduce an extra safeguard to improve the quality of, and the confidence in, benefit decisions made by the Project.
The administration of the Benefit Integrity Project is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Brian Iddon, dated 21 April 1998:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what were, for each relevant year to date, the numbers of people dealt with by the Benefit Integrity Project at the Bolton office for (a) Disability Living Allowance and (b) Incapacity Benefit, and the outcomes in terms of retention of or loss of benefit.643WThe information is not available in the format requested. The Benefit Integrity Project (BIP) is a programme of postal enquiries and home visits to seek up to date information about the care and mobility needs of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) customers receiving the higher rate mobility component with either the middle or highest rate care component. The BIP does not affect any benefit other than DLA.DLA is administered centrally at the Disability Benefits Unit in Blackpool and eleven regional Disability Benefit Centres. As at 31 January 1998, a total of 54,839 cases have been examined as part of the BIP. Of these 1,299 people have had their benefit increased, 42,730 have remained unchanged, 6,884 have had their benefit reduced and 3,926 have had their benefit stopped. The total includes 10,811 renewal cases: of which 334 had their benefit increased, 5,601 remain unchanged, 2,907 have had their benefit reduced and 1,969 have had their benefit stopped.District Offices (DOs) administer Incapacity Benefit (IB) along with a range of other benefits. The current live load of IB cases at Bolton DO is 13,156. In addition to this there are 5,199 credit only cases, where the customer receives National Insurance Credits but no IB.I hope that this is helpful.