HC Deb 06 July 1998 vol 315 cc409-11W
Mr. Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will make a statement on her Department's monitoring of the administration of winter fuel payments. [47487]

(2) if she will list the dates when each Minister in her Department was first informed by civil servants orally or by written submissions or briefings of the Benefit Integrity Project; [47094]

(3) what oral or written briefings or submissions each Minister in her Department received from civil servants on aspects of the Benefit Integrity Project prior to 29 May 1997. [47095]

Mr. Denham

[holding answer 24 June 1998]At the time of the election, briefing was prepared for newly appointed Ministers. An initial pack providing an overview of the Department's activities and the main current issues was given to my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State and the Minister for Welfare Reform, on 3 May 1997 and to me and other ministers at the beginning of the following week. The Benefit Integrity Project was not mentioned in this initial pack.

A general briefing pack on disability benefits was provided for my noble Friend Baroness Hollis on 9 May. My noble Friend had a wide-ranging introductory meeting with officials on 21 May based on the written briefing pack. The briefing pack included a paragraph which described the Project but which did not highlight the project as an issue of particular concern or about which decisions needed to be made, and it was not discussed at the meeting.

Also on 21 May, the House of Lords gave judgments on two cases about the scope of Disability Living Allowance. A briefing note was sent to all Ministers on the cases on the same day about the judgment. There was no direct connection between the two cases and the Project, but there was a brief description of it in a general briefing note on Disability Living Allowance attached to the paper. The handling of the paper within each Minister's office is set out in the table.

The attention of my noble Friend Baroness Hollis was not drawn to the project until 29 May, following a meeting between officials and representatives of disability organisations. On 30 May a paper describing the Project in detail was sent to all Ministers. The handling of the paper within each Minister's office is also set out in the table. The Project was discussed at a meeting at which all Ministers were present on 5 June.

Mr. Denham

We were kept informed of all significant developments as they arose. The delivery of these payments to almost ten million eligible pensioners in over seven million households was an enormous and unprecedented achievement for the Department.

The experience of making those payments will be used to inform the delivery of next winter's payments.