Lone Parent Benefit (Hansard, 10 November 1998)

§ Mr. McGrady
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications for(a) lone parent benefit and (b) child benefit were made from (i) 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998 and (ii) 1 April 1998 to 30 September 1998; of these how many have been approved; how many were refused; and how many await determination. [58666]

§ Mr. McFall
Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Social Security Agency under its Chief Executive, Mr. Chris Thompson, and I have asked him to arrange for a response to be given.
Letter from Chris Thompson to Mr. Eddie McGrady, dated 10 November 1998: I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number of applications for lone parent benefit and Child Benefit. The number of claims for Child Benefit for the period 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998 was 32,817 and for the period I April 1998 to 30 September 1998 was 15,744. During the period I April 1997 to 30 September 1998 46,530 claims were approved and 366 claims were refused. At 30 September 1998 there were 1,665 awaiting determination. There is no separate benefit for lone parents only a higher rate of Child Benefit. It is therefore not possible to give separate figures for lone parents.
111W

§ Mr. McGrady
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications for renewal books were made in respect of(a) child benefit and (b) lone parent benefits from (i) 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998 and (ii) 1 April 1998 to 30 September 1998; how long it took on average to process such applications; and how many applications are still outstanding. [58665]

§ Mr. McFall
Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Social Security Agency under its Chief Executive, Mr. Chris Thompson, and I have asked him to arrange for a response to be given.
Letter from Chris Thompson to Mr. Eddie McGrady, dated 10 November 1998: I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number of applications for renewal order books for Child Benefit and lone parent benefit. All renewal order books for Child Benefit are automatically issued to the customer so there is no need for an application to be made. Order books are normally issued to the post office 4 weeks before a customer's current order book is due to expire. Accordingly there is no information regarding the length of time it takes to process a renewal or how many renewals are outstanding. The number of Child Benefit renewal order books issued for the period I April 1997 to 31 March 1998 was 387,636 and for the period 1 April 1998 to 30 September 1998 was 232,051. There is no separate benefit for lone parents only a higher rate of Child Benefit. It is therefore not possible to give separate figures for lone parents. You will know that Child Benefit Office has experienced some problems following the introduction of a new computer system. This has undoubtedly had some impact on the issue of renewal order books but no separate figures have been kept. I am pleased to say we are over the worst of our difficulty.