§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants have been affected adversely by the introduction of NIRS2 computer system; and if he will break down this total by each claimant group. [68820]
§ Mr. TimmsI refer my right hon. Friend to the Written Answers I gave to the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr. Rendel) on 4 November 1998Official Report, columns 603–06, and to my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Ms Walley) on 18 January 1999, Official Report, columns 368–69.
180,000 Retirement Pensioners and 30,000 Widows Benefit recipients are currently in receipt of initial awards or emergency payments. Up to 20,000 Incapacity Benefit recipients may be affected, of whom 8,000 have been referred to Income Support. There are currently 36,000 Jobseeker's Allowance interim payments being made.
In some of these cases, the amounts being paid will be correct, but in many cases they will be less than the amount due. All will be reviewed once the NIRS2 system is fully operational.