§ Mr. GogginsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the accuracy of the annual industrial injuries disablement benefit assessment data for the 1998–99 financial year. [118548]
§ Mr. BayleyA new model for forecasting caseload and expenditure on Industrial Injuries Benefits has been developed. A comparison of encashment data with new expenditure forecasts for 1998–99 has identified an undercounting of around 6 per cent. in the number of assessments.
Future assessment forecasts have assumed that this 6 per cent. undercounting is constant over the forecast period.