§ Mr. Alasdair MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what staff and technology are shared between his Department and its agencies and the Department of Social Security and its agencies; what work is undertaken(a) on behalf of the DSS and its agencies by his Department and its agencies and (b) by the DSS and its agencies on behalf of his Department or agencies in the last year; and what payments have been made in each case. [124255]
§ Mr. George HowarthThe Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland does not share staff with the Department of Social Security (DSS) in Great Britain. The Department's Child Support Agency provides child support services for those DSS clients living in Eastern England. The Department receives £25.5 million from DSS in respect of this business. The Social Security Agency also provides benefit processing and administration services to DSS for clients living in the Lewisham, Neasden and Brixton areas of London, for which it receives an annual payment of £10.4 million from DSS. The Department also provides a storage and retrieval service to DSS for social security order book foils for which it receives an annual payment of £4.9 million.
The Department for Social Development uses the DSS computer systems to administer social security benefits and to deliver Child Support services. The Department pays DSS £7.7 million for the use of these systems and for the installation and maintenance of the equipment on which they run.
217WThe DSS also provides the Department with a number of other ancillary services, such as publishing and distribution, fraud inspection, work measurement and Child Support decision making. DSS receive £510,000 for these services.
Responsibility for this subject has been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly and is therefore no longer a matter for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.