§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many applications he has received under the Computers for Teachers scheme from schools in Bury, North; and how many refund payments have been made within one month of the submission of the application; [124770]
(2) how many applications he has received under the Computers for Teachers scheme; how many refund payments have been made within one month of the application; how many refund payments are still pending; and what is the current average length of time for making refund payments. [124771]
§ Mr. Wills[holding answer 14 June 2000]: Data relating to the number of applications from constituency areas are not held centrally.
The Computers for Teachers scheme has been very popular and early indications are that over 27,000 computers have been purchased under the scheme from the authorised suppliers. The scale of the response has unfortunately meant that there have been delays in processing payments. The Department very much regrets these delays and has taken urgent action to put in place measures which will ensure that:
Any teacher who submitted a claim which was received in the Department before 12 May will either have their claim cleared for payment or have been contacted to resolve any issue related46Wto their claim, by 23 June. It should be noted that "cleared for payment" means that the payment will have been entered into the BACS system and will then take between three and 10 days to clear into an individual's bank or building society account.Any teacher whose claim was received in the Department between 13 and 31 May will have their claim cleared for payment or will be contacted by 30 June.Any teacher whose claim was received in June will have their claim cleared for payment or will be contacted within the four week timescale originally anticipated.