§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate what proportion of the savings from the non-redirection of mail accrue from claims made by(a) landlords, (b) private tenants and (c) local authority or housing association tenants. [114672]
§ Angela Eagle[holding answer 14 March 2000]While estimates can be made of the average and total savings to date for local authorities from the non-redirection of benefit post scheme, the level of data available is insufficient to assess what proportion accrues from different types of tenancies.
270W(2) what the average savings per local authority per week have been to date from the non-redirection of benefit post scheme. [114002]
§ Angela Eaglee [holding answer 10 March 2000]The figures given are based on a series of estimates and assumptions set out in the notes to the table. They do not include the deterrent effect of the Royal Mail "do not redirect" scheme.
The table shows the number of local authorities (LAs) using the Royal Mail "do not redirect" service in each month since it became available in February 1999. It also shows the estimated number of frauds identified and total savings achieved on the assumption that each fraud case saved an average of £1,600.
On the basis of these estimates and assumptions the average weekly benefit savings achieved by each LA using this service would be around £250, which equates to £13,000 per authority per year. This means that on current information, were all local authorities to use this service, we would expect it to realise total savings of around £5.3 million per year.