§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what checks are made to ensure the validity of claims for backdated winter fuel payments. [134561]
§ Angela EagleThe administration of winter fuel payments is a matter for Alexis Cleveland, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Mr. David Willetts, dated 6 November 2000:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what checks are made to ensure validity of claims for backdated winter fuel payments.As with all claims to benefit, checks are made to validate any claim before payment is considered. This is completed by various means, including but not restricted to, reference to existing Departmental records and National Insurance data.For making Winter Fuel Payments in respect of previous years, use has been made of address matching software. Before validating any payments for retrospective claims, records have been cross-matched with previous years Winter Fuel Payments to ensure that payments are made only to those entitled and at the correct amounts.I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many households will benefit this winter from the winter heating allowance in each county in Wales. [135991]
§ Angela EagleThe information requested is not available because forecasts of winter fuel payment recipients and the number of households in which they live are only produced for Great Britain as a whole. For each unitary authority in Wales, the estimated number of people (rather than households) who benefited from the winter fuel payment in the winter—1999–2000 is shown in the table.
92W
Estimates of the number of recipients of winter fuel payments for winter 1999–2000 by unitary authority in Wales Thousand Number Wales (total) 548.4 Isle of Anglesey 14.1 Gwynedd 25.3 Conwy 27.9 Denbighshire 20.0 Flintshire 24.4 Wrexham 21.5 Powys 26.4 Ceredigion 13.5 Pembrokeshire 22.7 Carmarthenshire 36.8 Swansea 45.0 Neath Port Talbot 26.1 Bridgend 22.7 The Vale of Glamorgan 22.0 Rhondda Cynon Taff 41.3 Merthyr Tydfil 10.2 Caerphilly 27.8 Blaenau Gwent 12.8 Torfaen 16.3
Estimates of the number of recipients of winter fuel payments for winter 1999–2000 by unitary authority in Wales Thousand Number Monmouthshire 17.3 Newport 23.8 Cardiff 50.5 Note:
The table is based on 5 per cent. samples of administrative information and therefore subject to a degree of sampling error.