§ Andrew BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the speed with which(a) UK nationals who have worked in Belgium but live in UK and (b) Belgians who have worked in UK get benefit claims dealt with by the Belgian authorities;
(2) how many people living in the UK are in receipt of supplementary benefit pending satisfaction of claims against the Belgian authorities in relation to employment benefits. [17376]
§ Malcolm WicksInformation on the time taken to process benefit claims from UK nationals which rely on contribution records from the Belgian authorities could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information on the 805W speed with which benefit claims from Belgian nationals are dealt with by the Belgian authorities is solely a matter for those authorities.
As at 30 November 2001 there are two people living in Great Britain and in receipt of income-based jobseeker's allowance while we are awaiting details of their contribution record from the Belgian authorities. The Northern Ireland Assembly is responsible for social security matters in Northern Ireland.