§ Jeremy CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average administrative cost was of delivering housing benefit for each London borough in each of the last three years; how many outstanding applications there are; and how many complaints were recorded. [76328]
§ Malcolm WicksThe available information has been placed in the Library. Information on the number of complaints made to local authorities about their Housing Benefit administration are not collected centrally.
However, in his Annual Report for 2001–02, the Local Government Ombudsman reported that complaints to him about Housing Benefit administration in England fell by a quarter on the
As at 1 April 2001 Department/Body/Organisation Scotland London Rest of England Wales Northern Ireland Overseas No. (FTE) % No. (FTE) % No. (FTE) % No. (FTE) % No. (FTE) % No. (FTE) % Core Departments 3,130 8.2 4,840 12.6 23,220 60.6 710 1.9 3,060 8.0 3,360 8.8 Armed Forces2 15,080 7.2 6,430 3.1 136,610 65.5 3,220 1.5 8,390 4.0 38,900 18.6 Non-Departmental public bodies — — 250 64.6 140 36.2 — — — — — — Executive Agencies 6,290 10.8 3,290 5.7 43,470 74.7 4,070 7.0 100 0.2 960 1.7 Independent Statutory Bodies Information Not Available Total 24,500 8.0 14,810 4.8 203,440 66.6 8,000 2.6 11,550 3.8 43,220 14.1 Notes:
1 Figures in the breakdown exclude 1875 MoD civilian staff, for whom allocation to a specific region is not possible.
2 April 2001 figures for UK based Service staff are not available and these have been taken as at 1 July 2000, this conforms with previously published data in UKDS 2001
3 The information required for the "Independent Statutory Bodies" can only be obtained at disproportionate costs.
4 Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.