§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what proportion of applications for appointeeship(a) involve an interview with the claimant and (b) rely on the discussion with a carer or professional alone; [182699]
(2) what monitoring takes place to ensure that appointees spend the benefit in the best interests of the claimant; [182701]
(3) how many cases there were in 2002–03 where concerns about appointeeship were brought to the attention of the Department; how many were investigated; and in how many cases the appointeeship was revoked. [182702]
§ Maria EagleAppointees are normally interviewed by a visiting officer to ensure their suitability and awareness of their roles and responsibilities; a visit will also be made to the customer, although exceptions may be made where the customer is in hospital.
While formal monitoring of appointeeships is not carried out thereafter, officers acting on behalf of the Secretary of State can revoke the authority of appointees where there are concerns that they are not acting in the interests of the person claiming benefit.
Information regarding the numbers and types of interviews carried out, and how many cases were investigated, is not available as statistics are not collected centrally.