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be completed on time in July 1991. One of the aims of the strategy is to reduce the time taken to process benefit claims.The latest available information indicates that the national clearance time for new and repeat claims for income support stands at around 4.7 days, compared with 6.2 days relating to the period immediately prior to computerisation. The clearance time for claims to retirement pension averages 22.7 days compared with 28.2 days before computerisation.
General benefit inquiries are also being dealt with more efficiently, as local office staff are now able to quickly access an individual's details, via the computer terminal, rather than having to search for the appropriate clerical record.
Family Credit
23. Mr. David Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the latest figure for the number of families benefiting from family credit ; and what was the number of benefiting from the predecessor scheme in 1978-79.
Mr. Jack : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Mr. Amos).
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families in (a) west Leeds, (b) Leeds, (c) West Yorkshire and (d) England are in receipt of family credit ; and what proportion these families represent of those estimated to be entitled to this benefit.
Mr. Jack : The only figures available for Leeds, west Leeds and West Yorkshire are for the number of families actually in receipt of family credit on a particular day. They do not include those who had claimed by that date but whose claim had not yet been decided. On 8 February 1991, the latest date for which these figures are available, the number of families who, at the date of their award, were living in the places listed, were as follows :
|Number
---------------------------------------
(a) West Leeds |<1>3,005
(b) Leeds |<2>4,826
(c) West Yorkshire |<3>16,557
<1> The total in the area covered by
the Leeds west, Leeds north west and
Leeds north local social security
offices.
<2> The total in the area covered by
all the local social security offices
in Leeds.
<3> The total in the area covered by
all the local social security offices
in West Yorkshire.
For England as a whole, a true caseload figure is available which includes awards covering the given date but not made till later. At 31 July 1990, the latest date for which this figure is available, the caseload for England was 264,000.
Information about the total number of families eligible for family credit can be obtained only for Great Britain as a whole, and only retrospectively, from family expenditure survey data.
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Disability Working Allowance
26. Mr. Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number of disabled people who will be able more easily to work as a result of the introduction of the new disability working allowance.
Mr. Scott : Disability working allowance is an entirely new addition to social security to meet the needs of disabled people who want to work but have limited capacity. We expect that once DWA is established about 50,000 people at any one time will take the new opportunity offered by this benefit.
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Management Consultants
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the projects (a) undertaken in the year to April 1990 and (b) proposed but not yet operational by management consultants giving, in each case, its title, author, completion date and whether the document is available.
Miss Widdecombe : Details of the projects in the year 1989-90 and proposed but not yet operational projects are shown in the table. As stated in my reply to the hon. Member's earlier question on 21 February 1991 at col 269 , consultancy reports are usually internal working documents and are not publicly available. The exception in the 1989-90 project list is the Arthur Young assignment which contributed to the efficiency scrutiny on fraud. As this was considered to be of wider interest, a copy of the scrutiny report was placed in the Library.
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Consultancy firm |Subject of the Assignment |Assignment
|completed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andersen Consulting |Contributions Unit (Agency) Project |Continuing
Andersen Consulting |Director of Social Security's Central Unit (DSSO/CU)|August 1989
Andersen Consulting |Agency Planning for the Information Technology |March 1990
|Services Directorate (ITSD)
Andersen Consulting |Agency Implementation for ITSA |March 1990
Andersen Consulting |Senior Management Information Systems |November 1989
Andersen Consulting |Executive Reporting System for the Board of Benefits|January 1990
|Agency
Applied Learning |Establishment of an Open Learning Centre for ITSD |September 1989
Arthur Allwright Associates |DPSD Purchasing Consultancy |Continuing
Arthur Young |Efficiency Scrutiny of Fraud: Consultancy support |April 1989
Arthur Young |Integrated Complementing System |March 1990
BDO Binder Hamlyn |Central Accounting System Study |March 1990
CAS Marketing Services |DPSD Purchasing Consultancy (Engagement of New |April 1990
|Director)
Cavendish Tricorne |Local Pay Addition Hazard |September 1989
Cavendish Tricorne |Overbearing Model |September 1989
Cavendish Tricorne |Local Pay Addition Model |September 1989
Cavendish Tricorne |Secondment on various projects |September 1989
Central Computer and |Departmental Information Systems Strategy-Scoping |February 1990
Telecommunications Agency | Study
Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte |Social Security Agency Study: Future work |August 1990
Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte |Senior Management Structure-Organisational |March 1990
| Analysis and Design
Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte |Purchasing Information System |November 1990
Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte |Property Consultancy for HQ Relocation |November 1990
Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte |Benefit Agency Implementation Team-Development |March 1990
| of Project Timetable, Critical Path and Monitoring
D. Chislett |Review of Computer Security |October 1989
Dun and Bradstreet |DPSD Ad Hoc Purchasing Consultancies |Continuing
Easymove |Provision of Advice on Information Guides for Staff |February 1991
Enator |Integrated Complementing System |October 1989
Ernst and Young |Lone Parenthood Consultancy |July 1990
Ernst and Young |Departmental Debt Scrutiny |December 1989
Ernst and Young |Integrated Complementing System |Continuing
Handley Walker |Post Office Counters-Fee Negotiation |April 1990
King's Fund College |Director of Social Security's Central Unit (DSSO/CU)|April 1990
Kingsley Lord |Social Security Policy Group Consultancy |December 1989
Korn Ferry International |Benefits Agency Chief Executive-Consultancy to |March 1990
| Assist Selection
Lloyd Northover |Corporate Image and House Style for DSS Property |Continuing
Logica UK Ltd. |Integrated Monitoring System |September 1989
M. Pickett |Accommodation Policy |October 1989
Modulus |Consultancy Support for the Staff Suggestions |November 1989
| Working Party
MORI Human Resource |Headquarters Relocation Preference Exercise |August 1990
| Research
Nationwide Anglia Relocation |General Relocation Services for Staff |Continuing
Neville R. Way |Purchasing and Contracting Procedures |March 1990
PA Consulting Group |Review of Management Formula |Continuing
PA Consulting Group |Enhancement of the MMD-BMD Data Base at |March 1990
| Nottingham Staff Resource Unit
PA Consulting Group |Pay Flexibilities for the Benefit Agency |May 1990
PA Consulting Group |Review of Central Office Management |Continuing
PA Consulting Group |Pay Arrangements for ITSA |May 1990
PA Consulting Group |Reward Arrangements for the Benefit Agency |May 1990
Peat Marwick McLintock |Centralised Receipts Collection System |February 1990
Peat Marwick McLintock |Efficiency Scrutiny of Management of the |December 1989
| Departmental Debt-Consultancy Support
P-E Inbucon |Survey of Local Authorities (Preparations for |February 1990
| Community Charge Benefit)
Price Waterhouse |Administrative Resource Management System |Continuing
Price Waterhouse |Integrated Complementing System |March 1990
Price Waterhouse |Future Career Development for Staff within |March 1990
| ITSD/ITSA
Price Waterhouse |Forecasting Social Security Expenditure |August 1989
Price Waterhouse |Financial Planning and Control |May 1989
Price Waterhouse |Performance Measurements for ITSA and CU |February 1990
Professor Geoffrey Woodroofe |DPSD Purchasing Consultancy (Post Office Counters |January 1990
| Fee)
Purchasing and Supply Consultants |DPSD Ad Hoc Purchasing Consultancies |April 1990
Sema Group |Consultancy Support for Integrated Complementing |November 1989
| System Project
Simmons Relocation Services |Advice on Relocation Package |July 1989
The McNeil Robertson Partnership |Departmental Personnel Management (DPM) Survey |June 1989
Touche Ross |Administrative Resource Management System (Phase 1) |September 1989
Touche Ross |Integrated Complementing System |May 1990
Touche Ross |Finance Information Strategy |January 1990
Touche Ross |Benefit Agency Implementing Work (MIS and |November 1990
| Finance)
Touche Ross |Monitoring the Camberwell Replacement Scheme |October 1990
Touche Ross |Patterns of Business Study |February 1990
Touche Ross |Administrative Resource Management System (Phase 2) |October 1990
Projects Proposed
Monitoring the Management of Change
Team Building and Communications for the Benefit Agency Management Team
Project Management Software Selection
Yield Measurement on Liable Relative Cases
Attendance Allowance
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many claims for attendance allowance under the terminal illness rules have been received by his Department since the new rules came into force ; what is the average number of days between day of claim and the date of the decision for such claims ; what are the shortest and longest clearance times to date ; and what is the average clearance time for reviews ;
(2) what is the success rate for (a) initial claims and (b) reviews of claims for attendance allowance under the terminal illness rules ; and if he will list the numbers of refusals by grounds for refusal.
Mr. Scott : Such information as is available is in the table.
Attendance allowance: claims and reviews under the special rules for
terminal illness
|Number and
|Estimate
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of claims decided (to end January 1991) |20,200
Estimated average time from claim to decision |10.5 days
Estimated success rate of claims |95 per cent.
Estimated average clearance time for reviews |3.8 weeks
Estimated success rate of reviews<1> |77 per cent.
<1> In a significant number of cases, where the review was not
successful under the special rules, the review was changed to one under
the normal rules.
Absent Parents
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the details of how the right of appeal will apply in cases where 20 per cent. of the income support personal allowance is deducted from caring parents on
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income support or family credit who do not provide information for pursuit of maintenance from absent parents.Mr. Jack : As part of the Government's proposals for reforming the system of child maintenance, the Child Support Bill, introduced on 14 February in another place, provides for a reduction in the income support personal allowance of caring parents on income support or family credit who, without good cause, fail to provide information which will allow maintenance to be recovered from an absent parent. The White Paper "Children Come First" proposed that the reduction should be up to 20 per cent. of the adult income support allowance. In cases to which this reduction applies, the decision will be taken by an adjudication officer on the basis of an opinion from the Secretary of State together with any representations from the person concerned. As with other such decisions, there will be the right of appeal to a social security appeal tribunal and thereafter, on a point of law, to the social security commissioner.
Child Support
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he will take to ensure that child support agency staff are fully trained and can offer an adequate counselling service.
Mr. Jack : Staff in the agency will be properly trained in recognition of the sensitive nature of their work. They will also be able to help those lone parents who wish to work to do so by advising them on "in work" benefits and identifying the practical help available from various sources such as employment training, jobcentres, job clubs, and so on. Training will focus on measures to
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provide a good quality service to the public including, among other things how to deal sensitively and sympathetically with people who may be under stress. Staff will be responsible for ensuring that the caring parent understands the range of services that the agency can provide.Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether the proposed changes to child maintenance will incorporate an additional element when calculations of maintenance levels are being arrived at for children with disabilities.
Mr. Jack : The White Paper "Children Come First" invited comments on whether the maintenance required should be increased for a child who is disabled. The Government are considering the differing comments received.
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many responses he has received to the White Paper "Children Come First" ; and if he will publish a digest of them, together with the Government response.
Mr. Jack : So far, some 250 submissions from organisations and individuals have been received. The Government have no plans to publish a digest and response. A number of the organisations which commented have already published their responses and in a number of cases individuals commented drawing on their own personal experience. We have considered all the comments received and there will be an opportunity to discuss the issues during debates on the Child Support Bill and the detailed regulations.
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy in future legislation on maintenance enforcement to replace the White Paper terms "caring parent" and "absent parent" with "resident parent" and "contact parent", respectively.
Mr. Jack : We received comments on terminology in a small number of responses to the White Paper "Children Come First" and have given thorough consideration to the most appropriate and readily comprehensible phrases to describe the parties involved in a maintenance award. In the Child Support Bill, introduced in another place on 14 February, "caring parent" has been replaced by "person with care". This reflects the fact that a person responsible for the day-to-day care of a child is not necessarily the child's natural or adoptive parent. We do not think that the proposed terms are appropriate, because the responsibility to pay maintenance is wholly independent of whether the parent has any contact with the child.
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what mechanism there will be to ensure that the proposed new Child Support Agency will not reduce the income of individuals or families to below the income support level when enforcing maintenance payment ; and if he will make a statement on the recommendation of the Social Security Advisory Committee to reconsider the proposal in the White Paper "Children Come First" to impose a penalty of over £7 a week reduction in benefit for lone parents who refuse to name the liable parent.
Mr. Jack : The Child Support Bill sets out the method of calculation of the amount of maintenance due to be paid for a child or children. It makes provision for a protected level of income after the payment of maintenance based on income support levels.
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The Bill also makes provision requiring a caring parent who claims income support or family credit to co-operate as far as possible in obtaining maintenance. Where there is no good reason for a failure to do so a reduction may be made in the amount of benefit paid. We have considered very carefully all the comments received on this issue, including those of the Social Security Advisory Committee. We remain convinced that it is right in principle to expect both parents to do as much as they reasonably can to ensure the payment of proper amounts of maintenance for their children. It would, however, clearly not be right to define criteria for this purpose which would mean that the making of a threat of violence would automatically absolve an absent parent from liability being pursued.Domestic Violence
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy to ensure that there is no expectation upon women escaping violent partners to name fathers of their children at liable relatives interviews.
Mr. Jack : Our policy is that caring parents who are in receipt of benefit should be expected to co-operate in obtaining maintenance for their children unless they can show good cause for refusing to do so. It would, however, clearly not be right to define criteria for this purpose which would mean that the making of a threat of violence would automatically absolve an absent parent from liability being pursued.
Maintenance Payments
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a list of the situations where the proposal to deduct 20 per cent. of the income support personal allowance from caring parents on income support or family credit who do not provide information to allow pursuit for maintenance from absent parents, would not be applied.
Mr. Jack : The White Paper "Children Come First" quoted rape and incest as circumstances which might constitute good cause for a caring parent claiming income support or family credit not to co-operate in seeking maintenance from the absent parent. We are still considering carefully all the comments we have received on this proposal, and whether it is in the interests of the children to publish a list. Regulations will prescribe the circumstances in which a benefit reduction will not apply in as much detail as possible.
Income-related Benefits
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the basis on which income-related benefit levels are set.
Miss Widdecombe : I refer the hon. Member to paragraphs 2.1 to 2.5 of the memorandum on benefit levels and a minimum income, dated 18 October 1989, and submitted to the House of Commons Social Services Committee. A copy of the complete memorandum is in the Library.
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Departmental Relocation
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many jobs have been created outside London by his Department over the last two years.
Miss Widdecombe : The Department has taken a number of positive steps to move work away from London. For example, we are transferring benefits processing work away from 21 London offices to new social security centres in Glasgow, Belfast and Makerfield employing some 1, 400 staff.
In addition, new agencies such as the Information and Technology Services Agency are based primarily away from London, and the new Benefits Agency headquarters will be moving to Leeds from June 1992 with the transfer of nearly 500 London-based posts.
Pensioners' Income
Mr. William Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of the average pensioner's income comes from occupational pensions, savings and earnings.
Miss Widdecombe : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Fulham (Mr. Carrington).
Mr. Ridley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of those over retirement age have additional income over and above their national insurance pension ; and what has been the percentage increase, in real terms, of the total income of the average pensioner over the period 1979 to 1990.
Miss Widdecombe : Eighty-four per cent. of pensioners have some form of income in addition to their state retirement pension and other social security benefits. The average pensioner's income increased in real terms by 31 per cent. between 1979 and 1987, the last year for which figures are presently available.
Benefits Agency
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he would list the subject areas in social security which after the creation of the Social Security Benefits Agency will receive a reply which is (a) printed in Hansard and (b) only placed in the Library.
Miss Widdecombe : I refer the hon. Member to my answer to him on 21 February at col. 272-73. The precise matters to be delegated to the chief executive will be set out in the framework document when the Benefits Agency is established.
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Residential and Nursing Homes
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Amber Valley (Mr. Oppenheim) of 26 February, Official Report, columns 466-67, whether he will recommission Price Waterhouse to survey the running costs of private residential and nursing homes using the chief social services inspector's recommendations in "Inspecting for Quality Guidance on Practice for Inspection Units in Social Services Departments and Other Agencies."
Miss Widdecombe : We have no current plans to do so.
Research Projects
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answers to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) of 25 February, Official Report, columns 401-404, if he will indicate which of the projects listed (a) is to be published and (b) when.
Miss Widdecombe : I refer the hon. Member to the reply to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 20 November 1990 at column 108.
Claimants, Leeds
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will show for (1) Leeds, West and (2) Leeds metropolitan district council area the number of applicants for and awards of (a) community care grants, (b) budgeting loans and (c) crisis loans and (i) the amounts awarded, (ii) the percentage refused and (iii) the average award.
Mr. Scott : I shall let the hon. Member have such information as is available as soon as possible.
Pensions
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action he is taking to assist persons on low incomes to enhance their pension levels.
Miss Widdecombe : Appropriate personal pensions were introduced in 1988 to give people the chance of contracting-out of the state earnings- related pension scheme and investing that money in their own pension arrangement. They have been further assisted in building up their pension by the extra 2 per cent. incentive which is payable for the five years from 1988 to 1993.
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