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Applications withdrawn up to 30 June 1993
Class |Principal
|beneficiaries
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General occupational
Managers and administrators |421
Business professionals |29
Business and administration associate professionals |137
Accountants and auditors |38
Accounting associate professionals |10
Engineers and related professionals |71
Architects, planners and surveyors |10
Engineering associate professionals |49
Information science professionals |102
News editors and journalists |9
Medical doctors |10
Physical and life science |1
Nurses and midwives |53
Other medical professionals |7
Health associate professionals |28
Legal professionals |1
Legal associate professionals |3
Teaching professionals |15
Educational administrators |10
Other teaching personnel |98
Approved occupations
Computing equipment controllers |8
Life science technicians |0
Physical science technicians |1
Social work professionals |2
Statistical assistants |4
Translators-Interpreters |4
Disciplined Services
Correctional Services Department |25
Customs and Excise Service |4
Fire Services Department |30
Immigration Service |8
Operation Department, ICAC |1
Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force |0
Royal Hong Kong Police Force |94
Garrison (Army) |6
Garrison (Navy) |2
Entrepreneurs |4
Sensitive Service |28
Immigration (DNA Tests)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many DNA tests to prove a family relationship for immigration purposes have been carried out under the Home Office-funded scheme during (a) 1992 and (b) the first quarter of 1993, listed by country of origin ; what was the average waiting period for the test and for its results ; and in how many of those tests the family relationships were proved to be as claimed by the applicants.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The available information for sample to a decision being made on the result of a DNA test is six to eight weeks.
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DNA tests on children under the Government scheme, results received and outcomes 1991-92
Number of children
Outcomes
Country/post where |Number of tests |Tests offered but |Number awaiting |Number of results |Related as claimed|Related as claimed|Not related as
application made |carried out |not taken |results at end of |received |to both parents |to one parent but |claimed to either
|period |not other |parent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992
Indian sub-continent<1>
Bangladesh (Dhaka) |1,043 |8 |465 |889 |741 |64 |84
Pakistan (Islamabad, Karachi) <2>578 98 389 429 348 49 32
India (Bombay, New Delhi) 19 1 38 9 9 - -
Outside of Indian sub-continent
Ethiopia (Addis Ababa) |4
Ghana (Accra) |18
Nigeria (Lagos) |20
Philippines (Manilla) |25
United Arab Emirates (Dubai) 4
Yemen (Sana'a) |2
Zambia (Lusaka) |3
1993 Quarter 1
Indian sub-continent<1>
Bangladeshi (Dhaka) |253 |4 |435 |283 |249 |11 |23
Pakistan (Islamabad, Karachi) <2>151 4 426 110 97 8 5
India (Bombay, New Delhi) 6 - 41 3 3 - -
Outside of Indian sub-continent<3> - - - - - - -
<1> Four tests were carried out in Calcutta in 1992. There have been no tests in Madras.
<2> Statistics for tests in Pakistan are mainly for Islamabad: There were six tests carried out in Karachi in 1992 and a further four tests there in the first quarter of 1993.
<3> There were no DNA tests carried out outside the ISC in the first quarter of 1993.
not available.
- nil.
Working Holidaymakers
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for variation of grant of leave to remain as working holidaymakers have been
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(a) received, (b) granted and (c) refused in relation to nationals of (i) India, (ii) Bangladesh, (iii) Pakistan, (iv) Australia, (v) Canada, (vi) Ghana, (vii) Nigeria, (viii) Malaysia and (ix) in total, during 1992 and 1993.Mr. Charles Wardle : The information is given in the table.
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Working holidaymaker variation of leave decisions, excluding dependants
1992 1993 Quarter 1
Citizens of |Grants |Refusals |Grants |Refusals
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
All countries |11,410 |790 |2,600 |230
of which:
India |280 |30 |70 |10
Bangladesh |140 |10 |40 |<1>-
Pakistan |540 |50 |110 |10
Australia |2,120 |20 |500 |10
Canada |270 |<1>- |50 |<1>-
Ghana |1,140 |90 |220 |20
Nigeria |1,650 |280 |240 |60
Malaysia |750 |40 |140 |10
<1>- Five or fewer.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for entry clearance as working holidaymakers have been (a) received, (b) granted and (c) refused in (i) India, (ii) Bangladesh, (iii) Pakistan, (iv) Australia, (v) Canada, (vi) Ghana, (vii) Nigeria and (viii) Malaysia, during 1992 and 1993.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The information requested is not available centrally.
Prisoners (Restraints)
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of times that restraints have been used on inmates during the 12 months from 1 July 1992, in each prison in England and Wales.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from P. Drew to Mr. Tom Cox, dated July 1993 :
Restraints used in Prison Service Establishments
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your Question about the number of times that restraints have been used on inmates during the 12 months from 1 July 1992 in each Prison Service establishment in England and Wales.
The number of applications of restraints under Rule 46 of the Prison Rules 1964 and Rule 49 of the Young Offender Institution Rules 1988 are given in the table.
Restraints<1> applied to violent or refractory inmates of Prison
Service establishments in England and Wales: by establishment,
July 1992-July 1993
Establishment and |Number of
type |applications<2>
------------------------------------------------------------------
Local prisons/remand centres
Belmarsh |4
Birmingham |2
Bristol |1
Brixton |19
Bullingdon |1
Canterbury |1
Chelmsford |1
Elmley |3
Fletham |18
Gloucester |1
Highdown |1
Highpoint |3
Holme House |3
Hull |4
Leicester |1
Lewes |1
Lincoln |3
Liverpool |6
Pentonville |18
Preston |2
Reading |2
Rochester |5
Shrewsbury |3
Woodhill |5
Wormwood Scrubs |10
Training Prisons
Acklington |1
Albany |2
Camp Hill |2
Downview |1
Frankland |4
Full Sutton |28
Garth |9
Long Lartin |2
Maidstone |3
Nottingham |2
Stafford |1
Standford Hill |1
Swaleside |3
Wakefield |2
Wayland |2
Wellingborough |1
Whitemoor |6
Closed Young Offender Prisons
Aylesbury |1
Castington |2
Deerbolt |1
Onley |2
|-------
All establishments |194
<1>Loose canvas jacket, body belt, handcuffs, ankle straps and
leather wrist straps.
<2>Provisional figures.
Vagrancy Act
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824.
Immigration (Medical Examinations)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people during 1992 and the first quarter of 1993 were (a) required to undergo a medical examination and (b) refused entry clearance abroad, in which countries, for (i) settlement and (ii) other purposes on medical grounds ; and what are the most common medical grounds for refusal.
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Mr. Charles Wardle : This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Immigration (Extension Refusal)
Mr. Allan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) husbands, (b) wives and (c) dependent children have been refused (i) extension of stay and (ii) settlement in the United Kingdom on the
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grounds that he is not satisfied that they can be maintained and accommodated without recourse to public funds, in each quarter since January 1992, and in total.Mr. Charles Wardle : The available information relating to after entry cases is given in the table. Information on dependent children is not readily available.
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Refusals<1>, on grounds of maintenance and accommodation, of after-entry applications by husbands and
wives (numbers of persons)
Refusals to grant
probationary year
on grounds of:
|Accommodation |Maintenance |Maintenance and |Refusals of
|accommodation |settlement after
|probationary
|year<2>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992
Quarter 1
Husbands |1 |- |- |8
Wives |1 |1 |1 |12
Quarter 2
Husbands |1 |1 |1 |4
Wives |- |- |1 |4
Quarter 3
Husbands |- |- |- |6
Wives |- |3 |1 |13
Quarter 4
Husbands |- |1 |3 |12
Wives |1 |2 |2 |12
1993
Quarter 1
Husbands |- |1 |- |14
Wives |- |1 |- |17
<1> Excluding dependents.
<2> Refusals of settlement after probationary year on general considerations, including recourse to
public funds.
Prison Governors
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what checks are made by his Department to ensure that governor grades in prisons in England and Wales spend time within wings and are regularly available to be seen by inmates.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from D. Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated July 1993 :
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about checks made by his Department to ensure that governor grades in prisons in England and Wales spend time within wings and are regularly available to be seen by inmates.
Governor grades are expected to maintain a regular presence on prison wings to provide access for prisoners in the
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exercise of their management and supervisory role. There is no set period of time during which governors are obliged to be present on the wings, and their attendance will depend upon day to day circumstances and the priorities at the time. In many prisons, though, a governor will be based in an office on each wing and in all prisons a governor grade is available usually on a daily basis, to hear applications from prisoners.The way in which governors carry out their duties is monitored in a number of ways : their accessibility to prisoners will be one of the many aspects which area managers will seek to cover during their frequent visits to establishments.
Mrs. Bridgit Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) male and (b) female, Metropolitan police officers have suffered(i) violent injury and (ii) death while performing their professional duties, for each year from 1980 to 1992 ; and how many in each case were stationed in Lewisham.
Mr. Maclean : The information is readily available from 1984 and is contained in the table.
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Fatal and serious assaults on Police by Sex of Victim 1984 to 1992
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lewisham
Fatal |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |<1>- |<1>- |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Serious Injury |0 |0 |3 |0 |2 |0 |1 |1 |2 |0 |<1>- |<1>- |2 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total |0 |0 |3 |0 |2 |0 |1 |1 |2 |0 |<1>- |<1>- |2 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Metropolitan Police District
Fatal |0 |1 |1 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |<1>- |<1>- |1 |0 |3 |0 |0 |0
Serious injury |47 |1 |77 |2 |73 |3 |46 |5 |67 |5 |<1>- |<1>- |46 |4 |86 |8 |64 |5
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total |47 |2 |78 |2 |73 |3 |47 |5 |67 |5 |<1>- |<1>- |47 |4 |89 |8 |64 |5
<1> Not currently available
Figures prior to 1991 include attacks on prison officials etc. by prisoner in custody
Asylum
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what third countries are expected to participate in meetings of common interest referred to at item 10 of the recent report of the Centre for Information, Discussion and Exchange on Asylum.
Mr. Charles Wardle : No decisions have yet been made on participation by third countries.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library the detailed analysis of the use by member states of terms to express definite concepts of asylum statistics referred to in the recent report of the Centre for Information, Discussion and Exchange on Asylum.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the funding implications for the Government of participation in the Centre for Information, Discussion and Exchange on Asylum.
Mr. Charles Wardle : None, apart from travelling and subsistence allowances.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library the documents on compilation of texts on European asylum practice, the schedule for the purpose of an improved oral exchange of data at the Centre for Information, Discussion and Exchange on Asylum meetings, the principles for the dissemination of information from CIREA, and reports on the context of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees database which are referred to in the recent report of the Centre for Information, Discussion and Exchange on Asylum.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I am placing in the Library copies of the compilation of texts on European asylum practice and the schedule for the purpose of an improved oral exchange of data. The other material requested has not been made public.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library all joint reports from the local diplomatic representations of the European countries referred to at item 6 of the recent report of the Centre for Information, Discussion and Exchange on Asylum.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many passengers seeking political asylum in (a) 1992 and (b) 1993 to the nearest available date were granted temporary admission ;
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(2) if he will provide a breakdown by nationality of the number of people seeking political asylum who were detained under Immigration Act powers in 1992 and 1993 to the latest convenient date in (a) prison department establishments and (b) immigration detention accommodation, for (i) under a week, (ii) one to four weeks, (iii) one month to six months, (iv) six months to a year and (v) over a year.Mr. Charles Wardle : The information requested on temporary admission is not available centrally.
The information on detention is not available in the form requested, but the tables provide relevant information on people seeking asylum who, on 19 July 1993, had been detained for seven days or more.
Asylum seekers<1> detained as at 19 July 1993 by length and
place of detention
|Prison detention|IS detention |Total
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asylum seekers detained for one to four weeks
Algeria |3 |- |3
Afghanistan |- |1 |1
Angola |- |1 |1
Columbia |1 |3 |4
Ecuador |1 |- |1
Ethiopia |- |1 |1
Ghana |2 |6 |8
India |9 |3 |12
Iran |3 |- |3
Kenya |- |1 |1
Liberia |1 |- |1
Nigeria |1 |7 |8
Pakistan |2 |1 |3
Romania |4 |- |4
Sierra Leonne |1 |- |1
Somalia |- |1 |1
Sri Lanka |- |1 |1
Tanzania |- |1 |1
Turkey |1 |- |1
Uganda |- |3 |3
Zaire |- |1 |1
|--- |--- |---
Asylum seekers detained for one to six months
Algeria |11 |5 |16
Angola |4 |7 |11
Bangladesh |1 |1 |2
Cameroon |- |1 |1
China |4 |- |4
Columbia |- |5 |5
Congo |- |1 |1
Egypt |1 |1 |2
Gambia |- |1 |1
Ghanaian |6 |11 |17
India |50 |11 |61
Iran |1 |- |1
Iraq |1 |- |1
Ivory Coast |- |5 |5
Kenya |3 |3
Lebanon |1 |1 |2
Liberia |- |1 |1
Libya |1 |- |1
Malawi |- |1 |1
Morocco |2 |- |2
Niger |- |1 |1
Nigeria |9 |5 |14
Pakistan |3 |3 |6
Peru |1 |- |1
Somali |- |1 |1
Romania |6 |1 |7
Sierra Leonne |1 |7 |8
Sudan |1 |- |1
Tanzania |1 |2 |3
Tunisia |- |1 |1
Turkey |7 |2 |9
Uganda |1 |2 |3
Zaire |11 |12 |23
Nationality doubtful |1 |1 |2
|--- |--- |---
Total |125 |93 |218
Asylum seekers detained for six to 12 months
Algeria |1 |2 |3
Angola |- |1 |1
Columbia |1 |- |1
Egypt |- |1 |1
Ghana |1 |3 |4
India |5 |6 |11
Lebanon |1 |- |1
Nigeria |3 |2 |5
Pakistan |- |2 |2
Sierra Leonne |2 |- |2
South Africa |1 |- |1
Sri Lanka |1 |- |1
Tanzania |- |1 |1
Zaire |2 |1 |3
|--- |--- |---
Total |18 |19 |37
Asylum seekers detained for more than one year
India |1 |- |1
Zaire |1 |- |1
|--- |--- |---
Total |2 |- |2
Total asylum seekers detained as at 19 July 1993
Total |174 |143 |317
<1>Persons detained solely under the powers contained in schedule 2 or 3 to the
Immigration Act 1971. In some cases the asylum application will have been lodged
subsequent to the application being detained. The figures include both detained asylum
applicants who applied at ports and those detained in the course of after-entry
enforcement work or prior to deportation or removal as an illegal entrant.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the Centre for Information, Discussion and Exchange on Asylum is funded.
Mr. Charles Wardle : There is no specific funding for CIREA. Its activities are supported by a small number of officials in the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Communities, who also have other duties, and accommodation is provided within the offices of the Council.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Benefit Claimants (Savings)
Ms Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what interest rate is assumed by his Department when calculating income from claimants's for social security benefits.
Column 394
Mr. Burt : None. In all the income-related benefits, capital up to £3,000 is ignored. Deductions from benefit of £1 a week are made for each £250, or part of £250, of capital between £3,000 and the upper capital limit for the particular benefit. This formula does not imply any particular rate of investment. It is designed to ensure that help is targeted on those who need it most, while not denying benefit to those with only a moderate amount of capital. The rules are kept under review, but we have no plans for change.
Dementia
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy to secure statutory protection of pension rights for those developing dementia while at work.
Mr. Hague : National insurance contribution credits are awarded to those submitting evidence of incapacity to safeguard their entitlement to the basic state pension. Additionally, members of occupational pension schemes who leave with at least two years pensionable service already benefit from the statutory right to a preserved pension. Those with less than two years pensionable service in a scheme which is contracted out of the state earnings-related pension scheme can be reinstated in SERPS for that period. We have no plans to change these arrangements.
Invalid Care Allowance
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many carers have been in receipt of invalid care allowance in Wales in each year since 1986 ; and what percentage of total carers within Wales have been successful claimants in each year.
Mr. Scott : The information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Social Fund (Hospital Visit Grants)
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications have been made by parents for social fund grants towards the cost of visiting children in hospital to each social fund office in Wales in the latest year for which information is available ; how many grants and loans were made ; and what was the average level of grants and loans.
Mr. Scott : I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that the information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Invalidity Benefit
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are in receipt of invalidity allowance in the Seaham and Peterlee areas ; and what were the numbers of recipients in 1989-90, 1990- 91 and 1991-92.
Mr. Scott : I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that the information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Column 395
Boarder's Premium
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to reintroduce boarder's premium for people currently housed in bed-and-breakfast accommodation.
Mr. Burt : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) on 21 July at col. 205.
Lone Parents
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many lone parents there are in Darlington ; and how many and what proportion of income support claimants are lone parents in Darlington.
Mr. Burt : A provisional estimate of the number of lone parent families in the local government district of Darlington in 1991 is 3000.
Data on the number of lone parent families in receipt of income support in individual locations are not available. However, the total number of lone parents on income support in Great Britain in 1992 was 985,000 , representing 19 per cent. of all income support claimants. 1991 Population Census, provisional estimate.
1992 Income Support Annual Statistical Enquiry.
The definition of lone parents used excludes the temporarily separated.
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many and what percentage of single parents had social security payments as their main source of income in (a) 1979 and (b) 1991 in (i) Strathclyde and(ii) Scotland as a whole.
Mr. Burt : The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the
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Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.Letter from Michael Bichard to Dr. Norman Godman, dated 21 July 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking how many and what percentage of single parents had social security payments as their main source of income in (a) 1979 and (b) 1991 in (i) Strathclyde and (ii) Scotland as a whole.
The complete range of information requested is not available as statistics that reflect the number of single parents in receipt of each Social Security benefit are not routinely collected. It is also likely that many of the relevant records will have been routinely destroyed since 1979.
Below I have given the number of single parents in Scotland who were in receipt of Supplementary Benefit in 1979 and Income Support in 1991.
This information is obtained from an annual statistical sampling exercise. It is not possible to provide figures separately for Strathclyde.
(1) Single parents in Scotland in receipt of Supplementary Benefit at November 1979--34,000
(2) Single parents in Scotland in receipt of Income Support at May 1991-- 102,000
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this letter will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is (a) the number of lone parents, (b) the number of income support claimants who are lone parents and (c) the proportion of income support claimants who are lone parents in each region.
Mr. Burt : The information requested is in the table.
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(a) Total number of lone parents, provisional 1991 |1046 |130 |67 |1240
(b) Total number of lone parents on income support, 1992 |823 |106 |57 |985
(c) Proportion of IS claimants who are Lone Parents per cent.
1992 |19 |20 |20 |19
Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Source: (a) 1991 Population Census, provisional estimates.
(b) and (c) 1992 Income Support Annual Statistical Enquiry. The definition of lone parents used excludes the temporarily separated.
Benefits
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the regional expenditure on (a) retirement pensions, (b) sickness and invalidity benefits, (c) housing benefits, (d) unemployment benefit, (e) family credit, (f) income support, (g) social fund and (h) child benefit as (i) a total and (ii) per head for each of the last five years for which figures are avaialble.
Mr. Scott : Information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the value of unclaimed (a) income support, (b) housing benefit, (c) family credit and (d) invalidity benefit, giving the estimated number of
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non-claimants involved ; and the proportion of each benefit entitlement unclaimed, for each of the last three years for which figures are available.Mr. Burt : Estimates of the take-up of income support, family credit and the new unified housing benefit were published in "Income Related Benefit Estimates of Take-up in 1989" in January this year. Take-up estimates for the income-related benefits that were available before the 1988 benefit reforms are for 1985 and 1987 and are provided in Social Security Statistics 1990 (Table 48) and Social Security Statistics 1991 (Table H.5) respectively. Copies of these publications are in the Library.
Information for invalidity benefit is not available.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what effect steepening the housing benefit taper from 65 per cent. to 80 per cent. would have on the proportion of income retained per £1 a week increase in
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gross earnings for (a) a lone parent earning £136 per week, (b) a single adult earning £132 per week and (c) a two adult family earning £196 per week, paying an average weekly rent of £48 per week.Mr. Burt : Such an increase would have the effect of increasing the proportion of each £1 a week increase in gross earnings retained from 23p to 66p--that is, £1 less tax and national insurance
contributions--in cases (b) and (c) but would take people in these circumstances out of housing benefit entitlement. For case (a) housing benefit entitlement would be retained and the proportion of income retained per £1 a week increase in gross earnings would reduce from 7p to 4p.
Note : Figures provided from tax benefit model 1993. The benefit rates are as at April 1993. Assumptions are for (a) lone parent with one child ; (b) single adult over age 25 ; (c) two adult family with two children aged 4 and 6.
Bus Passes
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if his Department has now concluded discussions with Walsall council over the bus pass concession for blind people in receir observations. The Department is considering the points made and remains in discussion with the council.
Mortgage Costs
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures are being taken against people in Wales receiving benefit to cover their mortgage costs who failed to inform his Department when their payments dropped ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Burt : The administration of social security is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the
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Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Rod Richards, dated 21 July 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security, asking what measures are being taken against people in Wales receiving benefit to cover their mortgage costs who failed to inform his Department when their payments dropped ; and if he will make a statement.
I acknowledge that administrative difficulties have arisen for some customers who have chosen to obtain a mortgage which is reviewed annually. Such annual review' mortgages are arranged by the mortgage lender so that, although the interest being charged to the borrower's account may change in the course of the year, the repayments that the borrower is required to make are not adjusted to reflect this until the end of the lender's accounting year.
Although Income Support (IS) may include an amount to cover mortgage interest payments, it is calculated with reference to the rate of mortgage interest being charged to the customer's loan account.
Since mortgage interest payments on annual review' mortgages are not calculated on this basis there can, in certain circumstances, be a difference between the amount of IS paid compared with what the lender would expect to receive under the annual review arrangement. The Benefits Agency has held meeting with the Council of Mortgage Lenders about this difficulty. In the meantime, mortgage lenders will normally look sympathetically at requests from customers to be taken off the annual review arrangement. My advice to customers who find themselves in difficulty would be to immediately contact their mortgage lender to discuss the situation.
However, it remains the responsibility of the customer to inform the Benefits Agency of any changes in their circumstances. This includes any change in the rate of interest charged to their mortgage account.
A customer residing in any part of Great Britain, who fails to inform the Department of a decrease in their rate of mortgage interest can be asked to repay the IS overpaid.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this letter will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
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