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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 9 March 1994
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Shalfleet Bridge
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when the Shalfleet bridge was first placed on the draft list of listed buildings ; and when the county council was advised of the draft listing of this structure.
Mr. Brooke : Shalfleet bridge was included in the draft resurvey list which was submitted to my Department by English Heritage on 9 July 1993. A copy of the draft list was sent to South Wight borough council on 12 July 1993, and I understand that the Council passed it on to the Isle of Wight joint planning technical unit, which serves South Wight and Medina borough councils and the Isle of Wight county council.
My Department does not send copies of draft lists to county councils : copies are sent only to district planning authorities.
Arts Council of England
Ms Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he will announce the members of the new Arts Council of England.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Child Support Agency
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on Child Support Agency case reference no. 1001953851, dealt with at the Longton agency ; and on what grounds the agency cancelled the child maintenance order concerned.
Mr. Burt : The case was taken on under section 6 of the Child Support Act 1991 and the maintenance order was subsequently superseded and ceased to have effect by virtue of regulation 3(6) of the Child Support (Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction) Regulations 1992.
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is the policy of the Child Support Agency regarding using first- class post rather than second-class post ;
(2) how many letters on average are sent by the Child Support Agency to each person who is the subject of a claim prior to the statement of the new contribution required ;
(3) what was the overall cost of administration and the cost of the postage bill for the Child Support Agency in the last available year.
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Mr. Burt : The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Mike O'Brien, dated 8 March 1994 :
I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the overall cost of administration, the cost of postage and the number of letters issued by the Child Support Agency before a maintenance assessment is completed.
As the Agency has not completed its first year of operation, the actual full year's costs are not yet known. The total budget allocation for the Agency's capital and running costs for the year 1993-94 is £116 million, of which £2.2 million has been allocated for postage.
Figures are not collected centrally on the total number of letters issued to individual clients before a maintenance assessment is made. Our records indicate, however, that in addition to the initial letter, reminders are currently required in 50 per cent. of cases, and further verification required in 40 per cent. of cases.
All correspondence issued by the Agency's computer system and payments are sent by first class post. Clerically issued correspondence will normally be sent by second class post. I hope this reply is helpful.
Ms Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what instructions are given to the Child Support Agency to protect single mothers who have disabilities or children with disabilities from a possible £8.80 a week income support reduction or withdrawal of their benefit book.
Mr. Burt : The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Ms Mildred Gordon, dated 8 March 1994 :
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the instructions given to the Child Support Agency to protect single mothers with disabilities, or single mothers with children who have disabilities from a possible £8.80 reduction in their income support.
The instructions given to child support officers (CSOs) on dealing with reduced benefit directions are contained in the Child support Manual, a copy of which is contained in the Library. There are no specific instructions concerning single mothers who have disabilities or children with disabilities, but the decision to implement a reduced benefit deduction is made only after the CSO has considered the impact on the welfare of the children.
I hope this reply is helpful.
Ms Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many assessments the Child Support Agency has made ; how many assessments are being challenged by parents with care ; and how many assessments are being challenged by absent parents.
Mr. Burt : The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Ms Mildred Gordon, dated 8 March 1994 :
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the numbers of maintenance assessments issued by the Child Support Agency which have been challenged.
During the period 5 April 1993 to 31 December 1993 the Agency assessed 121,600 cases,and received 16,600 requests for
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second tier reviews of assessments. A breakdown of how many requests for review were initiated by absent parents, and how many by parents with care is not available.I hope this reply is helpful.
Ms Rachel Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many cases have been dealt with by the Child Support Agency to date ;
(2) how many of all the cases dealt with by the Child Support Agency to date have involved absent parents who are in receipt of income support.
Mr. Burt : The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Ms Rachel Squire, dated 8 March 1994 :
I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking for the numbers of cases dealt with by the Child Support Agency.
From 5 April 1993 to 31 December 1993 the Agency took on 711,000 cases.
In the same period, over 200,000 cases were cleared, and more than 121,600 resulted in a maintenance assessment. Of these 24,300 cases involved absent parents receiving income support.
I hope this reply is helpful.
Ms Rachel Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in how many cases to date the Child Support Agency has used earnings deduction orders to obtain maintenance payments.
Mr. Burt : The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Ms Rachel Squire, dated 8 March 1994 :
I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of deductions from earnings orders issued by the Child Support Agency.
To the end of February 1994, the Agency had issued deductions from earnings orders in an estimated 1,400 cases.
I hope this reply is helpful.
Ms Rachel Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what target time the Child Support Agency has for completion of assessments of new child support claims ; how many of the claims made after April 1993 have been assessed within the target time ; and in how many cases the Child Support Agency has exceeded the target time by (a) four weeks, (b) eight weeks and (c) 12 weeks.
Mr. Burt : The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Ms Rachel Squire, dated 8 March 1994 :
I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the target time for completion of a child maintenance assessment by the Child Support Agency.
The Agency does not have a target time for completion of assessments. The original expectation was that it would take between 6 to 12 weeks to clear a straightforward case once the Agency was fully operational. To date, the process has been more
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time consuming than had previously been expected. Information for the period 5 April to 31 December 1993 shows that 45.5 of assessments have been cleared in under 40 days, 12 in between 40 and 100 days, and 42 in over 100 days.I hope this reply is helpful.
Ms Rachel Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of the cases dealt with by the Child Support Agency to date have resulted in absent parents requesting a review of maintenance assessment ; if there is a target time for dealing with reviews ; what is the average length of time required to complete the review process ; and in how many cases the review process has exceeded the target time.
Mr. Burt : The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Ms Rachel Squire, dated 8 March 1994 :
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about reviews of child maintenance assessments.
During the period 5 April 1993 to 31 December 1993 the Child Support Agency received 16,600 requests for second tier reviews of assessments. Information on clearance times is being collected but, because of the relatively low volumes, it is too early for reliable information to be available. At this stage we are, therefore, unable to estimate how long it should take to complete a review. A breakdown of how many requests for review were initiated by absent parents, and how many by parents with care is not available. I hope this reply is helpful.
Ms Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much,on average, it costs the Child Support Agency to access and collect £2.20 from an absent parent on income support.
Mr. Burt : The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Ms Mildred Gordon, dated 8 March 1994 :
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the cost to the Child Support Agency of administering the collection of £2.20 from absent parents on income support.
The assessment and collection of the £2.20 deduction from an absent parent on income support is part of the Agency's overall assessment and collection services and,as such, is not costed as a separate item, being part of the total costs of administration. Given, however, that the process involves automated transfers of multiple payments, the marginal cost attributable to each individual case will be very small.
I hope this reply is helpful.
Mr. Hall : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, (1) pursuant to his answer of 1 March, Official Report, column 695, when estimates will be available of the amount of money the Child Support Agency will be expected to recover in (a) 1994-95 (b) 1995-96 and (c) 1996-97 ;
(2) pursuant to his answer of 1 March, Official Report, column 695, what is the estimated shortfall between the Child Support Agency target of £530 million to be recovered in 1993-94 and the actual amount now expected to be recovered.
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Mr. Burt : The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ross Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Mike Hall, dated8 March 1994 :
I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security, about the estimated shortfall in benefit saving recoveries for 1993-94 and when estimates will be available of recoveries for future years.
We are not yet able to provide an assessment of the level of benefit savings that the Agency will achieve in 1993-94 because of uncertainties caused by the effect of the recent policy changes. Targets for the Agency, including that for benefit savings, are set annually. The 1994-95 target will be announced in due course. I hope this reply is helpful.
Mr. Renton : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cases the Child Support Agency has pursued to date when there is in existence a court agreement regarding maintenance.
Mr. Burt : The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to my right hon. Friend.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Tim Renton, dated 8 March 1994 :
I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State about the number of cases the Child Support Agency has pursued where there was an existing court order.
Up to 31 December 1993, the latest date for which figures are available, the Agency had issued maintenance application forms to 344,000 absent parents, of which 121,600 have resulted in the assessment of maintenance. Figures are not kept on the number of cases in which a prior court agreement existed. It is estimated, however, that 45 per cent. of cases taken on will have an existing maintenance arrangement, a proportion which includes court agreements. I hope you will find this reply helpful.
Child Poverty
Ms Corston : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list research commissioned or undertaken by his Department since 1979 into the causes and effects of poverty, material deprivation and very low family income among children in any part of the United Kingdom, specifying the year and cost of each project ; and whether he has any plans for such research.
Mr. Burt : Research is regularly conducted into the role of social security and its impact on those in low-income households. A list of research projects sponsored by the Department is published in the social security research yearbooks, formerly the DHSS handbook of research and development, copies of which are in the Library. In addition, the Department sponsors a number of long-running statistical surveys to monitor change in the composition and circumstances of households and the level and nature of their income. These provide the basic data for research and analysis by other interested researchers.
World Summit
Ms Corston : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 1 March, Official Report, column 691, if he proposes to prepare a report on poverty for the world summit on social development
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planned to take place in Copenhagen in March 1995 ; and if he will specify which other members of the European Union have already issued such reports in preparation for that summit.Mr. Burt : I have no such plans, and am not aware of any reports on poverty that have been issued by European Union countries in preparation for the world summit on social development.
Funeral Payments
Mr. Luff : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what changes he plans to make to the rules governing funeral payments from the social fund.
Mr. Scott : Amendments to the Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Payment (General) Expenses Regulations 1987 have been laid before Parliament today. They aim to ensure that help will be focused more accurately on those who have good reason to take responsibility for funeral costs. People in genuine need of help will not be affected.
Housing Benefit
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants living in private rented accommodation had their housing benefit reduced in the last year ; and what was the average level of reduction.
Mr. Burt : The information requested is not available. Decisions on the level of housing benefit paid in individual cases are matters for local authorities, which may restrict payments on the basis of a rent officer's determination or may choose to pay benefit exceeding that amount.
Crisis Loans
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many crisis loans were paid for rent in advance for the last year.
Mr. Scott : The information requested is published in my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's annual report on the social fund for 1992- 93, which is in the Library.
Family Credit
Ms Jowell : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average length of time taken to process an application for family credit.
Mr. Burt : The assessment of family credit is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 8 March 1994 :
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the average length of time taken to process an application for Family Credit.
Firstly, I should explain that the Benefits Agency's 1992-93 target, set by the Secretary of State is to clear 60 per cent. of claims to Family Credit within 13 days.
The average clearance time for the latest month, February 1994, is 12.11 working days. I am also able to inform you that over the last six months, claims to Family Credit have been cleared in an average of 11.72 days.
I hope my reply has been helpful.
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Income Support
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what representations he has received from Coventry concerning undue delay in the payment of income support ; (2) what standard is set for the time to be taken to process and pay income support to a woman who is within 11 weeks of her expected date of confinement ;
(3) what information is required of an income support claimant who is within 11 weeks of expected date of confinement in order to evaluate their claim ;
(4) what representations he has received from Coventry concerning the Benefit Agency asking unnecessary and irrelevant questions of income support claimants ;
(5) to what explanation an income support claimant is entitled in a case of extensive delay in processing and paying a claim ; (6) what investigations are currently being conducted into the processing and payment of income support from the Coventry office.
Mr. Burt : The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Robert Ainsworth, dated 8 March :
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about claims to, and the payment of, Income Support (IS) in Coventry.
National targets for the 1993/94 year for IS claims are that 71 should be decided within 5 working days and 90 within 13 working days. Coventry District Office has achieved clearance rates of 74.1 within 5 working says and 89.7 within 13 working days in the year to date.
The Benefits Agency Customer Charter, a copy of which I have enclosed, is freely available in any of the Agency's District Offices and states clearly that, where a delay occurs,the customer should contact the person dealing with their claim who will explain clearly the reason for it. If they are not satisfied with this explanation, they can contact the Customer Service Manager, who will then deal with the complaint. The name and address of the Customer Service Manager is displayed in all public areas of the Agency's offices and is also given on request to customers.
Complaints addressed personally to the Manager of the Coventry office are not broken down to record the specific subject. I should also explain that no record is kept of the number, or nature of complaints, answered by IS staff, which were not referred to either the Customer Service Manager or Office Manager at Coventry. A customer who claims IS must supply any information necessary for an independent Adjudication Officer to decide entitlement to benefit. In addition, customers who are pregnant must also provide a certificate of Expected Date of Confinement provided by their GP or hospital.
Peter Light, the Manager at Coventry District Office has informed me that he has no complaints under investigation concerning the processing of IS, or delays in making payment by his staff. However, if you have received a specific complaint or allegation, Mr. Light can be contacted and he will investigate it as a matter of priority and provide you with a full written report of his findings. I hope you find this reply helpful.
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