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Child Support Agency
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to reform the Child Support Agency; and if he will make a statement. [68856]
Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Mr. Kidney) on 26 January 1999, Official Report, column 237.
Benefits Agency
Mr. Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many staff in the Benefits Agency have been employed for less than (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) one year and (d) two years. [68941]
Angela Eagle: The administration of the Benefits Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Peter Mathison. He will write to my hon. Friend.
| Length of service | Permanent and fixed-term contract | Casual staff |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 3 months | 1,478 | 1,258 |
| 3 to 6 months | 1,429 | 1,251 |
| 6 months to 1 year | 2,342 | 1,093 |
| 1 to 2 years | 1,718 | 291 |
| Total | 6,967 | 3,893 |
Note:
Figures are provisional and subject to change
4 Feb 1999 : Column: 781
Benefits System
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on implementing the policy in the Green Paper, "A New Contract for Welfare", on making the cost of the benefits system more transparent, indicating what further measures are planned in the current year. [69097]
Mr. Timms: The Green Paper proposed "greater transparency about entitlement and costs" as one of the measures of success in tackling fraud and error in Social Security. We are committed to making the public more aware of the cost of fraud and error. We will be publishing our strategy on combating fraud and error shortly.
Deprived Neighbourhoods
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on implementing the policy in the Green Paper, "A New Contract for Welfare", on introducing a better model for tackling effectively the linked problems of the most deprived neighbourhoods. [69099]
Angela Eagle: The Social Exclusion Unit's report "Bringing People Together: a national strategy for neighbourhood renewal" was published on 15 September and provided a detailed picture of the concentration of problems in poor neighbourhoods. The report proposed 18 Policy Action Teams to focus on specific areas, and their findings, the last of which is expected at the end of this year, will form the basis of a national strategy for neighbourhood renewal.
Ministers Flights
Mr. Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which ministers in his Department made use of (a) RAF and (b) chartered aircraft between 1 October 1998 and 31 January 1999; and if he will list the dates, destinations and costs. [69078]
NIRS2
Mr. Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of how many pensioners whose income has been affected by delays in the implementation of the NIRS2 system will have died before they receive (a) repayment and (b) compensation where it is due; and in how many of these cases the estate will revert to the Treasury. [69297]
Mr. Timms: The information is not available.
Mr. Rendel:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if widows who have had to choose between receiving widows' pension, or receiving retirement pension without access to their and their husband's full national insurance contribution records, as a result of delays to the implementation of NIRS2, will be allowed to change their decision once the system is fully operational. [69296]
4 Feb 1999 : Column: 782
Mr. Timms:
Where a widow has had to make the choice between remaining in receipt of Widow's Benefit, transferring to Retirement Pension or deferring her pension to accrue increments based on incomplete information because of the NIRS2 problems, and her choice is shown to be disadvantageous to her when full details are known, she will be able to review her decision and revise her choice from the original date if she so wishes.
Mr. Rendel:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the indicator period set for each contributions-based benefit which the delay in payment of benefit due to the failure of the NIRS2 computer system must exceed in order for the possibility of compensation to be considered. [69298]
Mr. Timms:
On Monday 1 February, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security announced a scheme to pay flat rate compensation of £10 to all Retirement Pensioners, Widows Benefit beneficiaries and Incapacity Benefit recipients who have suffered an unreasonable delay as a result of the problems with NIRS2.
| Period | |
|---|---|
| Retirement Pension | 8 months |
| Widows Benefit | 4 months |
| Incapacity Benefit | 4 months |
| Jobseeker's Allowance | 3 months |
Information on the indicator periods for all benefits is contained in leaflet GL22 "Tell us your comments and complaints", which is available from Benefit Agency offices.
Mr. Rendel:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps the Contributions Agency plans to take to recover the cost of compensating benefit recipients who have lost out as a result of delays in the implementation of the NIRS2 system, from Andersen Consulting. [69300]
Mr. Timms:
We are considering all appropriate steps within the terms of the NIRS2 agreement.
Mr. Rendel:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost to the Contributions Agency of compensating all benefit recipients who have lost out as a result of delays in the implementation of the NIRS2 system. [69299]
Mr. Timms:
Full details of the additional compensation scheme announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security on Monday 1 February have not yet been finalised. Our best estimate is that the costs will be between £3 million and £4 million. Estimates of administration costs and additional amounts payable through the existing Departmental arrangements will be made when details of the scheme are finalised.