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Fraud

Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how the 30 per cent. penalty for minor fraud is collected; what is the cash value of penalties imposed to date; and how much has been collected. [79225]

Mr. Timms: Questions relating to Benefits Agency operational matters are the responsibility of its Chief Executive, Peter Mathison. He will reply to my right hon. Friend.

Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Frank Field, dated 29 March 1999:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how the 30 per cent. penalty for minor fraud is collected, what the cash value of the penalties imposed to date is, and how much has been collected.

An administrative penalty is recovered by exactly the same methods as those used to recover the related overpaid benefits. Recovery of an administrative penalty does not commence until the related overpayment has been recovered. The total value of administrative penalties that have been imposed to date is £246,187.

Information about the amount collected is not currently available. Enhancements to the system for recording this information have been requested and it is hoped they will be in place by July 1999.

I hope you find this reply helpful.

War Pensions

Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many recipients of war pensions live in (a) the Harborough district, (b) Oadby and Wigston Borough and (c) the Harborough constituency; and how many will be resident within the Harborough primary care group area. [78415]

Mr. Bayley: One of the key aims is that delivery of service should be simpler and more efficient. Questions on operational matters concerning the War Pensions Agency are for its Chief Executive, Mr. Gordon Hextall. I have asked him to write to the hon. and learned Member.

Letter from Gordon Hextall to Mr. Edward Garnier, dated 29 March 1999:

The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the number of War Pensioners living in the Harborough district, Oadby and Wigston Borough and Harborough constituency and how many will be resident within the Harborough primary care group area.

Unfortunately this information is not available in the form for which you ask and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, our records do show that, in March 1998 (the latest date for which figures are available) there were 6,876 War Disablement Pensions and 1,641 War Widows Pensions in payment within the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire War Pensions Committee area, which covers the counties shown in its title.

I hope this is helpful and I am sorry that I cannot be more precise.

Performance Management Regime

Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what flexibility the new performance management regime allows managers in spending their budgets with particular reference to the (a) administration and (b) benefit budget. [79226]

Mr. Timms: The administration of the Benefits Agency is a matter for its Chief Executive, Peter Mathison. He will write to my right hon. Friend.

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Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Frank Field, dated 29 March 1999:

The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what flexibility the new performance management regime allows managers in spending their budgets with particular reference to the (a) administration and (b) benefit budget.

The flexibility offered to the Area Director is limited to his administration budget. There is no mechanism under Government Accounting rules which allows for flexibility between administration and benefit budgets.

The new performance management regime refers to the new Public Service Agreement (PSA) target to reduce, by at least 30 per cent., benefit losses from fraud and errors in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance by 31 March 2007. This replaces the present annual Secretary of State target for weekly benefit savings from counter-fraud activities.

The new regime is to be funded by the Departmental Programme Protection Fund, a single source of funding designed to deliver the PSA target. This replaces Security and Control Programme funding for the Benefits Agency from 1 April 1999.

The current regime ties Area Directors to activity volume targets for new claims activity and targeted reviews. Emphasis has been placed on detection by setting targets for fraud savings from cases examined by fraud officers.

The new regime offers Area Directors much more flexibility in how funding can be used. They are no longer restricted by activity targets but can be more responsive to local conditions and knowledge. The emphasis is on each Area Director producing, and being accountable for, a Programme Protection Plan which shows how they can optimise their available resources to contribute towards achieving the PSA target. They will all provide evidence, supported by further tiers of programme indicators and management information, of how they are contributing towards the overall PSA target. Whilst they will have more flexibility on how their money is spent, the Area Director will account for how the funds are being targeted to best effects.

I hope you find this reply helpful.

Income Support

Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what reduction in the pieces of advice on Income Support claims has been made in the new code of practice. [79220]

Angela Eagle: The administration of Income Support is the responsibility of Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my right hon. Friend.

Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Frank Field, dated 29 March 1999:

The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what reduction in the pieces of advice on Income Support claims has been made in the new code of practice.

Since the mid-nineties procedural guidance for staff dealing with Income Support claims and changes has been contained in the Income Support Guide (ISG). This occupied 12 binders. The Evidence Project was set up to take forward improvements in accuracy, security, and efficiency in Income Support processing. As part of this process the Guide Improvement Project was set up to re-write the existing Income Support guidance.

There were also around 25 handbooks and additionally, 450 separate amendments, bulletins, and circulars issued to staff in a variety of formats and from a number of different sources. Many of these updates were themselves superseded by new developments. This was inevitably the cause of some inconsistency and confusion.

In October 1998 all of the information contained in the documents described in the previous two paragraphs was replaced by IS Guidance and Procedures (GAP). The GAP was produced as a single

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source of guidance incorporating all previously held instructions contained in the handbooks, guides, and bulletins. The GAP currently consists of eleven volumes with examples, flowcharts, and desk aids; in effect drawing together all of the current guidance in a new and consistent format. The Adjudication Officer's Guide will remain in its present format and the guidance that relates to Back to Work Bonus and Child Maintenance Bonus will be incorporated into the GAP at a future date.

This overhaul was necessary to avoid compromising the efficiency of staff in collecting, assessing, and checking the evidence required to properly process Income Support claims. Early indications are that the GAP has been well received by staff in the field.

Thank you for the opportunity to explain.

National Insurance Scheme

Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the (a) number and (b) percentage of former contributors to the National Insurance Scheme who are not entitled to a state retirement pension. [78285]

Mr. Timms: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows.

It is estimated that there are about 400,000 people over State pension age and resident in Great Britain who do not receive a State Retirement Pension. This represents about 4 per cent. of pensioners resident in Great Britain. It includes those who have contributed to the National Insurance scheme but who have paid insufficient contributions to satisfy the conditions for receiving a State pension.

Notes:

1. Figures are for Great Britain, and are rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.

2. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.

Sources:

Pensions Strategy Computer System (PSCS) which contains a 5 per cent. sample of all persons in receipt of a State Retirement Pension at September 1998.

Government Actuary's Department mid 1998 population forecast.

Tribunal Pilot Scheme

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of appeals in social security appeal tribunals have been upheld under the new flexible tribunal pilot scheme; and what is the average percentage under the traditional tribunal of three persons. [79341]

Angela Eagle: The most recent figures available, for the period 1 December 1998 to 31 January 1999, indicate that in Social Security appeal tribunal hearings, constituted under the new flexible tribunal arrangements, the proportion of appeals upheld (that is, decided in favour of the appellant) was 30.07 per cent. During the same period the proportion of appeals upheld by three-person Social Security appeal tribunals was 27.36 per cent., a figure close to the half-yearly average of 28.36 per cent.

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