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Young Offenders
Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to ensure young offenders take greater responsibility for their behaviour. [121547]
Mr. Boateng: We have introduced the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999--which have led to the availability of reparation and action plan orders--and a range of new disposals aimed at early intervention in youth offending with a view to young people being challenged to face up to the consequences of their actions and make amends to their victims and the wider community.
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SOCIAL SECURITY
NIRS2
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners are still waiting to receive their correct pension as a result of the problems with the NIRS2 computer system; and how much compensation has been paid to (a) pensioners and (b) pension companies as a result of these computer problems. [121037]
Mr. Rooker: The number of pension cases waiting to be reviewed is 128,000.
As at 31 March 2000, £2,125,147 compensation has been paid to retirement pensioners because of the delayed implementation of NIRS2.
Compensation to pension companies amounts to £44.3 million for scheme members owing to the late payment of their age-related rebates for the 1997-98 tax year. In addition, £52,215 has been paid for work they undertook to modify their IT systems so as to minimise the impact that incorrect payments of rebates generated by NIRS2 would have on their customers' investments.
The Benefits Agency will complete its review of the Retirement Pension claims affected by the delayed implementation of NIRS2 by the end of this year.
Benefit Payment Methods
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will place in the Library copies of communications sent to (a) new and current pensioners and (b) new and current recipients of child benefit concerning methods of payment of their benefits. [120343]
Mr. Rooker: The latest copies of the main communications to new and current pensioners and new and current Child Benefit recipients, concerning methods of payment of their benefits, have been placed in the Library.
Stakeholder Pension
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security up to what level of income people will be eligible to hold a stakeholder pension concurrently with an occupational pension. [122591]
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Mr. Rooker: People will be able to hold both an occupational pension and a stakeholder pension. They will be able to contribute to both only when the occupational scheme is approved under the new defined contribution tax regime. Total contributions to defined contribution schemes will be subject to existing income related ceilings. We are still considering how concurrent contributions might be extended to other occupational schemes without introducing unnecessary complexity or excessive cost.
Guillain-Barre Syndrome
Mr. Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the training needs of examining medical practitioners and adjudicating officers in the Disability Benefits Unit of the Benefits Agency in relation to Guillain Barre syndrome. [122915]
Mr. Bayley: The training of examining medical practitioners and decision makers for Disability Living Allowance concentrates on explaining disability in functional terms and in particular on the assessment of individual care and mobility needs, rather than being focused on particular diagnoses. The whole of the examining medical practitioner training is currently being reviewed and any revised package will cover the disabling effects likely to arise from conditions such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome. In addition, both examining medical practitioners and decision makers have access to the Disability Handbook. This is written by the Department's Medical Policy Group and contains guidance on the care and mobility needs likely to arise from a range of medical conditions. It contains a specific section on Guillain-Barre syndrome which sets out the level and range of needs likely to arise in people with this disease.
Helplines
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many calls have been received by each telephone helpline administered by his Department in each month since January 1999; and what the salary levels are for those who work on each helpline. [121059]
Mr. Rooker: The information is in the table.
22 May 2000 : Column: 377W
| January 1999 | February 1999 | March 1999 | April 1999 | May 1999 | June 1999 | July 1999 | August 1999 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Benefit Fraud Hotline | 13,925 | 13,978 | 16,901 | 11,996 | 11,303 | 13,415 | 10,491 | 10,336 |
| CSA National Enquiry Line | 31,318 | 57,365 | 61,031 | 45,461 | 42,806 | 50,616 | 48,760 | 46,819 |
| CSA's Client Helpline | 310,585 | 252,286 | 297,910 | 297,033 | 220,520 | 253,321 | 296,252 | 222,542 |
| Benefit Enquiry Line | 102,110 | 100,828 | 125,991 | 91,589 | 95,850 | 105,179 | 87,424 | 87,570 |
| Minimum Income Guarantee | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| War Pensions Helpline | 22,434 | 22,452 | 25,098 | 27,698 | 23,243 | 25,713 | 25,642 | 25,810 |
| Winter Fuel Leaflet Order Line(16) | 130 | (17)-- | (17)-- | (18)-- | (18)-- | (18)-- | (18)-- | (18) |
| Winter Fuel Helpline | 115,478 | 32,455 | 7,789 | 1,612 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| New Deal for Lone Parents(16) | 10,228 | 6,933 | 3,265 | 3,040 | 1,616 | 1,513 | 1,027 | 790 |
| Pensions-Info Line(16) | 4,316 | 3,891 | 6,437 | 4,443 | 2,189 | 1,908 | 2,316 | 2,405 |
| Mortgage Protection Line(16) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Welfare Reform Order Line(16) | 1,261 | 519 | 396 | 221 | 177 | 162 | 397 | 200 |
| ONE/Single Work Focused Gateway | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Inherited SERPS Scheme(ISS)(16) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Customer Care Helpline | 328,038 | 306,460 | 346,968 | 304,867 | 286,934 | 338,611 | 329,600 | 305,738 |
| DSS Public Enquiry Office | 8,312 | 7,843 | 9,144 | 7,456 | 5,635 | 7,663 | 7,599 | 7,401 |
| Child Benefit Centre | 181,919 | 158,268 | 199,687 | 170,717 | 142,010 | 172,603 | 159,930 | 180,725 |
(16) Means these helplines are run on our behalf by commercial response lines. Their salary levels are Commercial in Confidence.
(17) Included in January figure.
(18) Closed.
22 May 2000 : Column: 379W
22 May 2000 : Column: 379W
| Benefits Agency | Child Support Agency | War Pensions Agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | 10,789 | 9,925 | -- |
| A4 | 15,053 | 12,375 | 12,701 |
| B3 | 21,248 | 16,500 | 16,841 |
| C3 | 26,414 | 21,124 | -- |
| C4 | -- | 25,850 | -- |
Information is given on additional helplines to that given in my reply to the hon. Member on 4 April 2000, Official Report, column 626W. That reply was given on a narrower definition of the term "helpline". This one has been expanded to include information on, for example, leaflet ordering lines.
Background Detail on Helplines and Teleservices
National Benefit Fraud Hotline--0800 854440
A confidential telephone service for people who wish to report suspected cases of benefit fraud.
CSA National Enquiry Line (CSA NEL)--0845 7133133
The main function of the National Enquiry Line is to deal with general inquiries about child support matters.
The CSA's Client Helplines
Belfast: 0845 7 132000
Birkenhead: 0845 7 138000
Dudley: 0845 7 131000
Falkirk: 0845 7 136000
Hastings: 0845 7 134000
Plymouth: 0845 7 137000
Helplines are operated by each of the six Business Units in the Child Support Agency, in order to deal with a range of inquiries, particularly those from clients who wish to talk about their case.
Minimum Income Guarantee Helpline--0800 0281111
A Freephone line where pensioners can request a claim form and information about MIG, and from 30 May pensioners can have a claim form completed on their behalf.
Benefit Enquiry Line (BEL)--0800 882200
BEL is a national telephone helpline providing free and confidential advice on all Social Security Benefits to people with disabilities, their carers and representatives.
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War Pensions Helpline--01253 858858
A helpline giving general help and advice to existing war pensioners and war widows; to anyone wishing to claim a war disablement or war widows' pension; and to ex-service organisations.
Winter Fuel Payments Leaflet Order Line--0845 9151515 1
A response line for people wishing to order leaflets containing information on winter fuel payments.
Winter Fuel Payments Helpline--0845 915 1515 1
A helpline for people who want to ask questions about the Winter Fuel Payments scheme.
1 The number is the same
New Deal for Lone Parents--0800 783 9873
A helpline for people wishing to get information on the New Deal for Lone Parents and for lone parents who want to join the scheme.
Pensions Info-Line--0345 313 232
This is a telephone orderline that people can call to order copies of DSS information leaflets on pensions and other relevant information.
Mortgage Protection Line--0870 600 6990
An order line for people who want copies of the leaflet 'Protecting Your Mortgage'.
Welfare Reform Order Line--020 8867 3201
This is a telephone order line that people can call to order copies of DSS information leaflets and reports on Welfare reform and other DSS issues.
The Inherited SERPS Scheme Helpline--0845 600 6116
The ISS was announced by Secretary of State on 15 March 2000. A telephone helpline was set up on the same day. The helpline provides answers to a range of questions on the announcement and gives the option of registering to receive a claim form when the scheme has started.
Customer Care Helpline--0845 712 3456
The Customer Care Helpline is a telephone service offered to Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance customers/ beneficiaries and their representatives. In addition to giving
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information about the progress of any claim, explaining decisions etc for those benefits, it accepts certain changes of circumstances over the telephone.
Public Enquiry Office--0207 712 2171
A national unit dealing with policy related inquiries for the Department, acting as a first stop service, passing callers on to relevant officials as appropriate. It also acts as a first point of contact for more general inquiries relating to more general matters.
Child Benefit Centre--0541 555540 and 0541 555501
The Child Benefit Centre has a centralised teleservice. This is a service provided to customers who wish to report any changes of circumstances without the need to make their report in writing. It is aimed at dealing with as many calls as possible, at the point of contact.
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