The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Category: 1983-1987 Parliament

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Mentally Ill People – 25 June 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Mentally Ill People on 25th June 1986.

    Mr. Irving Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action has been taken to improve the training of his Department’s staff in the recognition and appropriate handling of mentally ill clients.

    Mr. Major The initial and subsequent developmental training of all the Department’s Social Security local office staff who deal with the public, is geared to the recognition and appropriate handling of clients with particular problems, including the mentally ill.

    To reinforce this message, in April this year, a specially commissioned video training package entitled “Ready, Willing and Able” was issued for use to all local offices. The aim of the material is to produce a heightened awareness of the differing needs of clients with disabilities, and to provide practical advice on improving the service provided. It includes specific coverage of the particular needs of people with mental handicaps. The video film was produced with the valued assistance of several voluntary organisations, including MENCAP, and the film commentary was read by Sir Brian Rix.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 25 June 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 25th June 1986.

    Mr. Nellist Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what changes the Government plan to make to the system of rebates presently paid to local authorities for cash paid out in housing benefit.

    Mr. Major Changes are proposed in the arrangements for subsidising local authorities’ housing benefit expenditure as part of the proposals for the reform of the housing benefits scheme. Our objectives for the revised subsidy arrangements are to provide more incentives than now for local authorities to monitor and control costs whilst providing a fair level of support for expenditure which they properly incur.

    For benefit costs we originally proposed that 20 per cent. of benefit expenditure should he included in the rate support grant system with the remaining costs attracting a direct subsidy. Preliminary work on the effects of this proposal has indicated that it would not meet our objectives. We are therefore considering alternative ways of achieving the desired results and will be putting further proposals to the local authority interests.

    Mr. Irving Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any plans to reduce the housing benefit claimed by those who are unemployed and living in rented accommodation.

    Mr. Major We have no plans to reduce housing benefit specifically for unemployed people living in rented accommodation, although we intend to reduce overall expenditure on the scheme in 1988 as part of the social security reforms.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Special Payments (Loans) – 24 June 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Special Payments (Loans) on 24th June 1986.

    Mr. Carter-Jones Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what guidance is given by local officers of his Department to claimants seeking special needs or emergency payments regarding approaches to loan companies; what advice is given in this context as to the availability of low interest loans from reputable money lenders; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr. Major People who do not qualify for supplementary benefit in the normal way can be considered for urgent needs payments under the Supplementary Benefit (Urgent Cases) Regulations. In these circumstances, they are asked whether they already have credit or loan facilities available.

    However, the Department does not expect claimants to negotiate new commercial loan facilities in any circumstances and therefore does not give guidance about making approaches to loan companies or money lenders.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Bloomsbury Local Office – 23 June 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Bloomsbury Local Office on 23rd June 1986.

    Mr. Chris Smith Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many items of outstanding post are awaiting action at the Bloomsbury local Department of Health and Social Security office, Tavistock Square; how long on average they have been outstanding; and how many of the items of unlinked post outstanding at 11 March have now been dealt with.

    Mr. Major The Department’s Bloomsbury local office had 1,090 items of post awaiting action on 17 June, of which 798 were more than two days old. Records are not kept of how long on average post is outstanding. There are no items of post from claimants still outstanding from 11 March.

    Mr. Chris Smith Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the detailed arrangements for processing urgent needs claims at the Bloomsbury local Department of Health and Social Security Office, Tavistock Square; what particular arrangements are made for urgent needs claims when the office is shut (a) before its usual time, and (b) in any event; and how information about those proceedings is made available to claimants.

    Mr. Major Urgent needs claims at Bloomsbury local office are given priority and payment is normally made the same day, in accordance with the “S Manual” – paragraphs 8001-8651. If the office is forced to close early, eg because of industrial action, callers are invited to come back the next day, and claimants who cannot wait this long are advised of the Department’s London emergency office. The London Emergency Office is open each evening and during the day at weekends. The local office also has an arrangement with the local authority Social Services Department to provide emergency payments on its behalf.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployment Benefit – 20 June 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Unemployment Benefit on 20th June 1986.

    Mr. Hancock Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, what is the cost over the most recent period of 12 months for which figures are available of unemployment and other benefits related to unemployment in Portsmouth.

    Mr. Major I regret that this information is not available.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 19 June 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 19th June 1986.

    Mr. Clay Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people were in receipt of supplementary benefit in (a) Cleveland and (b) Langbaurgh parliamentary constituency for each year since 1979.

    Mr. Major The county of Cleveland is covered by five of the Department’s local offices – Eston, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Stockton. The boundaries of these offices are conterminous with the boundary of Cleveland. Two of these offices, Eston and Redcar, deal with the parliamentary constituency of Langbaurgh and the boundaries are conterminous.

    Figures of people receiving supplementary benefit from the five offices covering the county of Cleveland in May 1986, and at comparable dates for the previous seven years, are as follows:

    Year | Number
    1979 | 39,637
    1980 | 41,690
    1981 | 49,623
    1982 | 59,850
    1983 | 65,286
    1984 | 72,212
    1985 | 77,657
    1986 | 78,241

    Figures of people receiving supplementary benefit at the two offices covering the parliamentary constituency of Langbaurgh for the same dates are as follows:

    Year | Number
    1979 | 9,403
    1980 | 9,584
    1981 | 11,459
    1982 | 13,759
    1983 | 15,771
    1984 | 17,493
    1985 | 18,926
    1986 | 18,603

    Source: 100 per cent. count of cases in action in each local office.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit Fraud – 19 June 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit Fraud on 19th June 1986.

    Mr. Meadowcroft Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what were the number of fraudulent benefit claims in Leeds in the years 1979 to 1985; and what was the average amount of money involved in each claim;
    (2) if he will state the number of fraudulent benefit claims as a proportion of total numbers of benefit claims, in the years 1979 to 1985;
    (3) if he will publish the average amount involved in (a) fraudulent benefit claims in the years 1979 to 1985 and (b) recovered from fraudulent claimants; and what is the average period of time over which repayments are made.

    Mr. Major The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

    Mr. Meadowcroft Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of his Department’s staff based in Leeds – and what proportion of these are assigned to investigating fraudulent benefit claims.

    Mr. Major On 1 June 1986 875.5 staff were employed at the six Leeds offices. The number of posts allocated to fraud work in these offices at that date was 27. The proportion of posts allocated to the investigation of fraudulent benefit claims as a percentage of total staff employed is just over 3 per cent.

    In addition, the specialist claims control teams based in the north-east region of the Department’s local office network will on occasion be involved in the investigation of fraudulent benefit claims in Leeds. These staff are not included in local office complements.

    Mr. Meadowcroft Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will state how many fraudulent benefit claims resulted in prosecution in 1985; and what was the number of prosecutions as a proportion of the total number of cases discovered.

    Mr. Major Six thousand, six hundred and seventy-six claimants were prosecuted by this Department for social security benefit fraud during 1985–86; this represents approximately 7 per cent. of those cases considered for legal proceedings.

    Mr. Meadowcroft Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the number of staff employed by his Department to investigate fraudulent benefit claims, in the years 1979 to 1986.

    Mr. Major I regret the information requested is not available for 1979. The following table sets out the number of staff allocated by the Department’s complementing system to fraud work for the years 1980 to 1986, and also includes specialist claims control staff not included in local office complements.

    Year | Number
    1980-81 | 2,044
    1981-82 | 1,945
    1982-83 | 2,284
    1983-84 | 2,216
    1984-85 | 2,488
    1985-86 | 2,804
    1986-87 | *3,673
    * Proposed

    Mr. Meadowcroft Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the estimated cost of fraudulent benefit claims in the years 1979 to 1986.

    Mr. Major No reliable estimate is available of the cost of social security benefit fraud.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Social Security Reform – 19 June 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Social Security Reform on 19th June 1986.

    Mr. Maples Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he may expect to receive a reply to his letter of 22 April to the Secretary of State concerning proposed reforms to the social security system.

    Mr. Major I replied to my hon. Friend yesterday.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on War Pensions – 18 June 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on War Pensions on 18th June 1986.

    Mr. Alfred Morris Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services by what percentage the war pensions budget has been reduced in each of the last five years due to the deaths of war pensioners and war widows; and if he has made any estimate of the likely reduction in 1986-87.

    Mr. Major There have been no reductions in the war pensions budget over the last five years. Although the number of war pensioners and war widows has been decreasing – by 18 per cent. over the period 1980–81 to 1985–86 – this has been more than offset by the effect of annual upratings and by real improvements to the structure of the benefit. Expenditure per beneficiary was 19 per cent. higher in real terms at the end of the period than at the beginning.

    On the assumptions underlying the 1986 public expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 9702, Vol. II, part 3.15), expenditure on war pensions will be 2 per cent. higher in 1986-87 than in 1985-86, despite a 3.4 per cent. fall in the number of beneficiaries.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Criminal Offences – 18 June 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Criminal Offences on 18th June 1986.

    Mr. Evennett Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what advice has been issued to officials of his Department involved in interviewing those who may be charged with a criminal offence since the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 came into force.

    Mr. Major Guidance issued to fraud investigators in the Department reflects those parts of the codes of practice issued under sections 66 and 67 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 which deal with treatment and questioning. This guidance is available on request both to suspects and to members of the public generally: I am placing copies in the Library.

    In addition, detailed guidance which takes into account the relevant provisions contained in the Act and the associated codes of practice has been incorporated in the Department’s operational instructions to fraud investigators.