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Dept of Social Security

Answer

Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the procedural steps for assessing eligibility, reviewing, appealing and making payment of (a) child support allowance, (b) housing benefit, (c) council tax benefit and (d) income support; and which of the offices of his Department and its agencies in Scotland handle each of these steps. [90866] Mr. Timms: Applications for Child Support in Scotland are administered from the Child Support Agency Centre in Falkirk. Details of the procedure for applying for child maintenance and for review of assessment and appeals are set out in the booklet CSA 2008 "A guide to child support maintenance". Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit are administered by Local Authorities, or in some cases Scottish Homes in respect of Housing Benefit only. The procedural steps on a claim, including those for assessment, reviews, appeals and payments, are set out in the booklet RR2 "A guide to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit". Eligibility to Income Support is assessed and payments are made in each local office of Benefits Agency in Scotland. The steps involved are set out in the booklet IS20, "A guide to Income Support". All aspects of appeals are handled by the Independent Tribunal Service. Copies of all these documents are in the Library.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

90866; 335 c260W;335 c261W

Session

1998-99

Subjects

Council tax benefits Children Appeals Housing benefit Income support Eligibility Maintenance Payments Scotland Social security Social security benefits