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Dept of Social Security

Answer

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. Within the normal Departmental Compensation Scheme, the indicator period which has to be exceeded before payment of compensation is considered is as follows: _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 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.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

69298; 324 c782W

Session

1998-99

Subjects

Compensation Software Computers Administrative delays Payments Social security benefits Social Security Contributions Agency

Contains statistics

Yes