Written question asked by David Rendel (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 21 April 1999, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 26 April 1999. It was answered by Angela Eagle (Labour) on Monday, 26 April 1999 on behalf of the Department of Social Security.

Dept of Social Security

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what proportion of appeals decisions made under the Benefit Integrity Project based on (a) postal questionnaires and (b) home visits, have led to benefit being increased or extended for a longer period. - Includes table.

Answer: Mr. Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of appeals decisions made under the Benefit Integrity Project based on (a) postal questionnaires and (b) home visits, have led to benefit being increased or extended for a longer period. [82067] Angela Eagle: The information is not available in the format requested as the Independent Tribunal Service does not separately identify Benefit Integrity Project (BIP) appeals cases. Such information as is available is in the table. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Postal Per cent. of Visit Per cent. of Total Per cent. of postal appeals visit appeals total appeals Total appeal decisions 1,223 -- 331 -- 1,554 -- Increased from original 58 4.74 0 0 58 3.73 award Original award extended 288 23.54 99 29.90 387 24.90 Increased from BIP 637 52.08 193 58.30 830 53.41 decision BIP award extended 22 1.79 10 3.02 32 2.05 Increased from 2nd tier 627 51.26 185 55.89 812 52.25 review decision 2nd tier review award 37 3.02 18 5.43 55 3.53 extended _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Notes: 1. The figures are up to and including 28 February 1999. 2. The "total" figures include unchanged and decreased awards, so are not the sum of the figures listed below them. 3. Figures provided by the Benefits Agency.

Secondary information