To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information he has regarding the percentage of errors made by his Department in calculating social security applications.

The Department has a well established management information system which includes a range of output measures and performance indicators covering the adminsitration of all the major benefits. One performance indicator provides a measure of how accurately claims are handled, based on the percentage of payments which are incorrect. The figures are published in table 14·31 in the Government's Expenditure Plans 1990–91 to 1992–93 (Cm 1014) a copy of which is in the Library.