§ Mr. Goldingasked the Secretary of Statefor Social Services if she will alter the National Insurance form "Med 3" to include a statement that sickness benefit may be lost if not claimed within 21 days on a first claim and six days on subsequent claims from the earliest day for which benefit is claimed.
§ Mr. MeacherI would refer my hon. Friend to my reply of today's date to his earlier Question on a related matter.
§ Mr. Goldingasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will include in Form BF11P (notes on sickness or industrial injury benefit) a statement of the precise time limits for claiming benefit.
§ Mr. Meacher,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 13th January 1976: Vol. 903, c. 121], gave the following information
Apart from the detailed information on time limits contained in leaflet NI 16, a warning that benefit may be lost if not claimed promptly is printed in red on the benefit claim form Med 3, and a corresponding but fuller warning is included in the BF 11P—a form issued with the first payment of benefit. To go into further detail and set out comprehensively the various time limits which apply—including the rules for claims from hospital patients and in respect of dependants—would be impracticable in the space available on the Med 3; and, although possible in the case of the BF 11P, it might confuse rather than help the claimant, both because of the detail involved and because benefit will not in fact be lost if good cause for delay can be shown. The BF 11P was pruned some years ago, because of the evidence that lengthy forms were simply counter-productive. If, however, my hon. Friend has any further point he would like to put to me in the light of this explanation, I should be glad if he would do so.
§ Mr. Goldingasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many insured persons have been disallowed sickness benefit in each of the past five years because they have failed to claim within six days.
§ Mr. Meacher,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 13th January 1976; 432W Vol. 903, c. 121.], gave the following information
I regret that the data requested are not available; but the following are the estimated numbers of claims to sickness benefit which, on a given day in each of the last five years for which figures are available, were disallowed for that particular day because of lateness. This spans all the time limits for claiming sickness benefit; within 21 days of the day for which benefit is claimed in the case of a first-ever claim to benefit; within six days for the first claim in any subsequent spell of incapacity; and within ten days for continuation claims in the same spell of incapacity.
Number of insured persons whose claim to sickness benefit for the day in question was disallowed because made outside time limits: 30th May 1970 … … 400 5th June 1971 … … 400 3rd June 1972 … … 200 2nd June 1973 … … 400 1st June 1974 … … 500 Source—2½ per cent. sample.
Figures do not include claims to invalidity benefit—the long-term counterpart of sickness benefit introduced in September 1971.