§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many married women are currently in receipt of housewives' non-contributory invalidity pension.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisOn 3rd November 1978—the latest date for which information is available—39,172 women were in receipt of housewives' non-contributory invalidity pension.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his
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Year Actual At 1972–73 prices* £ £ 1972–73 3,000,000 3,000,000 1973–74 3,000,000 1974–75 3,000,000 2,181,818 1975–76 2,500,000 1,500,664 1976–77 1,800,000 925,597 1977–78 1,800,000 848,383 *Calculated by reference to the General Index of Retail Prices. As regards average initial payments, the position is as follows:
estimate of tie number of disabled married women who have been refused housewives' non-contributory invalidity pension by insurance officers or appeal tribunals on grounds which hay been shown to be incorrect by the decision of the Tribunal of National Insurance Commissioners on 8th September; what plans he has to pay the benefit to these women from the date of their claim until 13th September 1978; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisInsurance officers and local tribunals disallowed nearly 11,000 claims for housewives' noncontributory invalidity pension—HNCIP—between November 1977 and 12th September 1978 on the ground that the claimants were not incapable of normal household duties. If the decision of the Tribunal of National Insurance Commissioners given on 8th September 1978 had been applied, no doubt many of these cases would have qualified for HNCIP, but others would have been disallowed on other grounds—for example, that incapacity for paid employment had not been established.
Decisions of insurance officers and local tribunals which are erroneous 'n law remain valid and can be re-opened only by appealing to the local tribunal or to the commissioner, as the case may be. There are time limits for appealing. These are:
for the local tribunal—21 days from the date of the insurance officer's decision; and for the commissioner——three months from the date of the local tribunal decision.397W Those periods may be extended, in the case of appeals to local tribunals, by the chairman for good cause, and, in the case of appeals to the commissioner, by the commissioner for special reasons. The initiative in deciding whether to appeal lies with the claimant. No benefit can be paid unless an appeal succeeds.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the number of disabled married women who qualify for housewives' non-contributory invalidity pension (a) under the original regulations approved by Parliament, and (b) under the new regulations introduced on 13th September 1978; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisWhen the noncontributory invalidity pension for housewives—HNCIP—was introduced, it was estimated that some 40,000 women would benefit. In the period before the decision of a Tribunal of the National Insurance Commissioners dated 8th September 1978, some 44,000 awards were made, of which some 38,000 were then in payment. The new regulations are intended to have the same effect as the original regulations had before the tribunal's decision. The number of awards made is, therefore, expected to be the same, leading to a figure of about 40,000 awards in payment. Had amending regulations not been made, it is considered that the number of awards would have substantially increased, but no firm estimate is possible.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many married women have had decisions on their claims for housewives' non-contributory invalidity pension delayed until the decision of the Tribunal of National Insurance Commissioners on 8th September; how many will now be awarded benefit from the date of their claim until 13th September 1978 when statutory instrument 1978/1340 came into force; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisAll decisions on claims for the housewives' non-contributory invalidity pension are made by the independent adjudicating authorities—the insurance officers, the local tribunals and the commissioners. My Department has no information as to the extent, if any,398W to which decisions were delayed until the Tribunal of National Insurance Commissioners had given its decision. I am informed that in some 400 cases awards were made which terminated on 12th September 1978. Future claims covering periods before 13th September 1978, when the amending regulation came into force, will be determined by reference to the original regulation as interpreted by the tribunal of commissioners.