§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of those in receipt of attendance allowance are paid by the week on a current basis; and what proportion are paid four weekly in arrears.
§ Mr. RossiI regret that this information is not available. For the majority attendance allowance is paid with another benefit such as retirement pension, and statistics of frequency of payment in these cases are not kept.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many applications for attendance allowance are currently awaiting determination; and how this compares with the figures 12 months ago and two years ago.
§ Mr. RossiThe numbers of claims awaiting determination in the last week of November in each year are as follows:
Number 1979 31,000 1980 31,000 1981 42,000 The 1981 figure is higher than that for earlier years because there has been a substantial increase in the number of claims received.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average delay in paying attendance allowance to those who claim on a boarder basis, four weeks in arrears; whether this delay has increased over the last 12 months; and by how much.