§ 32. Mr. Gareth Wardellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the procedures by which medical officers assess claims for attendance allowance in Wales.
§ Mr. NewtonThe procedures used in Wales for deciding the medical conditions for attendance allowance are identical to those used in other parts of Great Britain. They are kept under review to identify areas where improvements can be made but we have no reason to believe they are unsatisfactory. If the hon. Member has a particular difficulty in mind and will write to me I shall be happy to look into it.
§ Mr. Higginsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will investigate the reasons why an application for attendance allowance by a constituent of the right hon. Member for Worthing has taken more than six months to process; and if he will take steps to reduce the delay in processing such applications.
§ Mr. NewtonI regret that, without the necessary identity details, it has not proved possible to trace the application to which my right hon. Friend refers. If he will let me have the details, I shall have the matter investigated and write to him.
With regard to the general position, we have taken a number of steps to speed up the processing of claims for attendance allowance. Currently, the average time taken to deal with an initial application is 10 weeks. This applies to about 95 per cent. of all cases dealt with. Reviews following disallowance take longer because of the need to obtain further medical evidence in support of the claim.