§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many married women have claimed invalid care allowance; how many claims have been settled; and what is the average length of time taken to settle each claim.
§ Mr. MajorAs at 27 February, some 106,000 claims to invalid care allowance had been received from married women of which about 53,000 had been decided. The average time taken to process a claim is currently 20 weeks. We are taking all practical steps to reduce this period.