§ Rev. Martin SmythTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement about procedures for medically examining claimants for mobility allowance, attendance allowance and severe disablement allowance; whether claimants are required to accept examination by a doctor nominated by his Department; and what consideration has been given to allowing the claimant to nominate a doctor or to use his own doctor for such purposes.
§ Mr. ScottMobility allowance and attendance allowance claimants may refuse examination by a doctor nominated by the Department if they so wish. Medical evidence is then obtained, with the claimant's permission, from the general practitioner or from a hospital, where relevant. However, reports from the doctors trained by the Department tend to be more thorough and are more likely to provide the type of information required to decide the claim. No claim can be decided in the absence of medical evidence. In SDA cases there are some instances in which no medical examination is required if there is already sufficient medical evidence for a favourable decision to be made. Usually the claimant is required to attend examination by an adjudicating medical authority consisting of one or two doctors. This is a statutory authority and only doctors who have been formally appointed by the Secretary of State may serve on it. To maintain impartiality a doctor may not serve as an adjudicating medical authority or a member of such an authority considering any case if he has regularly attended the claimant or has provided a report. For these reasons, the claimant may not nominate a doctor or use his own doctor for the purpose, even if the doctor is on the panel of a medical boarding centre.
The information provided applies to Great Britain, although a similar scheme operates in Northern Ireland. Requests for information concerning the Northern Ireland scheme should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
§ Rev. Martin SmythTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidance is issued by his Department as to notice given to claimants that they are to be examined by a doctor in connection with claims for social security benefits; and what procedures are adopted for appointing the examining doctor in each area.
§ Mr. ScottClaimants for attendance allowance and mobility allowance are contacted by the doctor who will be conducting the examination in order to arrange a time. Guidance both verbally and in guidance notes is provided that the doctor should contact the claimant, preferably in writing, giving the claimant seven days' notice where possible of the proposed date and time. In severe disablement allowance cases lay staff provide 10 days' notice of examination.
Examining medical practitioners are appointed by the senior medical officer of the region. They are usually recruited from among general practitioners within the locality who already have expertise in conducting medical examinations. They are given guidance by the senior medical officer or a regional office medical officer on the backgrounds of, and conditions for the awards for 876W attendance allowance and mobility allowance. The performance of the examining medical practitioners is closely monitored by the senior medical officer to identify any further need for guidance for training. The form such monitoring takes is a matter for the senior medical officer.
The information provided applies to Great Britain, although a similar scheme operates in Northern Ireland. Requests for information concerning the Northern Ireland scheme should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
§ Rev. Martin SmythTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what tests and criteria are used by physicians when assessing entitlement to(a) mobility allowance, (b) attendance allowance and (c) severe disablement allowance; and what consideration is given to factors affecting people with AIDS who may not be experiencing obvious symptoms.
§ Mr. ScottIn attendance allowance the doctors who examine claimants and conduct clinical tests are not the same as the doctors who assess entitlement. The tests carried out by examining doctors are those that they consider necessary in order to complete the examining for Ms. This also applies in severe disablement allowance although claimants for this benefit are both examined and assessed by an adjudicating medical authority consisting of one or two doctors. The criteria used by doctors assessing entitlement are set out in the appropriate handbooks. These are the handbooks for delegated medical practitioners and the severe disablement allowance handbook for adjudicating medical authorities. The handbooks are available in the Library.
For mobility allowance, the clinical tests are conducted by doctors but the assessment of entitlement is carried out by adjudication officers who may seek the advice of full-time medical officers when necessary.
People with AIDS are treated as all other members of the community in deciding their entitlement to these benefits. The only special treatment within the social security system for people with AIDS is the provision for any payments made to haemophiliacs who are infected with AIDS virus or to their families out of the Macfarlane Trust or the Macfarlane (Special Payments) Trust to be completely disregarded for the purposes of the income-related benefits.
The information provided applies to Great Britain, although a similar scheme operates in Northern Ireland. Requests for information concerning the Northern Ireland scheme should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.