Disability Living Allowance (Hansard, 12 January 1993)

§ Mr. Scott

The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.

Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Anthony Steen, dated 11 January 1993: As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions raised about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Mrs. Elizabeth Pinnock's appeal against the decision to refuse her Disability Living Allowance (DLA), and whether any of her doctors, consultants, osteopaths and chiropractors were consulted before this decision was made. Mrs. Pinnock appealed against a decision to refuse her claim for Mobility Allowance (MobA) on 6 November 1991 and was notified of the outcome of the appeal on 13 December 1992. I am pleased to tell you that the review decision on her DLA claim has also now been notified to Mrs. Pinnock. As you may be aware, adjudication officers (AOs) are independent of the Benefits Agency in their decision-making and are free to seek such medical advice as they deem necessary to make a decision. General Practitioners, consultants, chiropractors and osteopaths are all among the sources available to AOs before decisions are made. A medical report was obtained from Mrs. Pinnock's GP in pursuit of her appeal. I am very sorry for the delay in dealing with this case and for any difficulties Mrs. Pinnock has experienced. I wrote to you in greater detail about this on 6 January 1993. I hope that you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. A copy is also being placed in the Library.