§ Mr. Temple-MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will acknowledge the letter of Ms J. J. Lowmass of 28 April to the head of section, disability allowance, Blackpool—his reference JE 553986C Sherwood—together with subsequent correspondence, including a letter to himself from Ms J. J. Lowmass and Mr. E. M. Sherwood dated 23 June; and when he expects his Department to be able to deal with the matter.
§ Mr. ScottThe 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 Mr. M. Bichard to Mr. Peter Temple-Morris, dated 23 July 1993:
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking if he will acknowledge the letter of Ms J. J. Lowmass of 28th April to the Head of Section, Disability Allowance, Blackpool (his reference JE 553986C Sherwood) together with subsequent correspondence, including a letter to himself from Ms J. J. Lowmass and Mr. E. M. Sherwood dated 23rd June; and when he expects his Department to be able to deal with the matter.Ms Lowmass wrote to the Attendance Allowance Unit (AAU) on the 17 November 1992 asking for confirmation that her letter of 1 September 1992, which detailed a change in Stephen's circumstances, had been received.The AAU which was dealing with Stephen's claim at the time (Attendance Allowance (AA) for customers under the age of 65 became DLA from 6 April 1992, but no conversion had taken place at that time on Stephen's case) wrote to Mrs. Lowmass stating that they had no record of receiving this letter. A copy of this letter was then provided by Ms Lowmass in November 1992.You will be aware of the delays that have resulted due to the backlog of work on DLA. Unfortunately, because of these delays it was March 1993 before the file was referred to an Adjudication Officer who decided that Stephen was not entitled to the care component of DLA, and advised Stephen's parents accordingly.717WFurther correspondence was received from Ms Lowmass and Mr Sherwood on the 28 April and 28 June respectively. The letter of 28 April is now being treated as a request for a review.The present situation is that a review claim pack was issued to Ms Lowmass by first class Post on 15 July 1993. Ms Lowmass was given the opportunity to complete the pack by phone but declined. When the pack is returned it will be dealt with as a matter of priority.This case has clearly not been handled with the efficiency I would expect. Please convey my sincere apologies to Ms Lowmass and Mr. Sherwood for the delays they have suffered and for any distress or inconvenience caused.I am pleased to say that the overall situation at the DLA Unit is much improved and 80 per cent. of new cases are now being cleared inside 30 days.I thank you for bringing this matter to my attention and for giving me the opportunity to explain the situation. A copy of this letter will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.