§ Mr. Robert McCartneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what(a) number and (b) percentage of disability living allowance claim decisions were (i) reviewed and (ii) appealed against in the last year for which figures are available; and what percentage and number achieved variations of awards in their favour. [21009]
§ Mr. MossResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Social Security Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Alec Wylie. I have asked him to arrange for a response to be given.
Letter from Alec Wylie to Mr. Robert McCartney, dated 19 March 1997:
I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for statistics on Disability Living Allowance decisions that were reviewed and appealed against in the last year for which figures are available.The attached sheet sets out the most up to date information available for a complete year which, in this instance, covers the period from 1 April 1995 to 31 March 1996.Disability living allowance statistical information I April 1995 to 31 March 19961. Total number of claims received: 48,633
2. Amount Reviews Number of reviews received 22,256 Number of reviews decided 21,261 Number of reviews allowed 7,849 Success rate 37 per cent. Appeals Number of appeals received 2,491 Number of appeals cleared 3,142 Number of appeals allowed 1,320 Success rate 42 per cent. It should be noted that the number of appeals and reviews received during the period 1 April 1995 to 31 March 1996 do not necessarily relate to the number of claims received during the same period— i.e. some appeals and review applications were made on previous year claims.