§ Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) under the new system of periodic review of disability living allowance, how often recipients of the benefit will have their situation reviewed; [74749]
(2) what information will be required from the recipients of disability living allowance when their situation is reviewed under the new system of review. [74750]
§ Mr. BayleyFrom April 1999, a new fairer system of periodic inquiry into benefit entitlement will commence for existing recipients of Disability Living Allowance (DLA). People selected for inquiry action will be asked to complete a detailed questionnaire, based on the current claim form for DLA. This will provide the Benefits Agency (BA) with an up to date picture of the need that the individual has help with personal care and mobility and allow the BA to determine whether a review of entitlement would be appropriate. This will enable awards to be increased or decreased in line with entitlement. Initially, cases will be selected on a proportional basis across the range of awards to be included in the inquiry process.
Some disabling conditions, and the needs that they generate, change very little over time, whilst others can be very variable in effect and/or degenerative in nature. The BA is working to establish the proper frequency with which individuals should be asked about their current needs, so that, in the future, inquiries can be made at the most appropriate time and new claimants can be advised from the outset when inquiries are likely to be made in their case. This action does not affect the responsibility of all claimants to tell the BA about changes that may affect benefit entitlement.