Disability Living Allowance (Hansard, 19 March 1999)

§ Mr. Bayley

The administration of Disability Living Allowance is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Peter Mathison to Mrs. Theresa May, dated 15 March 1999: The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many reviews of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) were undertaken under the Benefits Integrity Project (BIP) in 1997–98 and the current financial year to date; and how many reviews it is anticipated will be held in 1999–2000 under the new periodic review system. It might be helpful to clarify what we mean by a review. I assume from your question that you are referring to the total number of cases that have been, and will be, checked under the BIP using the most available year to date figures, and the total number that are likely to be checked under the periodic review of DLA awards that starts in April 1999. I have answered your question on this basis. The number of DLA cases that were examined and completed by the BIP in the period 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998 was 72,470. For the period 1 April 1998 to 31 December 1998 (the last available figures), the corresponding figure is 88,117. A monthly statistical report providing detailed information can be found in the House of Commons library. 627W Turning now to the number of cases we anticipate dealing with under the new periodic enquiry system from April, the new process will be continually evaluated, refined and developed, in consultation with disabled people and their representatives. Officials will take stock of the findings after six moths. I estimate that over the first six months work will be started on some 10,000 to 15,000 cases, through a mixture of visit and postal enquiry. I hope that this is helpful.