§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many people in the West Midlands area are currently on the waiting list for the processing of their disability living allowance claims; [96040]
(2) what is the current length of time taken to process disability living allowance claims; and if he will make a statement. [96039]
§ Mr. BayleyThe administration of Disability Living Allowance is a matter for Peter Mathison, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Ms Joan Walley, dated 1 November 1999:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions. You asked how many people in the West Midlands area are currently on the waiting list for the processing of their Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claims and what is the current length of time taken to process DLA claims.The Benefits Agency (BA) do not keep data in the requested format. However, we do have data relating to the Disability Benefits Centre (DBC) which includes the West Midlands.At 22 October 1999, the number of new DLA claims awaiting processing by Midlands DBC is 9,433.At 30 September 1999, the current national average time taken to process DLA claims is 38.72 days for new claims against the BA target for clearing new claims of 85% in 53 days. For claims made under the special rules, that is, for those people who have a life expectancy of six months or less, the average clearance time is 7.43 days against BA target of 80% in 10 days.I hope this is helpful.