§ John RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many ME sufferers were(a) successful and (b) unsuccessful in their applications for disability living allowance in the last 12 months. [171342]
§ Maria EagleFor the year ending 30 November 2003, there were approximately 2,200 new awards for customers whose primary disabling condition is ME, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or other Post Viral conditions. Information on unsuccessful claims to Disability Living Allowance by sufferers of ME is not available.1
1When inputting an unsuccessful claim to the computer system from which these figures are drawn, a disability code, which highlights the main disabling condition, is not input.Note:Figures taken from 5 per cent, samples. Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred. From November 2002, the methodology for producing these figures was changed to allow statistics to be published much sooner. This has resulted in a small increase in the reported caseload. This is because some cases which have actually terminated but have not yet been updated on the computer system are now included.Source:
IAD Information Centre.