§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many, and what percentage of, applications for constant attendance allowance by parents of disabled children have been rejected; how many and what percentage of such rejections were on the ground that the child sleeps at night; and how many and what percentage of such rejections were on the ground that the child was continent;
(2) by how much, and by what percentage, he estimates that the annual cost of constant attendance allowances would be increased, were such allowance now available to all parents whose applications have been rejected because their children sleep at night or because their children are continent;
(3) how many, and what percentage of, reviews against refusals to grant constant attendance allowances to parents of disabled children have resulted in such refusals being overruled;
(4) how many appeals against decisions of review boards by parents of disabled children have been heard by the National Insurance Commissioner; and how many, and what percentage, of such appeals have been successful.
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§ Sir K. JosephUp to 23rd May, the latest date for which figures are available, it is estimated that about 8,300 claims for attendance allowance in respect of disabled children had been rejected at the initial stage, representing about 30 per cent. of such claims dealt with up to that date. Of the 8,300 nearly 1,500 had been allowed on review. This figure represented about 60 per cent, of the applications for review which had been dealt with by that date. No appeals relating to children have yet been heard by the National Insurance Commissioner.
Proposals for the extension of the attendance allowance to those disabled people, including children, who need help by day or at night, as opposed to by day and at night, are included in the National Insurance Bill now before Parliament and will increase the annual cost of the allowance by about £45 million, that is by about 200 per cent., when they have been fully implemented. The other information requested by the hon. and learned Gentleman is not available.