§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what changes have been made in the procedure of the Attendance Allowance Board having regard to paragraph 33 of the decision of the Chief Commissioner of National Insurance in the case of James Martin in Leicester wherein he questioned whether the decision in that case, and the procedure leading to it, comply with the rules of natural justice and in which he drew attention to the difficulty facing the board in deciding a case of this type without a hearing of any sort on the facts. and without any form of oral legal argument.
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§ Mr. DeanI am informed the board intends to consider amplifying the letter which goes to a claimant with the copies of the papers that are put before the board or its delegate when determining whether a decision should be reviewed, so that where itsprima facie view is unfavourable to the claimant, he would be so informed and invited to provide further evidence or submissions before the board, or the delegate, reached a conclusion.