Sickness Benefit

HC Deb 04 May 1976 vol 910 cc346-7W

Mr. Richard Wainwright

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give his Department instructions that in future any delays in the post will be excluded from the six-day time limit for applications for sickness benefit.

Mr. Orme

Claims to sickness benefit are decided by the independent adjudicating authorities. The time limits for claiming sickness benefit can be, and are, extended by these authorities where good cause for delay in claiming can be shown.

Mr. Richard Wainwright

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will arrange for the six-day claim period rule to be printed prominently and clearly on the certificate used in sickness benefit applications.

Mr. Orme

There are various time limits for claiming sickness benefit—within 21 days of the day for which benefit is claimed in the case of a first-ever-claim to benefit, within six days for the first claim in any subsequent spell of incapacity, and within 10 days for continuation claims in the same spell of incapacity. There are also rules for claims from hospital patients and in respect of dependants. A warning that benefit may be lost if not claimed promptly is printed in red on the medical certificate (Med. 3) on which benefit is usually claimed. To go into further detail and set out comprehensively the time limits that apply would probably be confusing rather than helpful, and would in any case be impracticable in the space available.

Mr. Richard Wainwright

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claims for sickness benefit have been refused in the Yorkshire and Humberside Region in each of the last five years; and how many of these have been refused on the grounds that the claim was not submitted within the six day period allowed.

Mr. Orme

I regret that the information requested is not available. For national figures, on a rather different basis, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the former Under-Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Mr. Golding) on 20th January—[Vol. 903, c. 431–2.]