Dr. Millerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many applications have been made for determination of deafness under the provisions of the Social Security (Industrial Injuries) (Prescribed Diseases) Regulations 1975 in each of the last three years; what was the average waiting time in each of these years; and how many awards were made in each year.
§ Mr. OrmeStarting from 28th October 1974, the date on which claims for disablement benefit for occupational deafness were first accepted, in each of the three years since then there have been 4,702, 3,153 and 1,986 claims, respectively. Of these, 2,409, 1,931 and 1,210 were sent for audiological examination and medical boards have made assessments of disablement leading to awards in 1,040, 1,287 and 596 cases. The figures for audiological examinations and assessments are in respect of the cases where that action was completed in each year.
Records are not kept of the overall time between claim and award, but the numbers awaiting audiological examination at the end of each year would suggest average waiting times for such examinations of the order of 10 weeks in 1975 and 1976 and of 13 weeks in 1977.