§ Mr. McCartneyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the operation of the mobility allowance in the light of the case of Chris de Martell, a spastic boy of 11 who was ordered by a medical appeals tribunal to rise from his wheelchair and walk when pursuing his appeal for mobility allowance: and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisOver 72,500 awards of mobility allowance have now been made and I have no reason to believe that the adjudication arrangements by which claims to the allowance are decided, and which Parliament has decreed should be independent of Ministers, are not in general working well.
I have had inquiries made into the case raised by my hon. Friend and understand the position to be as follows. The medical board which disallowed the appeal in the first place heard the case at the residential school which the boy attends. A statement from the school indicated that he could walk with crutches about a quarter of a mile with an occasional stop to rest. The statement continued:
He runs and plays with the other children to the best of his ability and joins in all activities".The independent medical appeal tribunal, which consists of a legally-qualified chairman and two doctors of consultant status, was asked to decide whether the boy could walk within the meaning of the statutory provisions. After Christopher had shown what he could accomplish, the medical appeal tribunal allowed the appeal and awarded mobility allowance.
I hope the reports which have been published of this tribunal hearing will not deter claimants from exercising their right to appeal to medical appeal tribunals if they wish to have their claims further considered.