§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the average waiting time for mobility and attendance allowance appeals to be decided;
(2) how many mobility and attendance allowance appeals in the last three years have taken more than (a) three months, (b) six months and (c) nine months to be decided from the date that the appeal was first made;
(3) what steps are being taken to reduce the present delays in deciding mobility and attendance allowance appeals.
§ Mr. PrenticeFor mobility allowance, the average length of time taken for cases dealt with recently is about 10 weeks for appeals to a medical board and about 20 weeks for appeals to the Medical Appeal Tribunal.
Attendance allowance appeals on medical questions are considered by way of review. A sample check made recently indicated that the average time taken was about 12 weeks.
There are no more detailed figures available of the length of time taken to consider individual appeals. However, I am satisfied, given the complexity of the 195W medical questions which need to be considered in awarding these allowances, that the time taken for appeals and reviews is not unreasonable.
As regards appeals to the social security commissioners on a point of law, these take on average about 12 months to determine. The long waiting period which now exists before cases can be heard by the commissioners has come about owing to a number of factors—principally the increasing range of benefits, a growing tendency on the part of claimants to exercise their statutory rights to appeal, and additional work created by European Community legislation. Steps are, however, being taken to increase the number of commissioners, and we have every hope that this will be reflected in a reduction in these delays before long.
If the hon. and learned Member has a particular case about which he is concerned, perhaps he will let me know.