§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, further to the reply to the hon. Member for Eccles on 25 November, Official Report, c. 415, if he will define the phrase "temporary absence"; if there have been any rulings on the meaning of "temporary"; and if he will make a further statement.
§ Mr. RossiSocial security legislation does not define the term "temporary absence". Whether an absence can be treated as temporary depends upon the circumstances of the individual case and is decided by an independent adjudicating authority, the insurance officer, with rights of appeal, firstly to the local tribunal and finally to the social security commissioner. The question of "temporary absence" was material in the following commissioner's published decisions to which I draw the hon. Member's attention—R(S) 9/55, R(I) 37/55, R(S) 5/59, R(S) 9/59 and R(U) 16/62. I am also sending to the hon. Member a copy of a recent unreported decision numbered CI 10/81.