§ Mr. Ennalsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services on what legal authority the Minister for Social Security has sought to hold up appeals from autistic children against refusal to award them the mobility allowance; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RossiI assume that the right hon. Gentleman is referring to my reply to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris) on 9 March—[Vol. 1000, c.251]—who had asked about the effect on unresolved mobility allowance appeals of the social security commissioner's decision in the case of Paul Campbell. That decision interpreted the Mobility Allowance (Amendment) Regulations 1979 in an unexpectedly restrictive way. If it had become a precedent for future cases it could well have resulted in the disallowance of many claims and appeals from people with a combination of mental and physical disablement whom the right hon. Gentleman had in mind when he made the amending regulations in 1979.
As I said in my earlier reply, a number of other appeals on the same point were before the commissioners. We therefore considered it to be in the best interests of the claimants concerned to suggest to medical appeal tribunals that any similar appeals awaiting hearing by them might be adjourned until the commissioners' decisions were known. Since medical appeal tribunals are independent authorities, it was of course open to them to adjourn or not, as they saw fit.
Since I gave my earlier reply, one of the appeals to which I referred has been decided by a different 435W commissioner. After an oral hearing the commissioner decided that the regulation in question bears the meaning which the right hon. Gentleman intended it to have. Furthermore, the commissioner who heard the appeal in the case of Paul Campbell has, I gather, concurred in the construction of the regulation now adopted. In the light of this decision, the Department has withdrawn its suggestion for the adjournment of appeals awaiting hearing by medical appeal tribunals.
I understand that the chief commissioner has now decided that the decision should be published as a reported decision for the guidance of the determining authorities.