§ Mr. Spellerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claims for attendance allowance are outstanding at any one time; how long the delay is in assessing and deciding whether an attendance allowance is payable; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RossiThere are now about 43, 000 claims for attendance allowance outstanding. The average time taken to decide an initial claim is about 12 weeks. Title to attendance allowance depends on medical evidence which includes the report of a medical examination which has to be carried out in the disabled person's own home and it is unlikely that there can be any substantial reduction in the time taken to decide claims.