HC Deb 08 March 1983 vol 38 cc378-80W
Mr. Field

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of claims for attendance allowance for each month since April 1979, the numbers of staff employed in processing claims and the average length of time it took each month to process the claims.

Mr. Rossi

The information available is as follows:

Claims to attendance allowance from April 1979
Months* Number of claims‡ Number of staff║ Clearance time(weeks)
1979
April 7,377 277
May †13,373
June 10,580
July †l3,827
August 9,885

Months* Number of claims‡ Number of staff║ Clearance time(weeks)
September 10,017
October †13,811
November 11,220
December 9,701
1980
January †10,853
February 13,005
March 12,699
April †13,574 284
May 10,983
June 11,176
July †13,564
August 10,017
September †13,566
October 12,273
November 12,834
December †12,919
1981
January 11,202
February 14,589
March †18,534
April 12,397 295
May 12,599
June †15,734
July 12,234
August 11,317
September †14,030
October 14,288
November 15,112
December †14,428
1982
January 11,952
February 16,904 13.5
March †17,915
April 14,635 314
May 15,552

1979–80 1980–81 1981–82
£ million Per cent. £ million Per cent. £ million Per cent.
A. PATIENT CARE SERVICES
(i) Medical Staff Services 438 8.2 587 8.5 646 8.5
(ii) Nursing Staff Services 1,683 31.6 2,345 34.1 2,563 33.6
(iii) Other Direct Treatment Services and Supplies 444 8.3 548 8.0 634 8.3
(iv) Diagnostic Departments 265 5.0 344 5.0 388 5.0
(v) Other Medical and Para Medical Services, Ambulance Services etc. 378 7.1 486 7.0 549 7.2
Total 3,208 60.2 4,310 62.6 4,780 62.6
B. GENERAL SERVICES
(i) Unit Administration and Clerical Support Services 312 5.8 386 5.7 434 5.7
(ii) Medical Records 60 1.1 73 1.1 80 1.0
(iii) Training and Education 26 0.5 32 0.5 38 0.5
(iv) Catering 281 5.3 318 4.6 339 4.4
(v) Domestic/Cleaning 322 6.0 379 5.5 408 5.3
(vi) Portering 106 2.0 127 1.8 135 1.8
(vii) Laundry 52 1.0 60 0.9 66 0.9
(viii) Linen Services 85 1.6 98 1.4 105 1.4
(ix) Transport 35 0.6 43 0.6 41 0.5
(x) Engineering Maintenance 153 2.9 189 2.7 220 2.9
(xi) Energy and Utility Services 202 3.8 250 3.6 289 3.8
(xii) Building Maintenance 100 1.9 129 1.9 151 2.0
(xiii) Grounds and Gardens 17 0.3 21 0.3 22 0.3
(xiv) General Estate Expenses 85 1.6 106 1.5 127 1.7
(xv) Miscellaneous Services and Expenses 3 0.1 6 0.1 9 0.1
Total 1,839 34.5 2,217 32.2 2,464 32.3

Months* Number of claims‡ Number of staff║ Clearance time(weeks)
June †17,438
July 14,789
August †l7,284
September 14,285 14.2
October 15,284
November †20,680
December 12,896
1983
January 14,899 322
* Figures relate to four-week period form entries marked † where five-week period shown.
‡ New claims received at DHSS regional offices.
║ Estimate does not inlcude doctors who carry out medical examinations in connection with attendance allowance claims.
¶ Average time based on sampling exercise.