§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people were in receipt of attendance allowance at each rate at 31 December 1982; and if he will break down the figures by social security region and the rate per 1,000 population in each region.
§ Mr. RossiThe information is as follows. It relates to 31 March 1982, the latest date for which figures are available.
31W
Attendance Allowance Awards* At 31 March 1982 Region Higher Rate Lower Rate Number in receipt Rate† Number in receipt Rate† Northern 9,000 3.0 11,500 3.9 Yorkshire and Humberside 11,000 2.2 17,500 3.5 East Midlands and East Anglia 17,500 3.1 20,500 3.7 London North 9,500 1.8 16,500 3.1 London West 14,000 2.5 17,500 3.1 London South 18,500 3.0 26,500 4.3 South-Western 13,500 3.1 19,000 4.4 West Midlands 13,500 2.6 21,500 4.1 North-Western (Manchester) 9,500 2.9 14,500 4.3 North-Western (Merseyside) 10,500 3.3 15,500 4.7 Wales 13,500 4.8 14,500 5.1 Scotland 10,500 2.0 19,000 3.7 Great Britain 150,500 2.7 214,000 3.9 * All figures quoted are estimates. † per 1,000 population.
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of reviews of attendance allowance during the currency of an award in 1982 nationally and in each social security region, which were instituted (a) by him and (b) by the claimant; and in respect of each, what was the number of cases in which (i) the allowance was withdrawn, (ii) the existing allowance was retained, (iii) the higher rate was decreased to the lower rate, and (iv) the lower rate was increased to the higher rate.
Reviews* of Attendance Allowance Awards in 1982 Region Total number of reviews Number in which award withdrawn/reduced† Number in which award retained Number in which award increased Northern 808 35 185 588 Yorkshire and Humberside 1,366 65 291 1,010 East Midlands and East Anglia 1,484 93 320 1,071 London North 1,156 66 217 873 London South 2,050 85 407 1,558 London West 1,285 60 264 961 South-Western 1,711 93 361 1,257 West Midlands 1,458 101 345 1,012 North-Western (Manchester) 1,190 72 242 876 North-Western (Merseyside) 1,086 46 192 848 Scotland 1,380 74 293 1,013 Wales 1,398 55 317 1,026 Total 16,372 845 3,434 12,093 * Details are of reviews sought because of dissatisfaction with the award of the lower rate or a change in the claimant's needs for attention or supervision since the original award was made. † It is not possible to distinguish reviews which resulted in the withdrawal of the award from those in which the award was reduced from higher rate to lower rate.
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will obtain information on the number of requests for review of (a) initial and (b) renewal decisions, on attendance allowance in 1982 both nationally and in each social security region (i) after refusal of the award and (ii) after award of the lower rate; and how many resulted in (I) an award being made after
32W
§ Mr. RossiThe information available is as follows:
(a) 563 reviews of awards were made in 1982 following requests by the Secretary of State. The results were as follows—a regional breakdown is not available:
Number Award withdrawn 248 Award retained 256 Higher rate decreased to lower rate 39 Lower rate increased to higher rate 20 (b) The number and result of review of awards requested by claimants during 1982 are as follows:
an initial decision not to award the allowance, (II) awards being increased from the lower rate to the higher rate, (III) withdrawal of, and (IV) reduction in, the allowance.
§ Mr. RossiThe available information is as follows. It relates to decisions made in 1982, not to requests for review in that year. A more detailed analysis could be only provided at disproportionate cost.
33W
Attendance Allowance—Review Decisions on Dissatisfaction with Earlier Decision* 1982 Requests for review Results of reviews Region Reviews requested after refusal of award Reviews requested after award of lower rate Awards† made after disallowance Awards increased from lower rate to higher rate Allowance withdrawn/reduced† Northern 685 190 376 136 2 Yorkshire and Humberside 950 309 604 228 1 East Midlands and East Anglia 352 278 166 194 5 London North 455 278 293 211 5 London South 426 343 257 257 2 London West 426 326 265 246 2 South-Western 469 279 292 197 4 West Midlands 421 275 221 189 5 North-Western (Manchester) 720 281 426 202 4 North-Western (Merseyside) 405 208 238 164 4 Scotland 1,203 308 686 216 3 Wales 1,164 338 665 249 2 Total 7,676 3,413 4,489 2,489 39 * It is not possible to distinguish between reviews of decisions on initial claims and reviews of decisions on renewal claims. † It is not possible to distinguish between reviews which led to an award at the lower rate and those which led to an award at the higher rate. ‡ It is not possible to distinguish between reviews which led to the withdrawal of the allowance and those which led to a reduction from higher to lower rate.
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of applications for renewal of attendance allowance in 1982 nationally and in each social security region.
§ Mr. RossiThe information is as follows. It relates to decisions given in 1982, not to applications for renewal made in that year.
Attendance Allowance—Renewal Decisions 1982 Region Number of decisions Northern 2,058 Yorkshire and Humberside 3,269 East Midlands and East Anglia 4,130 London North 4,334 London South 4,069 London West 2,518 South-Western 2,762 West Midlands 4,328 North-Western (Manchester) 2,486 North-Western (Merseyside) 2,573 Scotland 2,545 Wales 3,289 Total 38,361
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of applications for attendance allowance in 1982, nationally and in each social security region.
§ Mr. RossiThe information is as follows. It related to decisions given in 1982, not to the claims made in that year.
34W
Attendance Allowance—Initial Decisions 1982 Region Number of decisions Northern 10,572 Yorkshire and Humberside 16,170 East Midlands and East Anglia 17,568 London North 13,230 London South 21,351 London West 10,367
Region Number of decisions South-Western 16,075 West Midlands 18,068 North-Western (Manchester) 12,205 North-Western (Merseyside) 12,375 Scotland 17,013 Wales 16,522 Total 181,516
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many decisions were made by the Social Security Commissioner on appeals concerning attendance allowance (a) by him and (b) by the claimant in 1980, 1981 and 1982; and, in respect of each, in how many cases the appeal was successful.
§ Mr. RossiThe information is as follows:
Attendance allowance—decisions by the social security commissioner 1980 1981 1982 Appeals by the Secretary of State — — — Appeals by the claimant 62 135 169 Appeal successful 20 24 24
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will obtain information on the number of awards of attendance allowance which were made at each rate in 1982 nationally and in each social security region; and if he will break down each figure by the length of time for which the awards were made.
§ Mr. RossiThe information available is as follows. I regret that a regional break down could be obtained only at disproportionate expense.
35W
Attendance allowance—awards (new and renewal claims) 1982 Duration of award (years) Higher rate awards Lower rate awards Less than one 815 1,383 One less than two 5,813 9,066
Duration of award (years) Higher rate awards Lower rate awards Two less than three 7,014 11,175 Three less than four 2,661 3,950 Four less than five 1,100 1,831 Five and over 3,026 5,755 Life 49,352 69,303 Totals 69,781 102,463