§ Mr. Andersonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average waiting time from the date of application for invalid care allowance; how many claimants are still waiting to be dealt with; and what steps he is taking to reduce this period.
§ Mr. MajorAs at 5 December, the latest date for which information is available, about 75,000 claims are awaiting decision. Most of these claims are held up by the need to make inquiries of a variety of sources, including the claimants themselves, to obtain further information. The average time taken to process a claim is currently 22.5 weeks. We are taking all practical steps to reduce this period.