§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the average time and the range of times which it takes the agency benefits unit to process claims from patients seeking help with National Health Service charges; whether separate details are available in respect of dental claims; and whether there are any proposals to make the claim form AG1 shorter.
§ Mr. Andrew WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the average time taken by the agency benefits unit to complete and return form AG1; if he has any plans to improve this situation; and why dentists are not informed about the decision reached.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 13 January 1989]: In the five weeks ending 9 December 1988 claims were, on average, cleared within six working days; 50.8 per cent. of claims were cleared within five working days and 91.4 per cent. within 10 working days. Since 5 December, a further 247W 21 staff have been recruited for the agency benefits unit. Furthermore, the completion of claim form AG1 is being monitored with a view to improving its effectiveness. Form AG1 is used to claim help with the whole range of NHS charges. Claims in respect of dental charges are not separately identifiable.
1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 Widow's allowance average number of beneficiaries (thousands) 36 37 34 34 33 32 31 30 30 expenditure (£ million) 142 140 126 120 107 106 103 97 97 Widowed mother's allowance average number of beneficiaries (thousands) 123 119 117 114 110 105 100 93 88 expenditure (£ million) 340 308 296 2296 2287 2283 2268 2248 2239 Death grant (by calendar year) awards (thousands) 583 593 593 591 597 600 1600 601 1600 expenditure (£ million) 35 30 25 24 23 22 21 21 20 Maternity grant awards (thousands) 622 659 654 1640 653 662 1700 694 1560 expenditure (£ million) 35 30 25 23 21 22 22 20 16 1 Estimates 2 Records of expenditure on widowed mother's allowance include amounts of additional pension payable.
§ Mr. Brian WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list by local authority area the number of approved places in(a) private, (b) voluntary and (c) local authority residential homes for the elderly, for each year since 1980.
§ Mr. Roger FreemanThe information readily available over the period relates to the number of places for elderly and younger physically handicapped people in local authorities own homes and places registered in private and
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Number of places in residential care homes for the elderly and for younger physically handicapped people as at 31 March 1987 (provisional) Local authority Places in local authority homes Places in voluntary homes1 Places in private homes1 Total places in all homes1 Northern Region 9,297 1,019 4,531 14,847 Cleveland 1,494 104 367 1,965 Cumbria 1,672 127 1,245 3,044 Durham 1,883 137 560 2,580 Northumberland 852 173 564 1,589 Gateshead 649 52 107 808 Newcastle upon Tyne 886 228 393 1,507 North Tyneside 509 63 738 1,310 South Tyneside 511 10 194 715 Sunderland 841 125 363 1,329 Yorkshire Humberside 14,465 1,749 9,854 26,068 Humberside 2,325 187 2,625 5,137 North Yorkshire 2,004 821 2,893 5,718 Barnsley 698 0 243 941 Doncaster 748 77 345 1,170 Rotherham 677 16 73 766 Sheffield 1,813 44 282 2,139 Bradford 1,425 93 1,418 2,936 Calderdale 702 32 438 1,172 Kirklees 1,163 43 534 1,740 Leeds 2,165 382 709 3,256 Wakefield 745 54 294 1,093 North Western Region 17,347 4,673 15,337 37,357 Cheshire 2,134 775 1,083 3,992 Lancashire 3,985 691 6,768 11,444 Bolton 706 74 405 1,185 Bury 462 392 181 1,035 Manchester 1,842 233 700 2,775 Oldham 671 0 528 1,199 Rochdale 608 0 329 937 Salford 831 201 194 1,226
§ Margaret BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will publish in theOfficial Report the figures given in his answer on social security benefits on 7 December, Official Report, column 182, at 1988 prices.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe information is as follows:
voluntary homes under the Registered Homes Act 1984. the information for the years ending 31 March 1981 to 1986 is published in "Residential Accommodation for Elderly and Younger Physically Handicapped People: All Residents in Local Authority, Voluntary and Private Homes Year ending 31 March 1981 to Year ending 31 March 1986 England", a copy of which is available in the Library. The provisional information for year ending 31 March 1987 is given in the table.
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250W251W
Local authority Places in local authority homes Places in voluntary homes1 Places in private homes1 Total places in all homes1 Stockport 637 36 588 1,261 Tameside 459 83 319 861 Trafford 521 122 613 1,256 Wigan 824 16 216 1,056 Knowsley 222 0 63 285 Liverpool 1,441 719 496 2,656 Sefton 705 1,075 1,816 3,596 St. Helens 316 84 92 492 Wirral 983 172 946 2,101 West Midlands Region 11,768 2,289 9,483 23,540 Hereford and Worcester 1,207 417 2,131 3,755 Shropshire 1,128 31 1,360 2,519 Staffordshire 2,147 370 1,740 4,257 Warwickshire 918 372 885 2,175 Birmingham 2,509 747 1,358 4,614 Coventry 677 45 601 1,323 Dudley 563 42 581 1,186 Sandwell 909 0 158 1,067 Solihull 324 166 82 572 Walsall 697 0 261 958 Wolverhampton 689 99 326 1,114 East Midlands Region 9,210 1,732 6,652 17,594 Derbyshire 2,116 431 1,717 4,264 Leicestershire 2,159 423 1,066 3,648 Lincolnshire 1,437 203 1,778 3,418 Northamptonshire 1,309 337 1,004 2,650 Nottinghamshire 2,189 338 1,087 3,614 Thames/Anglia Region 14,426 5,344 11,791 31,5611 Bedfordshire 1,145 172 754 2,071 Berkshire 1,158 635 1,060 2,853 Buckinghamshire 1,029 874 507 2,41(1 Cambridgeshire 1,378 316 942 2,636 Essex 3,389 1,168 2,565 7,122 Hertfordshire 1,753 826 1,318 .3,897 Norfolk 1,896 514 2,738 .5,148 Oxfordshire 1,183 340 476 1,999 Suffolk 1,495 499 1,431 3,425 Inner London Region 6,785 2,173 874 9,832 Camden 578 206 71 855 Greenwich 560 0 109 669 Hackney 523 137 0 660 Hammersmith 461 106 16 583 Islington 651 58 32 741 Kensington 300 249 51 600 Lambeth 702 302 172 1,176 Lewisham 790 18 237 1,045 Southwark 682 300 0 982 Tower Hamlets 441 125 0 566 Wandsworth 568 636 186 1,390 Westminster 529 36 0 565 City of London 0 0 0 0 Outer London Region 9,156 4,392 4,655 18,203 Barking 379 0 38 417 Barnet 544 1,003 534 2,081 Bexley 437 5 45 487 Brent 437 159 72 668 Bromley 475 646 330 1,451 Croydon 608 320 698 1,626 Ealing 599 389 302 1,290 Enfield 550 56 354 960 Haringey 457 360 140 957 Harrow 412 134 396 942 Havering 514 0 303 817 Hillingdon 505 96 57 658 Hounslow 473 136 5 614 Kingston upon Thames 253 18 370 641 Merton 262 165 165 592 Newham 616 109 24 749 Redbridge 481 174 231 886 Richmond upon Thames 353 434 85 872 Sutton 338 176 299 813 Waltham Forest 463 12 207 682
Local authority Places in local authority homes Places in voluntary homes1 Places in private homes1 Total places in all homes1 Southern Region 13,658 7,759 26,655 48,072 Dorset 1,380 673 4,256 6,309 Hampshire 2,854 962 5,850 9,666 Isle of Wight 316 126 1,253 1,695 Kent 2,807 1,226 2,525 6,558 Surrey 2,016 1,845 1,962 5,823 East Sussex 1,491 1,527 5,465 8,483 West Sussex 1,602 1,135 4,086 6,823 Wiltshire 1,192 265 1,258 2,715 South Western Region 8,077 2,844 16,276 27,197 Avon 2,538 829 2,295 5,662 Cornwall 1,044 251 2,621 3,916 Devon 2,217 1,035 8,929 12,181 Gloucestershire 1,164 480 1,058 2,702 Somerset 1,114 249 1,373 2,736 England Total 114,189 33,974 106,108 254,271 1 Includes homes exempt from registration under Section 1(5)(j) of the Registered Homes Act 1984.