Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the estimated cost of increasing the Services how many claims for invalid care allowance are received annually; how many of these claims are successful; and what is the average length of time for processing such claims.
§ Mr. ScottA total of 64,382 invalid care allowance claims were received in the 12 months up to 29 April 1988 and, of the claims decided in that period, some 62,649 were successful. The average time taken to decide claims is currently 20.3 weeks, but we are seeking to reduce this substantially.