§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the average length of time from receipt of claim to issuing of a decision for the following benefits during the last year for which statistics are available and in what percentage of those claims the period in question exceeded four weeks; attendance allowance, child benefit, family credit, guardians allowance, industrial disablement benefits, invalid care allowance, mobility allowance, retirement pension, severe disablement allowance, war pensions and widows benefits.
§ Mr. Peter LloydBased on the latest available data Lie average time between the date of claim and when a decision on the claim is made is as follows:
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Time Attendance Allowance 7.6 weeks Child Benefit New Claims straightforward1 5.96 days non-straightforward2 13.15 days Supplementary claims straightforward1 4.91 days non-straightforward2 10.84 days Family Credit 22.9 days Invalid Care Allowance 17.0 weeks
Time Mobility Allowance 7.5 weeks War Pensions 27.5 weeks 1 Claims processed by computer. 2 Claims processed clerically. I regret that information is not available for the other benefits mentioned nor about the percentage of claims cleared within four weeks.