§ Mr. Terry FieldsTo ask the Attorney-General what was the average waiting time between an appeal to the social security commissioners and a commissioner's decision being made.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe average waiting time from receipt of the appeal in the commissioner's office to notification of the commissioner's decision in 1989 was 404 working days.
§ Mr. Terry FieldsTo ask the Attorney-General how many social security commissioners' decisions were made in each of the last five years; how many oral hearings occurred in each of the last five years; and what percentage of commissioners' decisions are reported.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe answer in each category for each of the last five years is listed in the tables.
England, Wales and Scotland Number of social security commissioners' decisions
in each of the past five years
Location 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 England and Wales n/a 1,839 1,894 12,136 1,909 Scotland 486 334 407 660 1703 1 Revised figures. n/a=Not available.
Number of cases heard by social security commissioners in each of the past five years Location 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Lodon n/a 519 572 1346 287 Cardiff n/a 6 42 56 37 Liverpool2 nil nil nil 53 54 Leeds3 nil nil nil nil 39 Edinburgh 51 64 68 63 77 1 Revised figures. 2 No hearings before 1988. 3 No hearings before 1989. n/a = Not available.
Percentage of commissioners' decisions reported in the past five years Percentage 1985 n/a 1986 2.5 1987 1.9 1988 1.5 1989 1.8 n/a=Not available.
§ Mr. Terry FieldsTo ask the Attorney-General how many social security commissioners there are; how they are appointed; and what salaries or fees they are paid.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThere are 12 full-time social security commissioners in England and Wales and three in548W Scotland. They are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Lord Chancellor from among persons who are barristers, advocates or solicitors of not less than 10 years standing. Commissioners are paid an annual salary of £51,000. The chief commissioner is paid £56,000.