§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims were received by his Department for(a) attendance allowance and (b) mobility allowance in 1988, 1989 and 1990.
§ Mr. ScottThe information is in the table.
1Attendance allowance 2Mobility allowance 1988 362,000 240,000 1989 365,000 242,000 1990 3— 240,000 1 Initial claims only. 2 Includes renewal and subsequent claims. 3 Not yet available.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the most recent figures for the numbers of attendance allowance reviews resulting in an increased award from the lower to the higher rate.
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§ Mr. ScottInformation is not available in the form requested. However, the total number of awards of attendance allowance, including renewal claims, where the award changed from the lower to the higher rate for the 12-month period ending 30 September 1990 was 31,000.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the current success rate on renewal claims for(a) attendance allowance and (b) mobility allowance.
§ Mr. ScottThere were 42,000 renewal claims of mobility allowance in 1990. During the same period there were 33,000 awards on such claims. Information for attendance allowance is not available.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action will be taken by the Department subsequent to the recent commissioner's decision CA/380/1990 relating to attendance allowance in respect of children to(a) alert those people whose claims were refused, (b) contact others who would have been entitled but were deterred from making a claim by the age bar and (c) pay benefit to those who were entitled but are now outside the time limit for claiming.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide details on the training and follow-on training received by examining doctors and adjudicating medical practitioners on the new deaf-blind rules in mobility allowance; and what monitoring has been carried out by his Department to ensure that examining doctors and adjudicating medical authorities are following departmental guidance when dealing with claims for mobility allowance under the deaf-blind rules.
§ Mr. ScottFollowing the introduction of the new deaf-blind rules in mobility allowance, notes for examining doctors were issued in the form of an insert added to each examination report, both for examining doctors and adjudicating medical authorities. This insert gives guidance on the way the new rules should be applied.
Adjudication officers monitor the doctors' reports, and bring to the attention of the Department's senior medical officer any problems which arise. If it is apparent that any doctor requires further training, it is given. Reports by adjudicating medical authorities are examined by the Department's full-time medical staff and, again, any problems are brought to the attention of the senior medical officer.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, according to the most recent figures available, how many attendance allowance claimants had their award withdrawn or interrupted in 1989 and 1990 on the grounds of living in scheduled accommodation.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many attendance claims in respect of children under two years of age were received by the Department(a) from April 1990 to December 1990 and (b) from March 1970 to March 1990.
§ Mr. ScottThe information is not available, but 6,100 claims in respect of children under two years were processed in the period April 1990 to December 1990.