§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide the figures used in constructing figure 10 in the social security departmental report published in February, together with equivalent figures for each year from 1970–71.
§ Mr. ScottInformation is not available in the form requested for years before 1974–75. The available information is in the tables.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary fo State for Social Security how many(a) disability living allowance awards and (b) attendance allowance awards were made between February and December 1992, nationally and by disability benefit centre; and if he will provide a breakdown of these by higher, middle or lower rate.
§ Mr. ScottThe information requested is in the tables.
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Table 2 (continued) Dual awards Higher rate care plus Middle rate care plus Lower rate care plus Higher rate mobility Lower rate mobility Higher rate mobility Lower rate mobility Higher rate mobility Lower rate mobility All rates Edinburgh 2,415 521 1,511 1,522 2,335 2,031 21,411 Newcastle 1,178 152 474 526 1,283 731 10,794 Leeds 3,096 546 1,631 1,179 3,186 2,135 25,580 Manchester 1,650 319 775 686 1,158 1,240 13,169 Bootle 1,792 421 1,369 819 2,594 1,401 17,993 Birmingham 4,173 827 2,204 1,991 3,519 2,965 32,545 Bristol 2,064 459 1,058 1,266 965 1,122 13,353 Cardiff 1,548 338 1,107 707 2,121 1,039 16,969 Wembley 3,777 840 1,825 1,890 2,469 3,096 26,376 Sutton 2,692 887 1,298 1,873 1,485 2,488 21,862 DLA Unit 593 78 302 158 458 165 5,184 Great Britain 24,979 5,389 13,554 12,616 21,574 18,411 205,236
Table 3 Awards of attendance allowance between April and December 1992 DBC Higher rate Lower rate Total Edinburgh 11,492 16,206 27,698 Newcastle 4,047 4,256 8,303 Leeds 13,257 18,511 31,768 Manchester 8,548 11,682 20,230 Bootle 7,400 11,428 18,828 Birmingham 17,964 26,073 44,037 Bristol 11,360 19,252 30,612 Cardiff 6,453 13,170 19,623 Wembley 18,925 26,887 45,812 Sutton 16,227 26,657 42,884 AA Unit 352 798 1,150 Total (All DBCs) 116,025 174,920 290,945 Notes:
1. Unrounded figures have been used previously in PQs for DBCs.
2. Monthly figures on AA only available from May 1992 and do not break-down nil awards into higher and lower rates.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total number and percentage of disability working allowance claims that were renewed after the first six months and the number and percentage that were not renewed either because a request for renewal was not submitted or because the applicant did not fulfil the conditions of entitlement; and if he will provide a breakdown of claimants refused benefit at renewal stage on the grounds of failing to meet the disability conditions, the income test, the qualifying benefit conditions or other reasons.
§ Mr. ScottIt is not possible to say how many claims were not renewed at any one time because there is an eight-week period around the time the disability working allowance award expires in which a person can make a renewal claim. However, an analysis of the 1,502 awards made by 31 July 1992 shows that by the end of January 1993, 1,073 (71.4 per cent.) of these recipients had been given a second award. This figure is likely to increase when late claims are decided.
By 29 January the number of renewal claims refused in each category was as follows:
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Reason for refusal Number of renewal claims refused Failure to meet the disability test 21 Failure to meet the income test 126 No qualifying benefit 8 Other reasons 85
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total number and percentage of requests for reviews of(a) disability living allowance and (b) attendance allowance that remain outstanding.
§ Mr. ScottThe information requested is in the table.
Total number received Reviews outstanding at end of January 1993 Percentage of reviews outstanding Disability living allowance February 1992-January 1993 67,953 53,681 79 Attendance allowance April 1992-January 1993 109,428 28,812 26
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to produce written information to claimants about their right to ask for a review of departmental decisions not to award compensation in respect of disability living allowance claims.
§ Mr. ScottPayments to compensate someone for the lost use of benefit are made on an exgratia basis and there is no right of appeal against these decisions.
However, any customer who believes that they meet the criteria for the award of a compensatory payment and who has had a payment refused may ask the DLA unit if the decision can be looked at again. (The criteria are that the delay has been at least 12 months for new claims or three for renewal claims; the arrears due are more than £50; and there has been clear departmental error which resulted in the delay).
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the total expenditure of his Department on payments of disability living allowance and attendance allowance since the beginning of April 1992, excluding administrative costs; and if he will provide the total expenditure on mobility and attendance allowance for the same period in the previous year.
§ Mr. ScottThe information is not available in the form requested. However, spending on mobility allowance and attendance allowance for the year 1991–92 together with the estimated spending for disability living allowance, residual mobility allowance and attendance allowance for the year 1992–93 is in the table:
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Actual spending 1991–92 (millions) Estimated spending 1992–93 (millions) Attendance allowance 1,706 1,458 Mobility allowance 1,062 125 Disability living allowance — 1,905 Total 2,768 3,488
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he plans to respond to(a) the recommendation in the Social Security Advisory Committee's eighth report relating to the severe disability premium and (b) the other recommendations.
§ Mr. BurtWe have, of course, taken careful note of the committee's recommendations, but we are under no obligation to make a formal response and have no plans to do so.
§ Mr. CryerTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when she expects to reply to the application by Mr. Ernest Peel for his review of the mobility component of the disability living allowance which was sent to her Department on 2 July 1992.
§ Mr. ScottThe administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from M. Bichard to Mr. Bob Cryer, dated 19 February 1993:
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security, about when he expects to reply to the application by Mr. Ernest Peel for his review of the mobility component of the disability living allowance which was sent to this Department on 2 July 1992.A further decision has been given on Mr. Peel's Disability Living Allowance (DLA) mobility component claim and was notified to Mr. Peel on 9 February 1993. I understand that the Disability Living Allowance Unit has already replied to you separately and in greater detail about his matter on 12 February 1993.The unfortunate delay in dealing with Mr. Peel's review application has resulted from heavy volumes of work following the successful launch of the new benefit. You will be aware from my letter of 19 October 1992 to all MPs of the problems the Benefits Agency has faced since the launch of 484W DLA and the positive steps being taken to improve the situation. Since then further steps have been taken to clear the current backlog of reviews. Measures taken include recruiting additional, and redeploying existing staff and the setting up of four additional processing units.I offer my sincere apologies to Mr. Peel for the delay in dealing with his claim. He has clearly not received the standard of service that he has every right to expect from the Agency. Such matters are not taken lightly and measures are being taken to improve the quality of service for all our customers.I hope that you will find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. A copy will also be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. CryerTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when she expects to reply to the application by Mr. K. J. Warring-Davies for a component of the disability living allowance following the medical examination which took place on 24 November 1992.
§ Mr. ScottThe administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will writ to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from M. Bichard to Mr. Bob Cryer, dated 19 February 1993:
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about when he expects to reply to the application by Mr. K. J. Warring-Davies for a component of the disability living allowance following the medical examination which took place on 24th Novcember 1992.A decision has been given on Mr. Warring-Davies' Disability Living Allowance application and notified to him on 11 February 1993. I understand that the Disability Living Allowance Unit has already replied to you separately and in greater detail about this matter on 18 February 1992.The unfortunate delay in dealing with Mr. Warring-Davies' application has resulted from the heavy volumes of work following the successful launch of the new benefit. You will be aware from my letter of 19 October 1992 to all MPs of the problems the Benefits Agency has faced since the launch of DLA and the positive steps being taken to improve the situation. Since then further steps have been taken to clear the current backlog of reviews. Measures taken include recruiting additional, and redeploying existing, staff and the setting up of four additional processing units.I apologise for the delay in dealing with Mr. Warring-Davies' case. Such matters are not taken lightly and measures are being taken to improve the quality of Service for all our customers.I hope that you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. A copy will also be placed in the Library.