§ Mrs. Jane KennedyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims remained to be cleared on 26 November 1992(a) in total and (b) for claimants already in receipt of income support (i) for new claims for the highest rate of disabled living allowance care component and (ii) for new claims for the higher rate of attendance allowance.
§ 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 with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from M. Bichard to Ms. Jane Kennedy, dated 14 January 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 concerning claims for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA) outstanding on 26 November 1992.A claim to either DLA or AA is a claim for the benefit as a whole and not for a specific component or level of component of the benefit. It is therefore not possible to give figures on the number of outstanding claims to a particular level of component. Information about outstanding claims for claimants who are already in receipt of Income Support is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.You asked about the number of claims outstanding at 26 November 1992. The information about claims is held on
Month Number of times subject covered in calls Percentage of total subjects 1 No calls and abandoned DLA AA DLA AA Number Per cent. February 49,431 8,249 66 11 37,943 33 March 55,230 7,247 68 9 11,474 13 April 57,455 20,983 52 19 11,370 10 May 33,133 16,159 45 22 10,438 13 June 45,917 20,350 45 20 11,019 11 July 30,233 10,979 44 16 11,551 13 August 25,010 9,065 44 16 9,290 9 September 23,460 8,880 40 15 8,793 11 October 21,505 8,645 37 15 8,130 11 November 18,954 8,650 33 15 9,379 16 December 15,048 7,397 31 16 7,380 16 1 The number of abandoned calls is relevant to the whole service provided by the Benefit Enquiry Line. I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this reply will appear in the Official Report. Copies are also being placed in the Library.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to compensate claimants for the Benefits Agency delays in processing disability living allowance and attendance allowance and for backdating of linked benefits; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ScottThe administration of disability living allowance and attendance 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. Paul Flynn, dated 14 January 1993:
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational832Wmonthly basis, therefore the number of new claims outstanding at the end of November was just over 66,000 for DLA, and 55,000 for AA.I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. A copy will also be placed in the Library.