§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the number and percentage of all inquiries received by the benefits inquiry line which relate to disability living allowances and attendance allowances in each month since February 1992 and the number and percentage of calls recorded but not able to get through on this line over the same period.
§ Mr. ScottThe administration of the benefit inquiry line for people with disabilities 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 Mr. Paul Flynn, 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 about the numbers and percentages of all enquiries received by the Benefits Enquiry Line related to Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA) in each month since February; and the number of calls recorded but not able to get through on this line over the same period.The information requested is shown in the table:matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security, asking what plans he has to compensate claimants for Benefits Agency delays in processing Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA) and for backdating of linked benefits.The present arrangements are that compensation can be considered only where, because of a clear and unambiguous Departmental error, a claim has taken longer than twelve months to process or, in the case of an existing award, there is an interruption in payment of three months or more. Normal backdating rules will apply in linked benefits and arrears can be backdated only up to the statutory maximum time limit of 52 weeks.I recognise that delays are unacceptable at any stage, and Ministers have given a clear commitment that no-one will lose benefit due to the delays in processing claims.I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. A copy will also be placed in the Library.
§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many disability living allowance and 833W attendance allowance claims from (a) Stoke-on-Trent, North constituency and (b) the entire area dealt with by the relevant disability benefits centre have been outstanding each month since February 1992; and how many additional staff and at what grade have been taken on in each of those months.
§ 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 Ms. Joan Walley, 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 the number of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA) claims in the Stoke North constituency and the relevant Disability Benefit centre.Information about the number of DLA and AA claims from Stoke North constituency is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.All new claims from people in the Stoke on Trent area are dealt with by the Midlands Disability Benefit Centre in Birmingham. The following table shows the number of DLA and AA claims outstanding at the DBC for each month.
Disability living allowance Attendance allowance February 1,712 11,238 March 7,536 15,237 April 12,617 17,027 May 18,187 18,486 June 19,978 20,210 July 19,759 20,639 August 20,004 18,787 September 16,713 15,168 October 11,357 7,136 November 9,639 8,464 December 9,121 8,557 You also asked about additional staff taken on at the DBC during each month. This information is in the following table.
HEO EO AO AA Casual AA February — 5 — 2 — March — 2 21 6 4 April — 3 1 1 1 May — — — — 8 June — — — — 8 July — — 4+2l — 36 August — — 6 — 1 September 11 1 9 1 — October — — 2 — — November — — 1 1 — December — — — — — 1 6 months. 2 Part time. In addition to the extra staff recruited, considerable overtime has been worked and staff have worked on a detached duty basis from other Benefits Agency offices. Work was also processed by staff at additional units which were set up elsewhere to assist in the clearance of the backlog. I gave details of this in my letter of 19 October 1992 to all MPs.I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. A copy will also be placed in the Library.834W
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he received a copy of the report of the survey of disability living allowance and disability working allowance jointly undertaken by the Disability Alliance and Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation during this summer; what response he has made; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ScottI received a copy of the report of the survey of disability living allowance and disability working allowance by the Disability Alliance and Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation on 25 November 1992 and I replied on 22 December. I noted that, although this report was based on an unrepresentative sample, it raised a number of issues, many of which were already being tackled. Officials from this Department intend to meet the researchers to discuss their findings and recommendations.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide a breakdown of successful disability working allowance applicants by(a) average hourly earnings, (b) average hours worked, (c) average age, (d) sex, (e) marital status, (f) householder status and (g) qualifying benefit.
§ Mr. ScottInformation on the householder status of applicants is not available. The table provides estimated figures derived from an analysis of successful claims up to 30 November.
Number Average hourly earnings £2.95 Average hours worked a week1 30 Average age 37 Number of awards to men 1,538 Number of awards to women 1,099 Number of awards to single people 1,595 Number of awards to couples 1,042 Qualifying benefits2: Invalidity benefit 382 Severe disablement allowance 120 Income support with disability premium 196 Housing benefit with disability premium 27 Community charge benefit with disability premium 52 Lower rate disability living allowance 259 Higher rate disability living allowance and attendance allowance 1,601 1 Mean average of cases analysed. Forty-five per cent. work more than 32 hours and 38 per cent. between 16 and 24 hours. 2 Main qualifying benefit taken for claim purposes; applicants may have more than one qualifying benefit.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people awarded disability working allowance failed to apply to renew the benefit after six months; and what plans his Department has to monitor reasons for failure to renew in such circumstances.
§ Mr. ScottIt is not possible to say how many people fail to renew their claim at any one time because they have an eight-week period around the time their award expires in which they can make a renewal claim. However, an analysis of the 1,159 awards made by 30 June 1992 shows that by the end of December, 834 of these recipients had been given a second award. This figure is likely to increase when late claims are decided.
We are monitoring disability working allowance claims and awards carefully and are also planning further research.