§ Mr. BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many claims have been received to date by his Department for(a) compensation, (b) an ex-gratia payment or (c) both from people who claimed disability living allowance, attendance allowance or mobility allowance on or after 3 February 1992; how many in each category were (i) accepted or (ii) refused; and what is the total cost to his Department for such payments over this period;
(2) how many people are expected to receive a special compensatory payment under the special arrangements for people who claimed disability living allowance, attendance allowance or mobility allowance on or after 3 February 1992 in total; how many of those will receive (a) £10, (b) £20, (c) £30, (d) £40, (e) £50, (f) £60, (g) £70 and (h) over £70 compensation; and what is the expected overall cost to his Department;
(3) how many people whose attendance allowance or mobility allowance (a) came up for renewal or (b) was being reviewed on or after 3 February 1992 experienced interruption in their benefit for a period exceeding three months; and how many of these have been awarded compensation;
(4) how many people who claimed disability living allowance, attendance allowance or mobility allowance between 3 February 1992 and 31 March 1993 would have been eligible for compensation had the new compensation arrangements linking the scheme to Benefits Agency performance targets been brought into effect from 3 February 1992.
§ 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 Michael Bichard to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 14 June 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 Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about compensation and ex gratia payments for people who have claimed Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Attendance Allowance (AA) and Mobility Allowance (MobA). I will deal with each of your points in turn.
Firstly, I should explain the effect of the revised arrangements and special retrospective scheme, which was recently announced.
531WUntil 1 April 1993, compensation, for delays in payment of benefit, is only considered when the delay in payment of benefit in new claims was at least 12 months. The delay had to have been caused by official error and the arrears of benefit had to be £50 or more.
From 1 April 1993, the date from which compensation may be paid has been brought forward, whilst the other criteria remain the same. Compensation will be considered where a payment of benefit is delayed for 6 months beyond the target set for clearing the bulk of claims.
In recognition that this improvement will be too late for people who claimed DLA last year and suffered unacceptable delay due to the exceptional problems following its introduction, a special compensatory payment will be made.
This will apply to those people who made a claim to DLA, or MobA on or after 3 February 1992, were paid before 1 April 1993 and suffered a delay in the payment of benefit of more than 8 months. Payment will be made at the rate of £10 per month for each month in excess of this 8 month period.
The number of people who have received payments of compensation for late payment of benefit on or after 3 February, having claimed DLA, AA or MobA, is 186 at a cost of £25,779.84. The number of people who have received an ex gratia payment, made in respect of, for example, telephone bills is 162 at a cost of £9,316.96. These numbers will however include claims to benefit made prior to 3 February 1992. In the same period 129 people were refused a compensation payment and 74 people were refused an ex gratia payment. We have no record of people who claimed both. These figures are provisional and may be subject to amendment.
It is not possible to predict how many people will receive each of the amounts you quoted by way of special compensatory payments. It is anticipated that some 80,000 to 90,000 people will benefit from the scheme at a cost of around £3 million.
Arrangements for compensation for those people who have experienced an interruption in the payment of their benefit exceeding three months remain the same. These people would originally have made a claim to AA or MobA, which at renewal would have been paid as one of the components of DLA. Since 3 February 1992, 141 people experienced an interruption of this duration or more and have received a payment of compensation. The amount of compensation paid is £5,204.43. These figures are provisional and may be subject to amendment.
Requests for review are not subject to this three-month period, which applies to interruptions in payment. They are subject to the same period as new claims.
The information on how many people would have been eligible for compensation, had the new arrangements been brought into effect from 3 February 1992, is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. However these claims would have been subject to consideration of a payment of compensation where payment of benefit had been delayed for six months beyond the target date set for clearing the bulk of claims. In addition, the delay would have to have been caused by official error and the arrears of benefit would have had to be £50 or more.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. A copy will also be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people were claiming sickness or invalidity benefit in each month in each of the last three years(a) in the area covered by the Wales area directorate and (b) in each of the districts in Wales.
§ Mr. ScottThe administration of sickness benefit and invalidity benefit 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 Michael Bichard to Mr. Nick Ainger, dated 14 June 1993:
532WAs Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking how many people were claiming Sickness or Invalidity Benefit in each month in each of the last three years (a) in the area covered by the Wales Area Directorate and (b) in each of the districts in Wales.
The information has been obtained in the format requested. The statistics for the number of people claiming Sickness or Invalidity Benefit at the last working day of each month of the last three years in the area covered by the Wales Area Directorate (Wales as part of the former Wales and South West Region prior to April 1991) are provided on the table. The statistics for each of the districts in Wales are provided on appendix 1.
Last working day of Number of people claiming in- validity be-nefit (IVB) Number of people claiming sickness be-nefit (SB) Total number of people claiming SB and IVB April 1990 1— 1— 171,767 May 1990 1— 1— 171,716 June 1990 1— 1— 171,644 July 1990 1— 1— 173,030 August 1990 1— 1— 173,258 September 1990 1— 1— 173,387 October 1990 1— 1— 174,612 November 1990 1— 1— 175,662 December 1990 1— 1— 176,918 January 1991 1— 1— 178,524 February 1991 1— 1— 179,758 March 1991 1— 1— 180,456 April 1991 1— 1— 182,037 May 1991 148,915 32,381 181,296 June 1991 150,016 32,808 182,824 July 1991 150,676 33,699 184,375 August 1991 151,462 34,563 186,025 September 1991 152,129 34,374 186,503 October 1991 153,838 33,982 187,820 November 1991 154,320 34,367 188,687 December 1991 156,002 34,218 190,220 January 1992 156,984 35,215 192,199 February 1992 158,327 35,309 193,636 March 1992 159,225 36,187 195,412 April 1992 159,836 35,951 195,787 May 1992 160,937 36,101 197,038 June 1992 162,174 36,754 198,928 July 1992 162,668 37,469 200,137 August 1992 164,479 36,862 201,341 September 1992 165,462 37,559 203,021 October 1992 167,218 38,969 206,187 November 1992 168,443 39,654 208,097 December 1992 169,737 40,929 210,666 January 1993 170,369 40,807 211,176 February 1993 171,761 41,729 213,490 March 1993 173,066 41,679 214,745 1 Note SB and IVB claimants were counted together up to April 1991. It should also be noted that the figures include customers who may have claimed Sickness Benefit and Invalidity Benefit but who may not be in receipt of the benefit. These cases will be "credits only" cases where the person is registered sick and receiving National Insurance credits, also cases where termination action has not been completed. The figures are based on a 100 per cent. clerical count of cases in the local office and are therefore subject to amendment.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
533W
Appendix 1 April 1990 to March 1991 District April May June July August September October November December January February March Gwyneddigion 9,364 9,368 9,425 9,458 9,459 9,560 9,677 9,816 9,901 9,900 10,193 10,078 Mid Wales and Maelor 8,896 8,847 9,005 9,004 9,062 9,197 9,246 9,440 9,492 9,623 9,881 9,895 Cynon Merthyr and Rhymney Valley 22,107 22,000 21,785 22,095 22,188 22,225 22,437 22,465 22,725 22,852 23,263 23,412 South Glamorgan 16,136 16,091 16,123 16,620 16,675 16,472 16,550 16,604 16,826 17,085 17,138 17,252 West Wales 18,422 18,376 18,526 18,676 18,660 18,589 18,606 18,879 19,100 19,489 19,435 19,803 Swansea 15,965 16,042 16,034 16,189 16,285 16,306 16,360 16,421 16,559 16,672 16,774 17,003 North Wales Coast 12,002 11,970 12,094 12,188 12,311 12,302 12,463 12,521 12,534 12,879 12,968 12,922 Ogwr Afan Nedd 21,370 21,704 21,214 21,329 21,253 21,617 21,690 21,995 22,179 21,789 22,346 22,456 Taff Rhondda 17,380 17,354 17,367 17,460 17,429 17,482 17,520 17,623 17,636 18,146 18,040 17,911 South Gwent and Islwyn 13,995 14,098 14,446 14,455 14,408 14,226 14,181 14,197 14,158 13,992 13,571 13,621 North Gwent and Brecon 16,130 15,866 15,625 15,556 15,528 15,411 15,882 15,701 15,808 16,177 16,149 16,103
April 1991 to March 1992 District April May June July August September October November December January February March Gwyneddigion 10,275 10,204 10,416 10,386 10,434 10,553 10,761 10,855 10,931 11,055 11,237 11,321 Mid Wales and Maelor 9,901 9,818 9,869 9,992 10,067 10,208 10,224 10,369 10,422 10,457 10,714 10,854 Cynon Merthyr and Rhymney Valley 23,427 23,495 23,967 23,895 24,417 24,373 24,695 24,569 24,460 24,521 25,191 25,358 South Glamorgan 17,605 17,378 17,188 17,493 17,512 17,595 17,607 17,823 17,931 18,262 18,229 18,513 West Wales 20,017 19,672 19,751 19,494 19,951 19,973 20,127 20,365 20,535 20,728 20,880 20,988 Swansea 17,127 17,231 17,419 17,614 17,656 17,744 17,854 17,958 17,985 18,202 18,242 18,518 North Wales Coast 13,010 13,149 13,250 13,375 13,532 13,694 13,862 13,912 14,070 14,103 14,273 14,329 Ogwr Afan Nedd 22,600 22,007 22,329 22,798 22,913 22,800 22,620 22,849 23,201 23,533 23,458 23,860 Taff Rhondda 18,068 18,244 18,180 18,321 18,468 18,311 18,637 18,635 18,925 19,259 19,276 19,210 South Gwent and Islwyn 13,779 13,687 13,924 14,164 14,178 14,119 14,261 14,413 14,996 15,117 14,688 14,977 North Gwent and Brecon 16,228 16,411 16,531 16,843 16,897 17,133 17,173 16,939 17,185 17,421 17,448 17,484
April 1992 to March 1993 District April May June July August September October November December January February March Gwyneddigion 11,003 11,250 11,164 11,255 11,310 11,571 11,666 11,747 11,961 11,978 12,111 12,421 Mid Wales and Maelor 11,069 11,153 10,831 11,534 11,625 11,653 11,851 12,143 12,295 12,167 12,271 12,197 Cynon Merthyr and Rhymney Valley 25,387 25,998 25,993 26,051 25,917 26,191 27,035 27,478 27,672 28,041 28,258 28,111 South Glamorgan 18,613 18,598 18,857 19,063 19,260 19,453 19,539 19,807 19,977 20,172 20,318 20,478 West Wales 21,389 21,340 21,506 21,635 21,874 22,062 22,346 22,341 22,779 22,705 23,188 23,080 Swansea 18,862 19,057 19,185 19,236 19,420 19,748 19,869 20,006 20,215 20,389 20,655 20,818 North Wales Coast 14,467 14,543 14,561 14,784 14,859 14,996 14,996 14,996 15,534 15,560 15,560 15,853 Ogwr Afan Nedd 23,648 23,731 23,997 23,338 23,392 23,354 24,442 24,705 25,121 24,786 24,957 25,532 Taff Rhondda 19,188 19,105 19,305 19,782 19,955 20,040 19,899 19,944 20,279 20,533 20,579 20,953 South Gwent and Islwyn 15,150 15,248 15,554 15,446 15,501 15,458 15,804 16,025 15,941 16,184 16,284 16,387 North Gwent and Brecon 17,011 17,015 17,975 18,013 18,228 18,504 18,748 18,913 18,892 18,661 19,309 18,915
§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in Wales received(a) sickness benefit and (b) invalidity benefit in (i) March 1990 and (ii) March 1993.
§ Mr. ScottThe administration of sickness and invalidity benefit 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 Michael Bichard to Mr. Barry Jones, dated 14 June 1993:
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking how many people in Wales received (a) sickness benefit and (b) invalidity benefit in (i) March 1990 and (ii) March 1993.
534WFigures are not yet available showing the number of recipients of Invalidity Benefit (IVB) and Sickness Benefit (SB) in Wales in March 1993. However, I am able to tell you that as at 30 March 1990 10,300 people in Wales were in receipt of SB and 137,500 people were in receipt of IVB.
This information has been obtained from a one per cent sample of claimants.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.