§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to compensate claimants who may have suffered financial loss, resulting in delays in processing claims for(a) disability living allowance, (b) attendance allowance and (c) mobility allowance, where the delays were less than eight months or where financial loss exceeded £10 a month.
§ Miss WiddecombeUnder the Department's special payment arrangements, consideration will be given to making an ex-gratia payment to someone who has incurred extra expense or suffered actual finanical loss as a result of official error.
Over and above these payments, compensation for loss of use of benefit can also be considered when payment of benefit is excessively delayed. A significant improvement to the arrangements, announced on 4 May means that, for a new claim, compensation can be considered if payment of the benefit is delayed by more than a period of six months plus the target clearance time for clearing the bulk of the claims—usually between 85 per cent. and 95 per cent.
Special compensation arrangements for late payment of benefit were also announced for those people who claimed disability living allowance, attendance allowance or mobility allowance on or after 3 February 1992 who were paid before 1 April 1993 and who suffered a delay of more than eight months in the payment of their benefit. For these people, a payment of £10 per month for each month which exceeded the eight-month period is payable to compensate for the late payment of benefit. No actual financial loss has to have been incurred before payment can be made.