§ Mr. Mike O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pages of forms an applicant for a review of a refusal of an application for disability living allowance has to peruse; and how many pages an appellant has to peruse when making an appeal for disability living allowance, having being rejected on first consideration and review;
472W(2) how many pages the average applicant for disability living allowance has to peruse in order to make an application.
§ Mr. HagueThe administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will reply to the hon. Member.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Mike O'Brien, dated 13 March 1995:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about Disability Living Allowance (DLA) forms.For an initial claim to DLA there are 60 pages which comprise the claim pack:-
Pages Notes 8 Section 1 "Your claim for DLA" 12 Section 2 "How your disability/illness affects you" 28 Additional Section 12 The additional section was introduced to gather information following recent caselaw. Customers must complete section 1; other sections are optional.
A customer is able to request a review of an initial decision whether this was successful or not. The review pack has a total of 48 pages:
Pages Section 1 (Personal details) 8 Section 2 (Mobility needs) 8 Section 2 (Care needs) 20 Additional section 12 A review pack is not usually issued where similar information has been obtained within the preceding three months.
A customer can appeal against a review decision by writing to the Benefits Agency. There is no pack for appeal purposes.
I hope you find this reply helpful.