§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action he intends to take in the case of David Holmes, details of which have been forwarded to him; and if he will make a statement on the implementation of incapacity benefit. [6249]
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of incapacity benefit is a matter for Peter Mathison, chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Llew Smith, dated 5 December 1996:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what action he intends to take in the case of David Holmes, details of which have been forwarded to him; and if he will make a statement on the implementation of incapacity benefit.I was very sorry to hear of the death of Mr. David Holmes and for reasons of confidentiality I will write to you separately to provide the relevant facts.822WIt may be useful if I briefly outline the All Work Test (AWT) which was applied to Mr. Holmes' Incapacity Benefit (IB) claim.The AWT, which is an integral part of IB, looks at the effect of a client's illness of their ability to carry out a range of work related activities, rather than the condition itself. The test identifies various functional areas, such as walking or standing, which are relevant when assessing capacity for work. The medical test for IB is different from the more usual General Practitioner's (GP) examination in which the aim is to make a diagnosis and arrange appropriate treatment.The information gathered for the AWT involves the views of the client, his GP and a Benefits Agency Medical Services (BAMS) doctor in an assessment of the effect of the medical condition on the client's ability to carry out the work related activities. The independent Adjudication Officer takes all these views into account and decides whether a person is capable of work. Neither the examining doctor nor the GP have a role to play in deciding the claim.IB was successfully implemented on 13 April 1995, involving the training of 1,400 doctors and 40,600 administrative staff in the new procedures. New information Technology systems were developed to support BAMS and Benefits Agency staff. Performance has been maintained consistently and has not suffered as a result of implementation. IB is being constantly reviewed to ensure its continued efficiency.