§ Mr. Alfred MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the net saving or additional cost from abolishing lump sum awards to ex-service people with an attributable hearing loss of 20 per cent., taking into account the extra costs of appeal hearings by the pensions appeal tribunals since abolition; and if he will make a statement. [18953]
§ Mr. Heald[holding answer 6 March 1996]: Any service-related disablement assessed at 20 per cent. or more attracts a continuing pension rather than a lump sum gratuity.
355WThe threshold excluding payment of war pension gratuities for service-related noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss assessed at less than 20 per cent. came into operation from 7 January 1993. We estimate that, between that date and the end of January this year, the total cost of the gratuities otherwise payable would have been over £130 million.
The estimated administrative cost of appeals heard by the pensions appeal tribunals involving the assessment of noise-induced sensorineural deafness in the same period is approximately £2 million.
The change on noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss formed part of a package which increased considerably, from April 1993, the war pensions of the most severely disabled ex-service men and women. Nearly 265,000 war pensioners are now benefiting from the increase at an estimated annual cost of some £26 million.