§ Mr. Alfred MorrisTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 6 March,Official Report, column 233, what estimate he has made of the cost of the action that is being taken to reduce waiting times for pensions appeal tribunals in the case of ex-service people with attributable hearing loss. [20770]
§ Mr. Jonathan EvansIn 1995–96 the expenditure of the pensions appeal tribunals is expected to be approximately £1.4 million, which represents a 45 per cent. increase over the financial provision for 1994–95. This increase is a result of the action being taken to reduce waiting times in all cases, with priority being given to the specific groups set out in my answer of 6 March 1996. However, it is not possible to quantify the resources allocated to hearing loss cases as the pensions appeal tribunals do not record appeals by reference to the nature of disability or injury.