§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) pursuant to his answer on 4 November,Official Report, column 387, when he approved the current appeal form for the purposes of regulation 3(1) of the Social Security (Adjudication) Regulations 1995 as amended with effect from 21 October; [4086]
(2) what response he has made to the recommendation of the Council on Tribunals that, in the information supplied to people appealing to social security, disability and child support appeal tribunals, there should be an emphasis on the desirability of oral hearings; and what steps he has taken to implement that recommendation. [4083]
§ Mr. Roger EvansThe appeal form currently available was approved on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in February 1996, a copy of which is in the Library. The revised form, to be distributed next week, was similarly approved on 27 September. A copy will be placed in the Library. The Council on Tribunals was assured that we would make appellants aware of the consequences of not opting for an oral hearing. The current form encourages attendance by saying that appellants who attend do better than those who do not, and the tribunal wants to hear what the appellant has to say. The revised form will retain this message and make it more prominent.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he has taken to obtain the views of tribunal members on the questions raised in the consultation paper, "Improving Decision Making and Appeals in Social Security", Cm. 3328. [4087]
§ Mr. EvansThe president of the independent tribunal service who is responsible for all Social Security tribunals, including tribunals considering child support, medical and disability questions, and their members, was formally consulted on the Government's proposals contained in the Green Paper, "Improving decision making and appeals in Social Security". The president in turn consulted his staff before responding to the Government's proposals and his response includes the views of tribunal members.
The president also invited his staff to respond directly if they wished and a number of tribunal members have responded separately to the Government's consultation. A total of 100 copies of the Green Paper and the Green Paper summary were sent to the ITS for internal distribution. That included copies sent direct to regional chairmen and full-time chairmen. Additional copies were also made available.