§ Mr. Alan HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the targets used by the Benefits Agency medical services in respect of(a) medical advice, (b) scrutiny, (c) assessment, (d) examination and (e) complaints for each of the disability benefits. [14404]
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of the Benefits Agency medical services is a matter for Peter Mathison the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Alan Howarth, dated 10 February 1997:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the targets used by the Benefits Agency Medical Service in respect of (a) medical advice, (b) scrutiny, (c) assessment, (d) examination and (e) complaints for each of the disability benefits.The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is shown in the enclosed tables. All targets are expressed in working days.I hope this reply is helpful.
Incapacity benefit targets Target Medical advice 95 per cent. cleared in 5 days Scrutiny 30 per cent. cleared in 10 days 85 per cent cleared in 50 days Assessment Assessment 30 per cent. cleared in 10 days 85 per cent cleared in 50 days Examinations 30 per cent cleared in 10 days 85 per cent. cleared in 50 days Complaints 100 per cent. acknowledged in 2 days 100 per cent. to receive full or interim response in 10 days 80 per cent. cleared in 20 days
174W
Industrial injuries disablement benefit targets Target Medical advice 60 per cent. cleared in 33 days 90 per cent. cleared in 70 days Scrutiny 60 per cent. cleared in 33 days 90 per cent. cleared in 70 days Assessment 60 per cent. cleared in 33 days 90 per cent. cleared in 70 days
Industrial injuries disablement benefit targets Target Examinations 60 per cent. cleared in 33 days 90 per cent. cleared in 70 days Complaints 100 per cent. acknowledged in 2 days 100 per cent. to receive full or interim response in 10 days 80 per cent. cleared in 20 days.
Severe disablement allowance targets Target Medical advice Not applicable Scrutiny Not applicable Assessment 60 per cent. cleared in 40 days 85 per cent. cleared in 100 days Examinations 60 per cent. cleared in 40 days 85 per cent. cleared in 100 days Complaints 100 per cent. acknowledged in 2 days 100 per cent. to receive full or interim response in 10 days 80 per cent. cleared in 20 days Disability Living Allowance/Attendance Allowance Targets
Each Medical Services Centre has a Service Level Agreement with the local Disability Benefit Centre. Targets are negotiated and agreed to take account of local circumstances.
§ Mr. HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will list the main elements in the running costs of the Benefits Agency medical services in(a) 1995–96 and (b) 1996–97. [14405]
(2) if he will list the component parts of the Benefits Agency medical services and medical evidence budgets and the proportions of the local social security budget they represent; [14406]
(3) what has been the level of spending in the current year to date on the (a) Benefits Agency medical services and (b) medical evidence budgets relative to the planned provision. [14407]
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of the Benefits Agency medical services is a matter for Peter Mathison the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Alan Howarth, dated 10 February 1997:
175WThe Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the main elements in the running costs of the Benefits Agency Medical Service (BAMS) in (a) 1995–96 and (b) 1996–97; if he will list the component parts of the BAMS and Medical Evidence budgets and the proportions of the local social security budget they represent; and what has been the level of spending in the current year to date on the (a) BAMS and (b) Medical Evidence budgets relative to the planned provision.The main elements in the running costs of the BAMS for each year are staffing and medical evidence.The BAMS budget consists of Salaries and Non-staff Costs. The Medical Evidence Budget consists of Doctors Fees and expenses, Medical Report Fees, Customer Expenses, and Medical Examination Incidentals.For 1996–97, the BAMS budget is 4.8% of the budget allocated to the Area Directorates, and the Medical evidence budget is 4.0%.The actual and planned expenditure for April to December 1996 is shown in the table below:-
Actual expenditure £ Planned expenditure £ BAMS 44,111,000 43,812,000 Medical evidence 39,064,275 35,594,035 Figures are provisional and subject to change.
I hope you find this reply helpful.