§ Mrs. BallardTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will restore an element of local discretion on decisions relating to the award of incapacity benefits. [2173]
§ Mr. DenhamModernising the Social Security system is a key priority of the Government. Our objective is to reduce poverty and welfare dependency and to promote work incentives. We will develop a system that supports work, savings and honesty. We will streamline services to provide better, simpler, more efficient services to clients.
As part of this aim we will be seeking to ensure that decisions relating to the award of incapacity benefits provide a fair assessment of a person's incapacity for work for benefit purposes.
§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants appealed against refusal by the Benefits Agency to allow incapacity benefit in 1996–97; what was that number as a percentage of the total number of claims refused; and what percentage of appeals were successful. [3759]
§ Mr. DenhamOne of the Government's first priorities for social security is to modernise both the appeals system and the decision making process. We intend to bring forward measures early to streamline and simplify the system to make it easier to understand and more cost effective.
The specific information requested on incapacity benefit appeals is in the table:
Period Number of incapacity benefit appeals against disallowance Appeals as a proportion of claims disallowed Percentage of appeals heard and decided in the claimant's favour April 1996 to March 1997 100,703 50 per cent. 44 Source:
Benefits Agency and Independent Tribunal Service.