§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for North Tayside (Mr. Swinney) of 9 February 1998,Official Report, column 76, relating to the disability living allowance, in what ways the additional evidence will be collected; and if those who have had their benefits removed will be entitled to have their cases reassessed on the basis of the additional evidence. [30046]
§ Mr. DenhamOne of our key aims is to rebuild integrity in, and public support for, the Social Security system and the way in which public money is spent. Benefits should go to those who are properly entitled to benefit. This is why we have continued with Benefits Integrity Project.
The administration of this programme is a matter for Peter Mathison, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with further details.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mrs. Angela Browning, dated 17 February 1998:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question regarding the pursuant to her Answer to the hon. Member for Tayside North, of 9 February, Official Report, column 76, relating to the Disability Living Allowance (DLA), in what ways the additional evidence will be collected; and if those who have had their benefits removed will be entitled to have their cases reassessed on the basis of the additional evidence.The Benefit Integrity Project (BIP) is looking again at some awards of DLA, through a programme of visits and postal enquiries to collect up to date information about the care and mobility needs of some disabled people and to make sure that the correct amount of benefit is being paid.From 9 February, no case likely to result in the reduction or removal of benefit will be passed to an Adjudication Officer (AO) for review without further evidence in addition to that supplied by the customer on the BIP questionnaire. This extra safeguard is to improve confidence in the decisions made by the BIP and to help safeguard the position of severely disabled people.Further evidence about a customer's care and mobility needs may include factual medical evidence from a General Practitioner or hospital or other health care professional, a full examination by a qualified medical practitioner or information from carers. The source 759W of the additional evidence will be determined by the officer acting on behalf of the Secretary of State in the light of the individual circumstances of the case.Although there are no plans to re-examine all benefit reductions made to date under the BIP, anyone whose benefit is reduced or disallowed, whether or not this follows receipt of the further evidence now being sought, is entitled to request a review by another AO. The AO will consider afresh the full circumstances of the award, based on all the evidence available.I hope you find the reply helpful.
§ Mr. SwinneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to her answer of 9 February 1998,Official Report, column 75, if she will list the categories of additional evidence which will be taken into account by adjudication officers involved in the Benefit Integrity Project; and if she will make a statement. [30159]
§ Mr. DenhamOne of our key aims is to rebuild integrity in, and public support for, the Social Security system and the way in which public money is spent. Benefits should go to those who are properly entitled to benefit. This is why we have continued with Benefits Integrity Project.
The administration of this programme is a matter for Peter Mathison, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with further details.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. John Swinney, dated 17 February 1998:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking if she will list the categories of additional evidence which will be taken into account by Adjudication Officers (AOs) involved in the Benefits Integrity Project (BIP).From 9 February 1998, if information obtained from a Disability Living Allowance (DLA) beneficiary as part of the BIP indicates that there has been a change of circumstances which may lead to a reduction or removal of entitlement to DLA, additional further evidence will be obtained before the case is passed to an AO for review.This additional information may be factual medical evidence from a General Practitioner, hospital or other health care professional, a full medical examination by a qualified medical practitioner or information from a carer. The most appropriate source of additional evidence will be used in the light of the individual circumstances of the case.I hope you find the reply helpful.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to her answer of 8 July 1997,Official Report, column 464, concerning the Benefit Integrity Project, what are the outturn savings figures to date; and what is her current estimate of the total savings in 1997–98. [30222]
§ Mr. DenhamThe information requested is not available at present. In the light of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State's recent announcement of additional safeguards and other factors statisticians have been asked to re-examine the estimated savings from the Project and to produce validated figures for the current financial year. I will write to the hon. Member again as soon as this information becomes available.