§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the(a) care component and (b) mobility component for those in receipt of Disability Living Allowance at the latest date for which figures are available, broken down by the nations and regions of the United Kingdom. [141012]
§ Mr. BayleyThe information is in the table.
Disability Living Allowance awards current at 31 May 2000 by country, region and component Thousand All awards Care component only Mobility component only Care and mobility component Great Britain 2,130.5 286.9 587.8 1,255.8 England 1,717.0 240.7 466.9 1,009.5 Wales 176.1 20.5 54.4 101.2 Scotland 237.3 25.7 66.5 145.1 North East 139.8 18.6 45.6 75.6 North West 344.6 43.5 99.1 202.0 Yorkshire and Humberside 209.6 26.7 61.7 121.1 East Midlands 151.6 20.2 41.2 90.2 West Midlands 207.3 28.4 53.5 125.5 East 144.2 22.0 36.5 85.7 London 198.8 33.1 41.9 123.8 South East 181.5 28.0 49.3 104.2 South West 139.6 20.1 38.2 81.3 Note:
Figures are for Great Britain only. Figures for Northern Ireland are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Source:
DSS (Analytical Services Division-Information Centre) 5 per cent. sample
§ Mr. FlightTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of Disability Living Allowance claims are referred to appeal; what are the key issues considered in appeals; and if he will make a statement. [140875]
§ Mr. BayleyThe administration of Disability Living Allowance is the responsibility of Alexis Cleveland, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Charlie MacKinnon to Mr. Howard Flight, dated 29 November 2000:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked Alexis Cleveland to respond to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what percentage of disability living allowance claims are referred to appeal; what are the key issues considered in appeals; and if he will make a statement. Due to annual leave I am replying on her behalf.
Appeals can arise from any decision given during the life of a Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claim and it is therefore not possible to provide statistics which relate solely to appeals which are received against new and renewal claims. However, the attached table of figures gives an indication of the ratio of appeals to all appealable decisions.
844WDLA has two separate components, mobility and care, which are based upon the claimant's care and mobility needs arising from a medical condition. There are two rates of mobility component and three rates of the care component and entitlement depends on the level of the claimant's needs.
Decision-makers assess entitlement to DLA based on all the evidence presented in support of an individual claim against the criteria for each component. If a claimant is unhappy with a decision, he has the right to request a reconsideration. If the decision-maker finds no evidence to revise the decision at the reconsideration stage, the dispute process allows the claimant to appeal to an independent appeal tribunal. The main issues which tribunals are asked to consider are dissatisfaction with decisions which do not award any rate of DLA or those where the level of benefit which has been awarded is disputed, and dissatisfaction with the period of an award.
I hope this information is helpful.
Disability Living Allowance Total of new claims, renewals and s/sessions cleared Appeals received Ratio of appeals to claims, renewals and s/sessions (Percentage) 2000 April 56,505 7,009 12.40 May 71,705 9,061 12.64 June 81,268 9,913 12.20 July 89,575 10,431 11.64 August 71,427 11,177 15.65 September 66,185 8,695 13.14 October 67,107 9,048 13.48 Year to date total 503,772 65,334 12.97