§ Mr. HobanTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of appeals against the rejection of applications for incapacity benefit were successful in each year since 1997. [22984]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownThe available information on the number of appeals against an incapacity benefit 'Personal Capability Assessment' decision found in the appellants favour is given in the table:
§ Mr. McCartneyThe Pension Service will offer an improved service for pensioners. It will be customer focused and will give pensioners a modem, personalised and efficient service designed to meet their needs. It will be accessible by telephone, post, in time the internet and locally where pensioners need to do so. It will also provide information for future pensioners to help them make decisions about their future pension arrangements.
The Pension Service is committed to providing a seamless service to its customers. The local service will develop relationships with third parties and other local service providers, and will be looking to use other premises, particularly to enable them to hold surgeries, either for appointments or for drop-in sessions. This negotiation will be done at a local level.