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Mr. Scott : The information for (a) and (b) is not available in the form requested.
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|DLA claims received|DLA claims |DLA claims
|decided<1> |outstanding
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February |72,000 |2,000 |71,000
March |124,000 |15,000 |179,000
April |68,000 |22,000 |225,000
May |59,000 |32,000 |251,000
June |47,000 |48,000 |248,000
July |44,000 |66,000 |221,000
August |41,000 |71,000 |185,000
September |44,000 |78,000 |148,000
Notes:
<1> Claims decided=awards plus refusals; does not include cases withdrawn, defective or otherwise
disposed of. Includes new and top up claims. Rounded to nearest thousand.
All figures are provisional and may be subject to amendment.
Mr Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will list, in monthly order, the number of of claimants still waiting for their claims to be actioned by his Department's disability living allowance unit in Blackpool; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will list by month for the last 12 months the number of claims that have been actioned by his Department's disability living allowance unit in Blackpool ; and if he will make a statement ; (3) if he will list for the last 12 months the average time taken by his Department's disability living allowance unit in Blackpool to complete a claim ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Scott : The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He wrote to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of claims for disability living allowance were cleared in 30 days in each month to date at each disability benefit centre ; and what was the success rate for claims at each centre.
Mr. Scott : The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He wrote to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy to allow people of all ages to apply for disability living allowance.
Mr. Scott : We have no plans to amend the age conditions for claiming disability living allowance.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of the decisions on claims for each component of disability living allowance in each month to date were favourable ; how many awards were made at each rate and, for those which were unfavourable, what were the reasons for refusal.
Mr. Scott : The information is as follows :
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Rate of awards (February-September) --------------------------------------------------------------- Higher rate care |3,800 Middle rate care |13,000 Lower rate care |34,100 Higher rate mobility |5,300 Lower rate mobility |42,200 Notes: <1> Percentage of those cases where a reason for refusal was recorded. All figures have been rounded to nearest hundred. Figures should be treated as provisional and may be subject to amendment.
Rate of awards (February-September) --------------------------------------------------------------- Higher rate care |3,800 Middle rate care |13,000 Lower rate care |34,100 Higher rate mobility |5,300 Lower rate mobility |42,200 Notes: <1> Percentage of those cases where a reason for refusal was recorded. All figures have been rounded to nearest hundred. Figures should be treated as provisional and may be subject to amendment.
Rate of awards (February-September) --------------------------------------------------------------- Higher rate care |3,800 Middle rate care |13,000 Lower rate care |34,100 Higher rate mobility |5,300 Lower rate mobility |42,200 Notes: <1> Percentage of those cases where a reason for refusal was recorded. All figures have been rounded to nearest hundred. Figures should be treated as provisional and may be subject to amendment.
Rate of awards (February-September) --------------------------------------------------------------- Higher rate care |3,800 Middle rate care |13,000 Lower rate care |34,100 Higher rate mobility |5,300 Lower rate mobility |42,200 Notes: <1> Percentage of those cases where a reason for refusal was recorded. All figures have been rounded to nearest hundred. Figures should be treated as provisional and may be subject to amendment.
Ms. Janet Anderson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list, by parliamentary
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constituency, the number of applications for disability living allowance so far approved under the new regulations and the number of applications still outstanding ; and if he will indicate the average length of time between application and approval.Mr. Scott : I understand from Mr Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that the information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the meeting of the chief executive of the Benefits Agency about his
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meeting in September with representatives of disability organisations to discuss their complaints about the administration of the disability living allowance ; when he now expects the agency's backlog of work on the processing of claims to be cleared.Mr. Scott : We do not receive formal reports of the meetings attended by Mr Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He wrote to the hon. Member about this and the administration of disability living allowance. Copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what study he has made of complaints to the Benefits Agency about delays in processing claims for the disability living allowance ; how many of such complaints he and the agency received in each whole month since claims for the allowance were invited ; what action he will be taking ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He wrote to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information office.
Attendance and Mobility Allowance
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims for attendance or mobility allowance under review or subject to appeal have been waiting for up to 18 months to be determined.
Mr. Scott : I understand from Mr Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that the information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Road Accident Compensation
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what efforts are being undertaken by his Department to ensure improved compensation settlements and speedy decisions on benefit entitlement for victims of road accidents.
Miss Widdecombe : Decisions on benefit entitlement are made as quickly as possible. The Benefits Agency customer charter defines the standards of service and the clearance times which its customers can expect. The agency is continually looking for ways to improve its service.
The Department cannot intervene in settlement negotiations between the accident victim and the compensator.
Social Fund
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what were the total numbers of maternity payments made from the social fund in Wales in 1989-90 and 1990-91 ; and what was the total value of the payments made in each year.
Mr. Scott : The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He wrote to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
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Lone Parents
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much in total has been deducted from social security benefits paid to lone parents as a direct result of the new regulations on maintenance payments.
Mr. Burt : The new child support scheme and its associated regulations do not come into force until 5 April 1993.
Lone Parents
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will make it his policy to strengthen regulations to prevent harassment of lone parents by social security officials to name and pursue absent parents for maintenance payments ;
(2) if he will make it his policy to replace the current benefits penalty on lone mothers refusing to co-operate with the Child Support Agency in detecting fathers with a small disregard in income support.
Mr. Burt : There is currently no requirement for a mother to name the father of her child when claiming benefits, though more than three- quarters of never-married mothers do so voluntarily. I have recently reinforced guidelines to social security offices to ensure best possible practice in relation to sensitive inquiries. From April 1993, when the Child Support Agency becomes operational, there will be a legal requirement for parents getting prescribed benefits to co-operate in obtaining maintenance for their children, unless compliance would risk causing harm or undue distress to the parent with care or to any child living with her.
A disregard of maintenance, in income support, would not be helpful for the majority of lone parents, who want to work now or in the near future.
We have no plans to change our policy on these matters.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy to restore the real value of one-parent benefit to its 1990 level.
Mr. Burt : No. All lone parents gained at least £2 a week (extra) from last year's increase in child benefit, and from April this year we increased both child benefit and one parent benefit in line with prices.
Child Benefit
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy to restore the value of child benefit to its 1985 level.
Mr. Burt : No, although child benefit will of course remain the cornerstone of our policies for family support and will continue to be paid to all families in respect of all children.
Benefit Offices, Manchester
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will list which of his Department's benefit offices in Greater Manchester have underspent their budgets so far this year for (a) emergency payments and (b) emergency loans ; and which have overspent ;
(2) which benefit offices in Greater Manchester consider that being forced out of the family home by domestic
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violence is sufficiently high a priority to warrant the payment of a grant to provide furniture to establish a new home ; and which have set criteria which restrict any help in such circumstances to a loan.Mr. Scott : The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He wrote to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Income Support
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total number of people over the age of 60 years in Wales who are currently in receipt of income support.
Mr. Burt : The number of claimants and their partners over age 60 receiving income support in Wales is 98,000.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many young people between the ages of 18 years and 24 years and living away from home are currently in receipt of the full over 25 years rate of income support.
Mr. Burt : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 2 June at col. 483.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many, and what percentage, of working claimants have had their income support withdrawn as a consequence of the introduction of the 16-hour rule in (a) Ebbw Vale benefit office, (b) Abertillery benefit office, (c) Wales and (d) England.
Mr. Burt : No one who was working, or whose partner was working, between 16 and 24 hours a week and receiving income support at the point of change has had that benefit withdrawn as a consequence of the change in the hours threshold in income support and family credit, unless he has claimed family credit and receives more than he did from income support.
Vaccine Damage
Dr. Twinn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to introduce proposals to amend the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 to allow discretion in awarding payments outside the established time limits to those who were not aware of the provisions of the Act.
Mr. Scott : We have no plans to do so. The time limits in the scheme are already generous. Claims can be made within the six years following vaccination or, in the case of a child vaccinated before the age of two, the six years following the second birthday. To extend the time limits for claiming would increase the problems of obtaining medical and other relevant evidence, making it more difficult to confirm entitlement.
Invalidity Benefit
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what research on invalidity benefit is being carried out by or for his Department ; and when it is due for completion.
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Mr. Scott : The Department has commissioned a programme of research about the growth in the numbers of people receiving invalidity benefit. The programme consists of a number of related studies : a small scale preliminary study of invalidity benefit recipients and GPs ; large scale surveys of current recipients and new claimants ; a comparative study of the growth of incapacity benefit caseloads in the UK and other countries ; and an in-depth study of the GP's role in relation to the benefit. Field work for some of these studies was completed earlier in the year ; other elements are expected to be completed in the course of 1993.
Cold Weather Payments
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many households in the constituency of Caernarfon qualify for payments under the cold weather payments scheme.
Mr. Scott : The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He wrote to the hon. Member with such information as is available and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many households in Birmingham, Northfield qualify for payments under the cold weather payments scheme.
Mr. Scott : The administration of the Social Fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He wrote to the hon. Member with such information as is available and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Ms. Estelle Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many householders in the Birmingham, Yardley constituency qualify for payments under the cold weather payments scheme.
Mr. Scott : The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He wrote to the hon. Member with such information as is available and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Benefits, Doncaster
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each of the benefits for which his Department is responsible in the Doncaster area during the current 12 months, the percentage of claimants who were successful in their claim ; and if he will give comparative figures for (a) 24 months, (b) 36 months and (c) 48 months ago.
Mr. Burt : The administration of benefits is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He wrote to the hon. Member with such information as is available and copies will be placed in the Library.
Disability Payments
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy to grant payments of severe disability income support premiums regardless of whether the claimant is living alone.
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Mr. Burt : No. The disability or higher pensioner premiums are included in the calculation of income support, housing benefit or community charge benefit for disabled people, whether or not they live alone. The severe disability premium is, and always has been, intended to give additional help to those severely disabled people who, because they live independently and do not have a carer receiving invalid care allowance, are most likely to need to rely on bought-in care. We have no plans to change this policy.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated cost for 1992-93 of (a) disability living allowance and (b) disability working allowance, respectively.
Mr. Scott : The estimated costs were published in the 1992 departmental report. These figures will be revised in due course to reflect actual experience of the new benefits.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims for (a) disability working allowance and (b) disability living allowance received from claimants in Wales are still awaiting a decision ; what is the average delay in processing such claims ; and what are the comparable figures for England and Scotland. Mr. Scott : The administration of disability working allowance and disability living allowance are a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He wrote to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
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Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims for (a) disability working allowance and (b) disability living allowance have been received from residents in Blaenau Gwent ; if he will publish a breakdown of how many of these claims have resulted in an award, been unsuccessful or are still awaiting a decision ; and how many awards are actually in payment.
Mr. Scott : I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that the information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in (a) Blaenau Gwent and (b) Wales have received payments from the disabled living fund.
Mr. Scott : Information is not available in the form requested. However, on 6 October the independent living fund had 97 clients in Gwent and 877 in Wales as a whole.
Disability Working Allowance
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of the decisions on claims for disability working allowance in each month to date, were favourable ; and for those which were unfavourable, what were the reasons for refusal.
Mr. Scott : The information requested on decisions for each month is as follows :
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|March |April |May |June |July |August |September
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Awards made |162 |314 |317 |295 |296 |284 |446
Claims disallowed |3,046 |3,534 |2,349 |2,402 |2,545 |1,675 |1,300
The information requested about reasons for refusal is extracted from an analysis of weekly data and converted to monthly periods:
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|March |April |May |June |July |August |September
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not in remunerative work |1,669 |2,253 |1,339 |1,362 |1,728 |984 |684
Income exceeds DWA level |118 |314 |268 |274 |379 |245 |253
No qualifying benefit |578 |1,289 |548 |453 |632 |395 |393
Other reasons |287 |189 |75 |69 |82 |51 |60
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims for disability working allowance have been received in each month to date ; how many were
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decided in each month ; how many remained outstanding at the end of each month ; and what were the comparable numbers expected before the benefit commenced.Mr. Scott : The information requested for each month is as follows :
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|March |April |May |June |July |August |September
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Claims received |4,153 |4,124 |2,570 |2,700 |2,344 |2, 081 |2,085
Claims decided |3,208 |3,848 |2,666 |2,697 |2,841 |1,959 |1,746
Claims outstanding |870 |1,011 |834 |743 |678 |693 |758
The claims outstanding at the end of each month are awaiting the outcome of further enquiries about the claim ; there have been no delays in dealing with claims.
Information was not available before the benefit commenced to make a reliable estimate of the number of claims which might be expected.
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Pensions
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to consult further on the equalisation of the state pension age for men and women ; and if he will indicate the expected timetable for progress.
Miss Widdecombe : We have been meeting the representatives of various interested organisations and
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while doing so have continued to receive representations which arrived after the consultation period finished on June 30. After considering the views expressed, we will announce our proposals in due course.Ms. Abbott : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will introduce proposals to amend the Social Security Act 1975 relating specifically to the Persons Abroad Regulations SI 1975/563 so that those of ethnic minority backgrounds who leave Britain to live abroad permanently have their pensions index-linked ; (2) if he will make a statement concerning the countries excluded from index-linked pension increases to individuals.
Miss Widdecombe : We have no plans to amend the regulations in the way suggested. Annual pension increases are payable to British pensioners living in 32 countries outside Great Britain. We have no plans to extend payment of such increases to pensioners living elsewhere.
Severe Hardship Payments
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many severe hardship payments were awarded to young people (a) living at home with their parents and (b) living away from home, in each year since 1988-89.
Mr. Burt : The available information is in the table. Details of housing status were first collected from December 1990.
Awards of Severe Hardship
|at home |away from home
----------------------------------------------------------------------
December 1990-March 1991 |1,440 |8,387
April 1991-March 1992 |11,548 |43,289
April 1992-August 1992 |10,388 |26,119
Source: Severe Hardship Claims Unit
Mr. Chisholm : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if guidelines will be given to social security officers to ensure that exemptions from naming fathers under the Child Support Act 1991 are granted with consistency.
Mr. Burt : Guidance and training will be given. Departmental Staff
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what were the staffing levels in his Department's offices in (a) Mid- Derbyshire and (b) South Derbyshire in 1990-91 and 1991-92 and what they will be in 1992-93, broken down by benefit type and by grade of staff.
Mr. Burt : The resourcing of offices are matters for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive of the Contributions Agency and Ms. Ros Heppelwhite, the chief executive of the child support unit. I have asked Mr. Michael Bichard to reply.
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Christmas Bonus
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the level of the Christmas bonus would have been in 1992 if it had been increased annually at (a) the rate of increase in prices and (b) the rate of increase in earnings.
Miss Widdecombe : The Christmas bonus, which is paid regardless of need and which no Government have increased, would now be worth £62.30 had it been increased annually since 1972 in line with prices ; £87.90 had it been increased annually in line with average earnings.
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