House of Commons Hansard Debates for 6 Dec 1993

Departmental Files

Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many files marked "Not for National Audit Office eyes" are held by the Department ; and how many are marked "Not for Public Accounts Committee eyes".

Mr. Scott : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Wallsend (Mr. Byers) on 3December 1993. There is no marking "Not for PAC eyes".

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications have been assessed for the disability allowance for chronic bronchitis and emphysema ; and, of those assessed, how many have been successful.

Mr. Scott : As at 28 November 1993, about 9,000 cases had had all necessary employment and medical inquiries completed, and of these about 1,100 will receive an award of industrial injuries disablement benefit.

Fighting Fraud in 1992-93"

Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total cost of producing the report "Fighting Fraud in 1992-93" ; how many copies were printed ; and how many have been circulated to date.

Mr. Hague : The administration of benefit fraud is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.

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Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 3 December 1993 :

As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security, asking what was the cost of producing the report Fighting Fraud in 1992/93 ; how many copies were printed ; and how many have been circulated to date.

I am able to tell you that the total cost of producing the report was £3,679.43. A total of 1,800 copies were printed and as at 26 November, 1,446 have been circulated.

I hope that you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will appear in the Library.

Claimants, Doncaster

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in the Doncaster area were receiving invalidity benefit for each year ended April in (a) 1990, (b) 1991, (c) 1992, (d) 1993 and (e) 1993-94 to date.

Mr. Scott : The administration of invalidity benefit is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.

Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 3 December 1993 :

As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security, asking how many people in the Doncaster area were receiving Invalidity Benefit for each year ended April in (a) 1990, (b) 1991, (c) 1992, (d) 1993 and (e) 1993-94 to date.

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The information is not available in the format requested. This is because separate statistics were not kept for Invalidity Benefit (IVB) claimants until May 1991 and a yearly count of recipients is not maintained. I should also explain that, because Agency District boundaries do not correspond with county or borough boundaries, a small part of the Doncaster area falls within that of the Mexborough Benefit Office within the Agency's Rother and Dearne District. Statistics covering the small number of Mexborough customers who live in the Doncaster area could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, I have provided details for the area covered by Doncaster District only. The latest available figures show that on the last working day of October 1993, 14,370 people were claiming IVB.

On the last working day of May 1991, the figure was 12,558 and on the last working days of April 1992 and April 1993, 11,662 and 12,953 respectively.

The statistics include some customers who have claimed but are not actually receiving IVB. This is because there are circumstances in which although there is underlying entitlement to IVB, because a higher overlapping benefit is in payment, no IVB is actually paid. These figures were obtained from a 100 per cent. clerical count of cases in the District Office.

I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will be placed in the Library.

Disability Living Allowance

Ms Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the increased use of doctors to make assessments for disability living allowance claims.

Mr. Scott : The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

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Letter from Michael Bichard to Ms Kate Hoey, dated 3 December 1993 :

As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security, asking if he will make a statement on the increased use of doctors to make assessments for disability living allowance claims.

Decisions on Disability Living Allowance continue to be made by independent adjudicating officers. Wherever possible, these are based on information provided by the customer on the claim form and on guidance in the Disability Handbook. In some cases other evidence is needed, perhaps in the form of a medical examination. Of course, a person may ask for a medical examination rather than supplying additional supporting information.

It is true that the number of medical examinations has increased this year, reaching a peak in August 1993 when 28 of cases were decided following a report by an Examining Medical Practitioner (EMP). This compares with 20 of cases in April 1993. However, numbers are now decreasing again and in October 1993, 25 of cases were referred to an EMP.

A number of factors have contributed to this increase : a large proportion of customers are requesting a visit from an EMP in preference to completing the self-assessment part of the claim form.

as Adjudication Officers gain in experience they recognise more readily the cases which would be more effectively dealt with by an EMP's visit. For example, because a customer may be understating their needs.

Self assessment has been widely welcomed. However, we would not want to reduce the element of choice by discouraging anyone from asking for a medical examination if that is what they prefer. I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will be placed in the Library.

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