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Attendance Allowance

Volume 28: debated on Monday 26 July 1982

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asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a breakdown of attendance allowance recipients as at 31 December 1981 by social security region and the rate per 1,000 population in each region.

The latest information is as follows:

Recipients at 30 September 1980
Social security regionNumberRate*
Northern16,5005·6
Yorkshire and Humberside24,0004·8
East Midlands and East Anglia28,5005·2
London North21,5004·1
London West24,5004·4
London South35,0005·7
South-Western27,5006·3
West-Midlands25,5004·9
North-Western (Manchester)20,0005·9
North-Western (Merseyside)22,0006·8
Wales24,0008·6
Scotland25,5004·9
* Per 1,000 population (estimated).

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give for each social security region the percentage of initial attendance allowance claims awarded and the percentage awarded on review.

The information is as follows:

Social security regionPercentage of initial attendance allowance claims
Awarded in 1981Awarded on review in 1981
Northern61·14·2
Yorkshire and Humberside67·03·1
East Midlands and East Anglia83·01·3
London North78·02·0
London West79·42·0
London South80·52·0
South-Western75·73·0
West-Midlands79·02·1
North-Western (Manchester)70·63·0
North-Western (Merseyside)76·22·3
Wales59·25·2
Scotland61·25·3

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the efficiency of the attendance allowance unit at Norcross; if he will consider devolving the administration of the allowance to local offices; and if he will make a statement.

The unit is responsible for the maintenance of records and payment of attendance allowance and I am satisfied with its efficiency at a time when there are increasing numbers of claims and severe constraints on Departmental staffing levels. I have no reason to think that devolution of the unit's work to local offices would be a cost-effective way of improving the administration of the benefit.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average time for which people do not receive their attendance allowance during the period of their review when the allowance is subsequently reinstated; if he will estimate the cost of continuing payment of the allowance in all cases until the review decision is reached; and if he will make a statement.

Reviews take about 13 weeks, but I regret that information is not available to answer either part of the question.