To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many appeals are presently outstanding at each Independent Tribunal Service office; and what additional resources have been provided to this service since April 1992.
The appeals outstanding at 31 March 1993 in each region of the Independent Tribunal Service and the disability tribunals central office are in the table. The budget for ITS for 1992–93 was £33·09 million. For 1993–94 the budget is £46·68 million. The additional resources of £13·59 million take account of increased caseloads for social security appeals tribunals, medical appeals tribunals, and disability appeals tribunals, and the establishment of child support appeal tribunals.
| ITS Office/Region | SSAT | MAT | DAT |
| North-East | 11,303 | 3,578 | — |
| Midlands | 7,088 | 1,620 | — |
| South-East | 11,594 | 1,961 | — |
| Wales and South-West | 4,504 | 1,433 | — |
| North-West | 8,276 | 2,806 | — |
| Scotland | 16,929 | 932 | — |
| DATCO | — | — | 2,301 |
| Total | 59,694 | 12,330 | 2,301 |
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the current waiting time for (a) attendance allowance, (b) mobility allowance and (c) disability living allowance from application for appeal application to appeal hearings.
The information is not available in the form requested. However, for the quarter ending 30 June 1992, the latest period for which figures are available, the average time taken from an appeal application to a final hearing was:
| Weeks | |
| (a) Attendance allowance | 26·7 |
| (b) Mobility allowance | 23·8 |
| (c) Disability living allowance | 17·9 |