148. Long-Term Incapacity Allowance

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1240/5/1(148)

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY BY DEPUTY J.A. HILTON OF ST. HELIER

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 14TH MARCH 2017

Question  

In respect of Long-Term Incapacity Allowance, will the Minister advise:

1. how many claimants are currently in receipt of it;
2. how many claimants reside in countries other than Jersey;
3. what the yearly cost of the Allowance has been from 2011 until the present time;
4. of the payments made to claimants who live outside of Jersey, in which countries the claimants reside;
5. the yearly cost since 2011 of the Allowance paid to claimants residing outside of Jersey;
6. how many of the claimants residing outside of Jersey since 2011 have a percentage award which would warrant close supervision by the Department of Social Security if they resided in the Island; and
7. what measures, if any, the Department takes to ensure those claimants residing outside of Jersey are monitored in such a way as to reduce the possibility of fraud taking place?

Answer

Long Term Incapacity Allowance (LTIA) was introduced in October 2004 and replaced Invalidity and Disablement benefits. The data presented here describes LTIA only.

LTIA may be paid to people outside of Jersey for up to 13 weeks and can be paid for longer periods to claimants who were in receipt of the benefit before moving to a country where a reciprocal agreement is in place.

Individuals may have more than one LTIA claim if they have more than one, unrelated condition.

1. At the end of February 2017, a total 3,066 people were in receipt of LTIA
2. In total 177 people in receipt of LTIA currently reside outside of Jersey
3. The table below shows the annual cost of LTIA since 2011. Accounts data for 2016 will be released in due course subject to audit.

4. The table below shows the number of claimants split by current country of residence. Categories containing less than 5 individuals have been merged.

5. Historic information regarding the yearly amount of benefit paid abroad is not accessible for analysis in the Social Security systems. The data held describes the benefit claimant's current circumstance.

For example, if a person currently resides in Jersey, but previously lived abroad in a reciprocal country, the data regarding that person's claim and the amount of benefit they have received will be attributed to Jersey'.

6. Administration of the LTIA benefit does not require a threshold at which a higher or lesser level of supervision is required. The frequency with which a claimant's condition is reviewed is based on clinical matters and identified by the Medical Board. Conditions which are likely to be changeable (subject to improvement or decline) are likely to be given a shorter review period by the Medical Board.
7. Claimants residing outside of Jersey are subject to the same procedures as locally resident people. As noted in the reply to written question 9466 tabled on 14th June 2016, reciprocal agreement legislation allows for the country of residence to arrange a medical board on our behalf when a review is required. The doctor in the reciprocal country completes and returns the medical report. This report is passed to the Jersey Medical Board Doctors who award the percentage of LTIA. While there is no necessity for the person to return to Jersey for a medical review, reviews can also be arranged for them in Jersey if that is their preference.