Disability Living Allowance and Disability Working Allowance Act 1991

13 The following sections shall be inserted after section 115B—

“115C References of claims relating to attendance allowance and disability living allowance to medical practitioners and Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board.

“115C (1) Before a claim for an attendance allowance or a disability living allowance or any question relating to such an allowance is submitted to an adjudication officer under section 98 above the Secretary of State may refer the person in respect of whom the claim is made or the question is raised to a medical practitioner for such examination and report as appears to him to be necessary—

(a) for the purpose of providing the adjudication officer with information for use in determining the claim or question; or

(b) for the purpose of general monitoring of claims for attendance allowances and disability living allowances.

(2) An adjudication officer may refer—

(a) a person in respect of whom such a claim is made or such a question is raised;

(b) a person who has applied or is treated as having applied for a review under section 100A or 104A above,

to a medical practitioner for such examination and report as appears to the adjudication officer to be needed to enable him to reach a decision on the claim or question or the matter under review.

(3) The Secretary of State may direct adjudication officers to refer for advice to a medical practitioner who is an officer of the Secretary of State any case falling within a specified class of cases relating to attendance allowance or disability living allowance, and an adjudication officer may refer for advice any case relating to attendance allowance or disability living allowance to such a medical practitioner without such a direction.

(4) A medical practitioner who is an officer of the Secretary of State and to whom a case or question relating to an attendance allowance or a disability living allowance is referred under section 115A above or subsection (3) above may refer the case or question to the Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board for advice.

(5) Such a medical practitioner may obtain information about such a case or question from another medical practitioner.

(6) Where—

(a) the Secretary of State has exercised the power conferred on him by subsection (1) above or an adjudication officer has exercised the power conferred on him by subsection (2) above; and

(b) the medical practitioner requests the person referred to him to attend for or submit himself to medical examination; but

(c) he fails without good cause to do so,

the adjudication officer shall decide the claim or question or matter under review against him.

115D Medical examination etc. in relation to appeals to disability appeal tribunals.

115D (1) Where an appeal has been brought under section 100D(1)(a) above, a person who may be nominated as chairman of a disability appeal tribunal may, if prescribed conditions are satisfied, refer the claimant to a medical practitioner for such examination and report as appears to him to be necessary for the purpose of providing a disability appeal tribunal with information for use in determining the appeal.

(2) At a hearing before a disability appeal tribunal, except in prescribed circumstances, the tribunal—

(a) may not carry out a physical examination of the claimant; and

(b) may not require the claimant to undergo any physical test for the purpose of determining whether he satisfies the condition mentioned in section 37ZC(1)(a) above.”.

Commencement Information

I1 Sch. 1 para. 13 wholly in force 6.4.1992: in force for certain purposes 3.2.1992 and for all other purposes 6.4.1992; see s. 15(2) and S. I. 1991/2617, art. 2(c)(f)