HC Deb 19 June 1973 vol 858 cc355-7
11. Mr. Marten

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is causing the delay in the report of Baroness Sharp on vehicles for the disabled.

Mr. Alison

Lady Sharp is pressing on with her inquiry as quickly as possible and hopes to complete it within the next few months.

Mr. Marten

As the report was originally hoped for in February, may we hope that the delay will lead to fundamental rethinking about the provision of vehicles for the disabled? Will the report be published? If it is, will there then be time for interested people to express their views before the Government make up their mind on what they will do?

Mr. Alison

No doubt we shall engage in consultations when the report is to hand. The extra length of time taken by Lady Sharp is commensurate with the effort and attention to detail that she is putting into it. I am sure that my hon. Friend would wish her to take as much time as is necessary for a comprehensive report.

Mr. Ashley

I am a very warm supporter of the campaign being run by the hon. Member for Banbury (Mr. Marten) for disabled drivers, but will the Minister heed the warning that there is a serious danger that people even more seriously disabled than disabled drivers, people so disabled that they cannot drive, will be overlooked by the Government? Will the hon. Gentleman give an assurance that those who have to pay to be driven around will be given the same consideration by the Government as those who deserve and need four-wheeled cars?

Mr. Alison

This is the perennial dilemma in the invalid vehicle service, as the hon. Gentleman knows. Lady Sharp is considering the question of priorities against the background of that problem.

Mr. Cordle

Does my hon. Friend agree that the vehicles are dangerous? They are very difficult to manoeuvre, and susceptible to the wind. They are not the sort of vehicle that invalids should drive. Is it not possible to provide a vehicle that would enable the rest of the family to enjoy time spent with the driver?

Mr. Alison

I cannot accept my hon. Friend's allegation that the vehicle is dangerous or unstable. Even to suggest that it is is to do a grave disservice to the 18,000 invalid vehicle users who are happily and regularly using the vehicles. The proof of the vehicles is the readiness of the insurers to offer rates fully competitive with those for other kinds of vehicles.

Mr. Alfred Morris

Is the Minister aware that the main point of my earlier question was to ensure that his right hon. Friend will lay the Lady Sharp report before the House before the Government reach any conclusions on its recommendations? His reply to his hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth, East and Christchurch (Mr. Cordle) will be regarded as one of deep complacency, and one that many of us hope that Lady Sharp, at least, will ignore.

Mr. Alison

We must wait and see what Lady Sharp says. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that her report will be published and that every hon. Member will have an opportunity to study and consider it and ask questions about it before any decisions about implementation are taken.