HC Deb 12 November 1974 vol 881 cc219-21
4. Mr. Farr

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans she has to withdraw from use the three-wheeled invalid vehicle and replace it with a four-wheeled car.

31. Mr. Molloy

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when she expects to be able to replace three-wheeled invalid vehicles by four-wheeled vehicles.

The Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security (Mr. Alfred Morris)

Our decision, following wide-ranging consultations on Lady Sharp's report, was to opt for cash and not cars. Our priority in the field of mobility for severely disabled people is the new mobility allowance. It will help such people who, because they cannot drive, do not benefit at all from the vehicle scheme. For those who prefer to obtain a car of their own choice, the new mobility allowance will give additional financial help.

Mr. Farr

Apart from the fact that the three-wheeled vehicle is not very safe, can the hon. Gentleman say what account he is taking of the kind of special circumstance about which I wrote to him the other day—namely, that a newly-married disabled person owning a Department three-wheeler will never be able to take his wife out?

Mr. Morris

I am conscious of the kind of problem raised by the hon. Gentleman. On the matter of safety, we have published the report of the Motor Industry Research Association. I am giving careful personal attention to every possibility of improving the vehicles that we supply. On the case referred to by the hon. Gentleman, I shall, of course, be in touch with him and be as helpful as I can.

Mr. Molloy

I acknowledge with sincere gratitude the fact that my hon. Friend has more than doubled the financial allocation to the disabled who cannot use a motor car or any form of vehicle, but will he nevertheless bear in mind that there is a strong feeling that the four-wheeled vehicle should be introduced as soon as possible? When he does that, will he also consider those—there are many thousands of them in the Disabled Drivers' Association—who still prefer the three-wheeled vehicle? There is no reason why the disabled should not, if possible, have what they believe to be the vehicle best suited to their particular requirements.

Mr. Morris

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who is a national vice-president of the Disabled Drivers' Association and is much respected by disabled drivers everywhere. I strongly endorse what he has said about giving disabled people freedom of choice. It was this that informed our decision, and I assure my hon. Friend that I shall do everything possible further to improve the vehicle service for disabled people.

Mr. Marten

As long as the disabled must have three-wheelers, could they not have a three-wheeler capable of carrying a passenger? Such vehicles are on the market. Will the Minister consider this?

Mr. Morris

The Department three-wheeler has been compared with other three-wheelers. There is the problem of the loneliest people in Britain. They are people who are too disabled to drive and who have no one to drive them. If we were to say that a family saloon car was the solution, there would be no possible ground for denying that to the person who was too disabled to drive but who could nominate a driver. That would not, however, help the loneliest people who have no one to drive them. I know that the hon. Gentleman is one of the most experienced people in this matter, and I shall bear his view very much in mind.

Mr. Carter-Jones

Is not the answer that my hon. Friend ought to give that we should engage in complete flexibility, and that for some people who cannot drive the mobility grant is essential? The hon. Member for Harborough (Mr. Farr) is correct in saying that the four-wheeler is probably the best vehicle. Is my hon. Friend aware that there are thousands of people driving three-wheelers who want to keep them, and will he please realise that, in exceptional circumstances, for the very severely handicapped even a milk float is better as a means of mobility than being housebound?

Mr. Morris

The suggestion of a milk float is novel, but I agree with my hon. Friend that flexibility and freedom of choice are extremely important for disabled people. Those were the considerations which informed our preference for cash and not cars.