§ 7. Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement about the impact of recent technological developments on disabled people.
§ Mr. ScottRecent. current and future technological developments are making and will continue to make an increasing impact on lives of disabled people in this country. They will enable many disabled people to live independently, to have opportunities for education, employment and leisure. They will also play an important part in the detection, prevention and amelioration of disabling conditions.
§ Mrs. GillanWill my right hon. Friend take this opportunity to welcome typetalk, the joint venture between British Telecom and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf that enables deaf people to talk to each other and to hearing people on the telephone? Will he confirm that the Department provides funds to the institute and supports projects such as typetalk?
§ Mr. ScottI can confirm that, and it has been my privilege to have been involved with typetalk since its inception and to be present at the launch of the scheme just before the general election. It is beginning to do a marvellous job on behalf of deaf and hard-of-hearing people, not least by enabling them to have access to employment.
§ Mrs. Helen JacksonIs the Minister aware that disabled people in my constituency are complaining about the technological developments in the Benefits Agency that have altered the administration of their benefits'? As a result many of them cannot afford to renew the MOT on their car, on which they depend for mobility. They face delays of six months and more in the administration of their benefits because of the new technological developments in the Benefits Agency.
§ Mr. ScottThat has nothing whatever to do with the introduction of new technology for the administration of benefits. The Benefits Agency is coping with twice as many claims for attendance allowance and disability living allowance as in the same period last year, and it is doing so successfully. If the hon. Lady knows of any particular cases where she believes that access to the motability scheme is affected by these delays, I hope that she will contact me immediately about them.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthWhile I welcome my right hon. Friend's recognition of the important opportunities that new technological developments open up for disabled people, what plans does he have—in consultation with his colleagues at the Departments of Employment and for Education—to improve the availability of expert advice and counselling for individual disabled people, so that a judgment can be made about what technology would be of most help to them personally, and the availability of expert 10 purchasing to ensure that the money goes further and more disabled people can enjoy the benefits of new technology?
§ Mr. ScottAs my hon. Friend will know, a number of Government Departments and other agencies fund new technology to help disabled people. I should like to see more co-ordination and a more seamless-garment approach to the advice available to them and to its accessibility. The Department of Employment already spends about £300 million a year on enabling disabled people to obtain employment or on maintaining them in employment. That is immensely important. Certainly, the national disability information project, which is a pilot scheme now and is likely to go national in the not-too-distant future, will greatly enhance the power of disabled people to make choices about the use of technology for their own needs.