§ Mr. Litherlandasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, in view of his failure to complete the phasing-in of the mobility allowance by the end of 1979, he will ensure that arrears of the allowance paid to eligible disabled people after 31 December will be adjusted to allow for inflation; and what communications he has had with disabled people who will now have to wait for payment of the allowance until after the end of the current year.
§ Mr. PrenticeClaims from the last phase have been accepted since 5 September so that the phasing-in programme is 313W now complete. There will be some delay in handling the large number of claims and every claimant is being informed of this. Arrears will be paid from 28 November in appropriate cases. The rate of the allowance is reviewed annually and any new rate applies both to new beneficiaries and to people currently receiving the allowance.