§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether his Department has any plans to embark on on-going research work to determine the actual and potential costs of disability.
§ Mr. ScottThe OPCS surveys, and the family expenditure survey (FES) follow-up survey published earlier this year, have provided us with an unprecedented amount of information about both the actual and the potential costs of disability. We have no intention of commissioning further research at this stage, although we will keep the position under review.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many children would receive each of the two mobility components of the disability living allowance if the lower age limit of five years was(a) removed altogether or (b) reduced to two years; and what the total expenditure would be in each case.
§ Mr. ScottThe number of potential beneficiaries from a reduction in the lower age limit for the mobility component cannot be predicted with any degree of certainty. Our estimates, based on analyses of the OPCS disability surveys, are that the abolition of the age limit would bring perhaps an additional 15,000 children on to the higher level of the mobility component and an additional 10,000 on to the lower level. The total cost would be about £35 million a year. A reduction in the age limit to two years would be likely to bring on slightly lower numbers of children, with a cost of about £30 million a year.