§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how he proposes to consult disability organisations on his plans for disability benefits outlined in "The Way Ahead: Benefits for Disabled People."
§ Mr. ScottWe have sent a copy of our proposals to a wide range of disability organisations and other interested bodies, including the Disability Benefits Consortium which represents over 250 organisations of and for disabled people. We shall take account of comments made during the course of our detailed work on the major changes we have announced, in particular the new disability allowance and the disability employment credit.
§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what basis the Government estimate that 50,000 people might be entitled to disability employment credit.
§ Mr. ScottThe estimate of 50,000 potential disability employment credit (DEC) recipients is a tentative one, derived by examining the OPCS disability survey data to identify two main eligible groups:
- (a) disability and incapacity benefit recipients not currently working but who, in response to the survey questions on employment, indicated interest in and capacity for doing some limited paid work, and
- (b)disability benefit recipients who were already working but whose hours of work and earnings indicated potential entitlement to the DEC.
The final figure of 50,000 reflects further broad assumptions about the extent to which these people are likely to be able to find suitable jobs and to take advantage of the DEC.
§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assumptions are made about the level of disability employment credit in suggesting in paragraph 5.17 of "The Way Ahead" that the gross cost of the new benefit will be £80 million.
907W
§ Mr. ScottIt is assumed that applicable amounts for the disability employment credit will broadly follow those for family credit, but precise details of the credit are still to be considered.
§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what his Department estimates to be the average costs arising from disability, other than those associated with mobility or attendance needs.
§ Mr. ScottThe surveys of disability carried out by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) found that average extra costs arising from disability ranged from £3.20 for the least severely disabled adults to £11.70 for the most severely disabled adults. The majority of disabled people have more than one disability, and OPCS found that it was not possible to produce reliable estimates of the extra costs attributable to each type of disability.
§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether the proposed age-related additions to severe disablement allowance will take account of recipients of NCIP and HNCIP transferred to SDA.
1990–91 £ million 1989–90 prices Extra Costs (+) Savings (-) Net Effect Increase in adults' disability premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +18 — +18 Introduction of £10 carers' premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +6 — +6 Increase in disabled child's premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +8 — +8 Extension of Attendance Allowance to disabled babies +5 — +5 Extension of Attendance Allowance to terminally-ill people without a waiting period +13 — +13 Increase in top rate of Invalidity Allowance to £10 +1 neg. +1 Extension of Mobility Allowance to people who are deaf and blind +4 — +4 Additional funds for the Independent Living Fund 2 +19 — +19 Introduce Disability Allowance — — — Abolish upper age limit for payment of help with mobility needs — — — Introduce age-related addition in Severe Disablement Allowance +35 -20 +15 Introduce Disability Employment Credit 3 — — — End entitlement to Reduced Earnings Allowance in new cases neg. -1 -1 End accruals of new rights to Invalidity Benefit Additional Pension — — — Totals 4 +109 -21 +88 908W
1991–92 £ million 1989–90 prices Extra Costs (+) Savings (-) Net Effect Increase in adults' disability premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +19 — +19 Introduction of £10 carers' premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +15 — +15 Increase in disabled child's premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +8 — +8 Extension of Attendance Allowance to disabled babies +6 — +6 Extension of Attendance Allowance to terminally-ill people without a waiting period +28 — +28
§ Mr. ScottYes. Our intention is that people who have transferred from NCIP and HNCIP will have the addition related to their age when incapacity for work began for the purposes of these benefits.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give (i) the extra expenditure and (ii) any savings for each year up to 2000 as a result of each of the main measures on disability benefits which he announced on 10 January; and if he will make further projections for(a) extra costs and (b) savings for each of these measures between the years 2000 and 2025 where these can be estimated in broad orders of magnitude.
§ Mr. ScottThe available information is given in the table. It is not possible to provide reliable estimates for each measure in every year, particularly in the longer term, since the costs and savings depend on a large number of factors which cannot be accurately forecast. The table therefore gives estimates for the next four financial years, together with projections of the likely effects in 2000-01 and 2025-26 The figures for 2000-01 and, in particular, those for 2025-26 are subject to considerable margins of uncertainty.
909W
Extra Costs (+) Savings (-) Net Effect Increase in top rate of Invalidity Allowance to £10 +1 neg. +1 Extension of Mobility Allowance to people who are deaf and blind +5 — +5 Additional funds for the Independent Living Fund 2 +26 — +26 Introduce Disability Allowance — — — Abolish upper age limit for payment of help with mobility needs — — — Introduce age-related addition in Severe Disablement Allowance +110 -60 +50 Introduce Disability Employment Credit 3 — — — End entitlement to Reduced Earnings Allowance in new cases +1 -18 -17 End accruals of new rights to Invalidity Benefit Additional Pension — — — Totals 4 +219 -78 +141
1992–93 £ million 1989–90 prices Extra Costs (+) Savings (-) Net Effect Increase in adults' disability premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +19 — +19 Introduction of £10 carers' premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +15 — +15 Increase in disabled child's premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +8 — +8 Extension of Attendance Allowance to disabled babies +6 — +6 Extension of Attendance Allowance to terminally-ill people without a waiting period +29 — +29 Increase in top rate of Invalidity Allowance to £10 +1 neg +1 Extension of Mobility Allowance to people who are deaf and blind l — — — Additional funds for the Independent Living Fund 2 +27 — +27 Introduce Disability Allowance + 115 — +115 Abolish upper age limit for payment of help with mobility needs — — — Introduce age-related addition in Severe Disablement Allowance +115 -65 +50 Introduce Disability Employment Credit 3 +80 -90 -10 End entitlement to Reduced Earnings Allowance in new cases +2 -43 -41 End accruals of new rights to Invalidity Benefit Additional Pension +5 -10 -5 Total 4 +422 -208 +214 910W911W
1993–94 £ million 1989–90 prices Extra Costs (+) Savings (-) Net Effect Increase in adults' disability premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +19 — +19 Introduction of £10 carers' premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +15 — +15 Increase in disabled child's premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +8 — +8 Extension of Attendance Allowance to disabled babies +6 — +6 Extension of Attendance Allowance to terminally-ill people without a waiting period +30 — +30 Increase in top rate of Invalidity Allowance to £10 +1 neg. +1 Extension of Mobility Allowance to people who are deaf and blind — — —
Extra Costs (+) Savings (-) Net Effect Additional funds for the Independent Living Fund 2 +28 — +28 Introduce Disability Allowance +230 — +230 Abolish upper age limit for payment of help with mobility needs — — — Introduce age-related addition in Severe Disablement Allowance +120 -65 +55 Introduce Disability Employment Credit 3 +80 -90 -10 End entitlement to Reduced Earnings Allowance in new cases +3 -64 -61 End accruals of new rights to Invalidity Benefit Additional Pension +5 -30 -25 Totals 4 +545 -249 +296
2001–02 £ million 1989–90 prices Extra Costs (+) Savings (-) Net Effect Increase in adults' disability premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +25 — +25 Introduction of £10 carers' premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +20 — +20 Increase in disabled child's premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +10 — +10 Extension of Attendance Allowance to disabled babies +5 — +5 Extension of Attendance Allowance to terminally-ill people without a waiting period +25 — +25 Increase in top rate of Invalidity Allowance to £10 +1 neg. +1 Extension of Mobility Allowance to people who are deaf and blind — — — Additional funds for the Independent Living Fund 2 — — — Introduce Disability Allowance +280 — +280 Abolish upper age limit for payment of help with mobility needs +100 — +100 Introduce age-related addition in Severe Disablement Allowance +110 -60 +50 Introduce Disability Employment Credit 3 +80 -90 -10 End entitlement to Reduced Earnings Allowance in new cases +10 -140 -130 End accruals of new rights to Invalidity Benefit Additional Pension +105 -475 -370 Totals 4 +771 -765 +6 912W913W
2025–26 (5) £ million 1989–90 prices Extra Costs (+) Savings (-) Net Effect Increase in adults' disability premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +30 — +30 Introduction of £10 carers' premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +25 — +25 Increase in disabled child's premium in Income Support and Housing Benefit +10 — +10 Extension of Attendance Allowance to disabled babies +10 — +10 Extension of Attendance Allowance to terminally-ill people without a waiting period +30 — +30 Increase in top rate of Invalidity Allowance to £10 *— neg. *— Extension of Mobility Allowance to people who are deaf and blind — — — Additional funds for the Independent Living Fund 2 — — — Introduce Disability Allowance +370 — +370
Extra Costs (+) Savings (-) Net Effect Abolish upper age limit for payment of help with mobility needs +180 — +180 Introduce age-related addition in Severe Disablement Allowance +120 -65 +55 Introduce Disability Employment Credit 3 +80 -90 -10 End entitlement to Reduced Earnings Allowance in new cases +15 -165 -150 End accruals of new rights to Invalidity Benefit Additional Pension +525 -1,825 1,300 Totals 4 +1,395 -2,145 -750 1 Additional expenditure on Mobility Allowance for the deaf-blind is included in the Disability Allowance totals after 1992–93. 2 Subject to decisions about the future of the Independent Living Fund. 3 The net effect on expenditure on the Disability Employment Credit is difficult to predict and will depend on whether recipients were previously receiving out-of-work benefits. 4 Totals revised upwards since the Autumn Statement to reflect a small downwards adjustment of estimated savings from the change in the Reduced Earnings Allowance. Totals may not equal sum of components because of rounding. 5 Estimates for 2025–26 are rounded to the nearest £5 million, except in the case of ending new accruals of IVB additional pension rights where they are rounded to the nearest £25 million. Asterisk denotes less than £2½ million.