§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people claim mobility allowance (a) in the city of Leicester and (b) in the United Kingdom; and what is the cost of such claims.
§ Mr. NewtonA total of 297,000 people in the United Kingdom are receiving mobility allowance at a cost of £290 million in the current financial year. Separate information is not available for the city of Leicester.
§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people in (a) Leicester and (b) the United Kingdom have been refused mobility allowance in the last three years due to the fact that the qualifying medical conditions were not present before the claimant's 65th birthday; and what were the ages of such people.
§ Mr. NewtonThe information for the United Kingdom is as follows:
Number November 1980 to October 1981 7,200 November 1981 to October 1982 7,800 November 1982 to October 1983 10,600 It is not possible to break down the figures according to age groups. Separate information for the city of Leicester is not available.
§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the annual cost of increasing the cut-off age for eligibility for mobility allowance to 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75 years.
§ Mr. NewtonThe estimates below assume that the current upper age limit of 75 for payment of the allowance is retained.
254W
Upper age limit for award *£ million 66 8 67 16 68 22 69 28 70 33 71 37 72 40 73 41 74 42 75 42 * Annual costs at November 1983 benefit rates.
§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate, under the present rules for eligibility for mobility allowance, the annual cost of abolishing the clause allowing payment until the age of 75 years and allowing the payment to continue indefinitely.
§ Mr. NewtonExtra benefit costs would not arise until 1989–90 when the oldest of the current beneficiaries reaches age 75. They will then build up to around £120 million a year by the end of the century, at November 1983 benefit rates.
§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the average annual rise in the value of mobility allowance since December 1979 (a) in money terms and (b) in real terms.
§ Mr. NewtonMobility allowance has gone up on average by 15.1 per cent. per annum between November 1979 and November 1982, in money terms. In real terms the average annual increase between November 1979 and November 1982 was 3.6 per cent.