§ 18. Mr. Hollandasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what facilities the mobility allowance is designed to provide; and to what extent variations in the cost of those facilities will be regularly reflected in amendments to the rate of benefit.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisThe new mobility allowance is designed to help severely disabled people who are unable, or virtually unable to walk, to achieve greater mobility out of doors in any way they find best suits their circumstances. The allowance will be paid irrespective of whether the disabled person can drive.
My right hon. Friend is required to consider annually whether the level of the allowance should be increased, having 142W regard to the national economic situation as a whole, the general standard of living and such other factors as she thinks relevant. Any variation in the cost of particular mobility arrangements would be within the general scope of the factors to be considered.
§ 34. Miss Fookesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the estimated cost of allowing the mobility allowance to continue to be paid to recipients when they reach retirement age.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisOn the basis that the mobility allowance scheme might produce up to 100,000 new beneficiaries, it is estimated that the cost of allowing payment to continue indefinitely beyond pensionable age for those awarded the allowance before reaching that age, while denying it to those who became unable to walk once they were over pension age, might eventually be of the order of £10 million a year.