§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he is aware of the extra 684W heating requirements of many severely disabled people; and if he will therefore extend the electricity discount scheme during the coming winter to those in receipt of attendance allowance.
§ Dr. John A. Cunningham:Details of next winter's scheme were announced on 18th October. Severe disability which may qualify a person for an attendance allowance is not always associated with poverty, but disabled people in households entitled to supplementary benefit will also benefit from the electricity discount scheme. Extra heating requirements are taken into account when assessing the need for and amount of supplementary benefit.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the cost of extending the electricity discount scheme in the coming winter to recipients of attendance allowance.
§ Dr. John A. Cunningham:Details of next winter's scheme were announced on 18th October. All recipients of supplementary benefit (SB) and family income supplement (FIS) will receive assistance.
To extend the scheme to all recipients of attendance allowance would add nearly £2 million to the cost. This would also involve duplicate discount payments, since it is not practicable to exclude from payment those recipients of attendance allowance who will already be eligible to benefit from the scheme as recipients of SB or FIS. Moreover, it would not be fair to differentiate between recipients of attendance allowance and the large number of recipients of other non-means-tested benefits.