§ Mr. David Steelasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is satisfied with the procedure which governs the payment of attendance allowance to the next of kin of deceased persons irrepective of whether they cared for the deceased person or not during the latter stages of their life; and if he will make a statement giving priority to those who can prove that they physically cared for the deceased during the time for which the attendance allowance was due.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisAttendance allowance is provided for severely handicapped people with attendance needs and as such is the income of the individuals concerned. Any balance of attendance allowance outstanding at death is, therefore, part of the deceased's estate and, in common with similar arrears of most other social security benefits, is normally paid to the next of kin. We have no proposals to change existing arrangements.