§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate how many people with an entitlement fail to claim the mobility allowance before the age of 65 years.
§ Mr. NewtonI regret that this information is not available.
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will extend the year of grace people are given so that anyone below the age of 70 years may claim the mobility allowance if they can show they were unable to walk before the age of 65 years.
§ Mr. NewtonNo. We consider that a year is a reasonable period within which to establish entitlement to the allowance, especially since the number of claims suggests that the existence of the allowance is now much more widely known than when it was first introduced.