§ Mr. HanleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress has been made on the proposed trust fund for very severely disabled people; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ScottThe new fund will be called the independent living fund. Its aim will be to provide extra financial help on top of that already available to those very severely194W disabled people who would otherwise need to enter residential or hospital care. It will also be available to help people in such care who wish, and are able, to live independently in their own homes and to people currently living in their own homes who would face difficulties due to a change of circumstances. The fund should enable such people to support themselves and to retain or achieve their independence in the community. For the year 1988–89 up to £5 million has been set aside; the level of funding for subsequent years will be set in the light of experience.
The trust will be independent of the Department, of the Disablement Income Group and of the Disablement Income Group (Scotland). The trustees will be appointed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services, and will include individuals nominated by DIG. Decision on the disbursement of the money will be for the trustees, acting under the trust deed which will include criteria for eligibility. The trust deed will be available for public inspection. Both the Department and DIG will be available for consultation with the trustees as appropriate.
It will be for the trustees to decide how to discharge the requirements of the trust deed but I expect that the sums to be paid will be determined on the basis of individual assessments of need and available resources. Payments are likely to be regular and will be intended to pay for the service of a carer or carers where these cannot otherwise be provided. It will be for the trustees to determine how to deal with cases which have been turned down by the fund and I expect they will wish to consider any representations from or on behalf of such cases very carefully.
In due course, we shall introduce regulations which will enable any payments from the trust fund to be disregarded for the purpose of income-related benefits.
We and DIG are currently discussing details of the eligibility criteria which will broadly define the group to be covered by the fund. The criteria will essentially look at the individual's need for care in relation to their resources. The fund will not be solely for people in receipt of income support but will include very severely disabled people with low incomes.