Disability (Hansard, 18 December 1990)

§ Mr. Scott

The numbers of people in each category who will receive the various rates of disability living allowance cannot be predicted reliably. The estimates in the table for the new lower rates of each component are derived from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys disability surveys, and give the numbers of people with each of these disabilities who come into the projected eligible populations. For the rates of the disability living allowance which equate to the existing benefits, the figures are based on those who in 1985 reported receipt of attendance allowance or mobility allowance in the OPCS surveys. Given the substantial increases in the caseloads for both benefits since 1985, the numbers in these groups will inevitably be much higher now.

	Rent rebates Great Britain (000)	Percentage of local authority tenants¹	Rate rebates England and Wales only (000)	Percentage of local authority tenants¹
House benefit recipients also in receipt of income support	735	(24)	615	(20)
Housing benefit recipients not in receipt of income support	950	(30)	755	(24)
TOTAL	1,685	(54)	1,370	(44)
¹ Local authority tenants are men aged 65 and over and women aged 60 and over.

Source:

(a) Housing Benefit Management Information System annual statistical enquiry, and

(b) Department of Employment Labour Force Survey April 1989.

138W

Table 1
	Lower rates (in thousands)
	Care (i)	Mobility (iv)
(a) Visually impaired people	40	55
(b) [Deaf people	10	15]
People with hearing impairments	60	65
(c) Mentally handicapped people	30	75
(d) People with agoraphobia cannot be identified from the OPCS data but these people are amongst the groups intended to be covered by the criteria for the lower rate mobility component.

Table 2
	Higher rates (in thousands)
	care (ii)	care (iii)	mobility (v)
(a) Visually impaired people	95	85	70
(b) Deaf people	30	25	15
People with hearing impairments	115	85	90
(c) Mentally handicapped people	55	40	35