HC Deb 05 February 1990 vol 166 c520W
33. Mr. Kirkwood

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received concerning the costs faced by people with disabilities other than care and mobility attendance costs.

Mr. Scott

We have received copies of the studies on the extra costs of disability carried out by the Disablement Income Group (DIG), the Royal National Institute for the Blind and the Spastics Society. The findings, based on a small number of case studies, suggested that extra costs incurred as a result of disability were higher than the averages found by the surveys of disability carried out by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. In addition, we have received a number of letters from organisations representing visually impaired people concerning the level of extra costs incurred as a result of seeing disabilities.

34. Mr. Hannam

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures he is introducing to make it easier for disabled people to take up employment.

44. Mr. Ward

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures he is introducing to make it easier for disabled people to take up employment.

72. Mr. Donald Thompson

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures he is introducing to make it easier for disabled people to take up employment.

74. Dame Jill Knight

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures he is introducing to make it easier for disabled people to take up employment.

Mr. Scott

In October, we announced two measures to improve incentives to rehabilitation in employment: an increase of £6.50 in the therapeutic earnings limit in invalidity benefit and severe disablement allowance, and the extension of invalidity benefit and severe disablement allowance to people who undertake an employment rehabilitation course. In addition to these measures we plan to introduce, from April 1992, a disability employment credit which will help disabled people take up and return to employment by providing assistance with low earnings similar to that given to families through family credit. We estimate that about 50,000 people might be entitled to this new benefit.