HC Deb 21 June 1990 vol 174 c708W
Mr. Hannam

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will give his estimate of the number of people with mental illness who will benefit from the new lower mobility component of the proposed disability allowance;

(2) if he will give estimates of the number of people with severe mental handicap, with moderate mental handicap and with mild mental handicap who will benefit from the new lower mobility component of the disability allowance; and what are the criteria used to define these groups.

Mr. Scott

I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) on 9 February at column800.

Mr. Hannam

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the basis of his estimate of 150,000 disabled people being entitled to the new lower level of the mobility component of the proposed disability allowance.

Mr. Scott

The estimate which has to be regarded as tentative was derived by examining data from the OPCS surveys of disability to identify the number of people in the relevant age group whose responses to the survey questions indicated they were not independently mobile and did not otherwise fulfil the current criteria for mobility allowance.