§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to lay the appointed day order repealing the disabled passengers scheme; what assessment he has made of the effects of its abolition on disabled people; and if he will provide details of consultation between his Department and organisations representing disabled people prior to announcing these plans.
§ Mr. Kenneth CarlisleI have been asked to reply.
We shall make and lay the appointed day order repealing the disabled passengers scheme shortly.
The order will ensure that current beneficiaries under the disabled passengers scheme will not lose their entitlement to exemption from vehicle excise duty as a result of the repeal.
The repeal of the scheme was announced by my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General on 7 May, in an 573W answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) shortly before the publication of the Finance Bill 1992. The decision to repeal the disabled passenger scheme was taken because, as a result of new social security benefits introduced on 6 April this year, it was no longer possible to administer the scheme.