Independent Living Fund (Hansard, 25 January 1993)

§ Mr. Hinchliffe
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what arrangements will be made under the successor scheme to the independent living fund in assessing care needs for awards; and what action will be taken in the event of reduction in support provided by a local authority.

§ Mr. Scott
Responsibility for assessing care needs will initially be with local authorities. People who are eligible for help from the new fund will also be assessed by social workers employed by the successor body. Details of how local authority arrangements will work, including interaction between local authorities and the successor body, have yet to be finalised.

§ Mr. Hinchliffe
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what powers the successor independent living fund body will have to review the awards of existing beneficiaries.
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§ Mr. Scott
Subject to its cash limited provision, the successor body will have an unfettered power to review the awards of existing beneficiaries.

§ Mr. Hinchliffe
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assumptions will be made in considering applications under the successor scheme to the independent living fund, on the level of support from local authorities for applicants; if this will be fixed on a local basis; to whom applications will be made; and if local authorities will be able to refuse awards.

§ Mr. Scott
Details of arrangements applying to local authorities are not yet finalised and are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health.

§ Mr. Hinchliffe
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what arrangements will be made under the successor scheme to the independent living fund for appeals by applicants in cases of disagreement between the trustees and local authorities or otherwise; what limits will be placed on payments and whether help for local authorities will count towards the limit; what criteria will be applied in deciding applications; and what arrangements will be made for local cash limits.

§ Mr. Scott
There will be no independent right of appeal available to those who apply to the successor body for new cases. It is right that the trustees should have the final say on expenditure for which they are responsible.
There will be a ceiling of £500 per week for total costs of help under the scheme.
Details of arrangements applying to local authorities are not yet finalised and are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health.
The people eligible for help from the body for new cases will be those severely disabled people aged 16 to 65 who are:

(a) in receipt of the highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance;

(b) who, after paying care costs with help from the fund, are left with income at or about the level of Income Support; and

(c) who would otherwise have to go into residential care.