§ Mr. HesfordTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress has been made on the implementation of The Activities for Management of Life test for entitlement to disability living allowance, suggested by the disability benefits forum; and if he will make a statement. [89046]
§ Mr. BayleyIn line with recommendations from the Social Security Select Committee, we have discussed with the Disability Benefits Forum the possibility of developing alternatives to the current tests for entitlement to Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance, and it was agreed that further work should be undertaken. We are now exploring the possibility of using a set of activities undertaken by disabled people in managing their lives (AMLs) as a means of assessing need; work on this is being carried out by an AMLs Working Group which includes representatives from disability organisations in its membership.
The Working Group is currently in the process of carrying out initial testing of models based on AMLs, and progress was discussed with the Working Group on 25 June 1999. It was agreed that testing and analysis of the results should continue; it is, however, too early to say if it will be possible to produce an AMLs system which represents a significant and worthwhile improvement on the present methods of assessing entitlement to the benefits.