§ 35. Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy to ensure that the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance is paid directly to those in residential care and not into the bank account of organisations running residential homes. [107223]
§ Mr. BayleyBenefits Agency (BA) normal practice is to ensure that the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance is paid directly to the beneficiary, and that remains the case whether a person lives at home or in residential care.
Regulations provide, however, that if a person is unable to act, for example because of senility or mental illness, the Secretary of State can appoint a suitable person, the Appointee, to act on that person's behalf. In such cases, the Appointee will be empowered to receive and deal with, subject to the discretion of the Secretary of State, any sums of mobility component payable to the beneficiary. BA instructions allow a proprietor of a residential care home to be made Appointee but only if no other suitable person (for example, a relative) can be found.