§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims for(a) Disability Living Allowance and (b) Attendance Allowance have been (i) refused and (ii) stopped because the claimant lives in a local authority owned or managed residential home in each year since 1997. [130409]
§ Mr. BayleyWithdrawal of benefit in these situations is based on the principle, established since the beginning of the Social Security system in 1948, that funding to meet a specific need should not be provided from more than one public source at the same time. These rules have applied to Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance since the benefits were introduced.
Figures for homes owned or managed by local authorities are not available separately from homes funded generally by local authorities or the National Health Service. Such figures as are available for Disability Living Allowance are in the table. No equivalent figures are centrally available for Attendance Allowance, since this may be stopped by local offices where payment of Attendance Allowance is combined with other benefits, in particular Retirement Pension.
Numbers of cases where Disability Living Allowance was refused or stopped because the claimant was in a residential care or nursing home Year Benefit refused1 Benefit stopped2 1997 14,700 36,400 1998 15,400 40,700 1999 15,600 43,500 1 Figures relate to DLA care component not payable because the claimant was in a residential care or nursing home, funded by either a local authority or the National Health Service, at the time they established entitlement to the benefit. 2 Figures relate to cases where payment of DLA care component stopped because the claimant has spent more than 28 days in a residential care or nursing home funded by either a local authority or the National Health Service. Note:
Figures relate to 30 November each year.
Source:
DSS Information Centre: 5 per cent. data. Figures rounded to nearest hundred.