§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of people who will be affected by the changes to the eligibility criteria for the payment of the lower rate mobility component of disability living allowance, as laid down in S.I., 2002, No. 648; and if he will make a statement. [48911]
§ Maria EagleThe provisions of S.I. 2002 No. 648 (The Social Security (Disability Living Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations 2002) now form part of the qualifying conditions for the lower rate mobility component of disability living allowance. They potentially affect any claims for the component which are based on fear or anxiety experienced when walking out of doors without guidance or supervision from another person on unfamiliar routes. About 200 people who are known to have qualified for the component as a result of the Tribunal of Social Security Commissioners decision R(D)4/2001, which gave rise to the need for the regulations, may well be affected, but this will depend on the individual circumstances of each claim. As explained in Command Paper 5469 published at the same time as the Regulations, longer-term estimates of people affected can only he made in very general terms.