§ Tony BaldryTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost would be of extending the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme to Families with disabled children. [78646]
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§ Mr. MorleyI have been asked to reply.
To qualify for a grant under the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme, now marketed as Warm Front Team, the householder or their spouse must be in receipt of a qualifying income or disability related benefit. Householders in Receipt of the Disability Living Allowance are currently entitled to assistance up to the value of £1500. There are currently over 241,000 recipients of Disability Living Allowance aged under 16. If Warm Front was extended to include this group, allowing for a 100 per cent. take up the extra cost to the scheme would be over £361 million.
Warm Front is aimed at householders on low income. We believe that receipt of benefit is the best mechanism with which to assess the ability of the householder or their spouse to be able to afford to keep their home warm at a reasonable cost. We realise that this is a difficult issue, whatever the cut-off point, there will always be those who just miss out, but we must take a decision in order to ensure the most effective possible use of the available resources.