§ Mr. EdwardsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to award a severely disabled person attendance allowance for the six-month qualifying period once it has been established that the conditions of entitlement have been met. [126369]
§ Maria EagleNo. Attendance allowance provides a contribution towards the extra costs faced by severely disabled people as a result of long-term disability. The six-month qualifying period helps to establish that the disability, and the resulting personal care or supervision needs which give entitlement to the benefit, are of a long term nature. However, special considerations apply to people who are terminally ill, and our arrangements recognise the particular difficulties faced by people who have only a short time to live. Such people are awarded attendance allowance automatically without having to complete a qualifying period. The arrangements ensure that claims are dealt with quickly and sensitively. We have no plans to extend this exception to attendance allowance claims generally.