§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what plans he has to allow people to claim disability living allowance if they become ill after the age of 65; and if he will make a statement; [188903]
(2) what the upper age limit is for claiming disability living allowance; for what reason (a) there is an upper age limit and (b) the limit is set at that age; and if he will make a statement. [188904]
§ Maria EagleIt is normal for social security schemes to contain different provisions for people at different stages of their lives, and we have no plans to change the rules which preclude people aged 65 or over from entitlement to disability living allowance unless they claimed and qualified for it before reaching that age. This is because the benefit is focussed on providing help with the disability-related extra costs of people who are severely disabled early, or relatively early, in life. Help with those costs for people for whom the onset of disability comes with old age is provided by attendance allowance as part of the wide range of support that the Government make available to older people so that they can have a decent and secure income in retirement and share fairly in the rising prosperity of the country.