asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he can provide an estimate of the number of people in receipt of the invalidity pension or non-contributory invalidity pension who are also in receipt of the attendance allowance.

The information is not held in a form which enables me to provide a reliable estimate, but it is thought unlikely that more than 10 per cent. of invalidity pensioners receive attendance allowance. A high proportion of non-contributory invalidity pensioners are hospital in-patients, and I am advised that there may be up to 20 per cent. of the total non-contributory group who also receive attendance allowance.