asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether there would be any extra cost to public funds before 1980 of continuing to pay the mobility allowance to all existing recipients after they reach retirement age.

This would depend on the precise details, still to be deter- mined, of the phasing programme for extending the allowance to adults nearing pension age. It would depend also on the numbers involved. I regret that it is not possible to give a meaningful estimate at this stage.