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Disability Living Allowance

Volume 488: debated on Tuesday 3 March 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in receipt of (a) attendance allowance and (b) disability living allowance have recorded dementia as a qualifying medical condition on their applications for benefit; what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on automatic enrolment for the (i) 25 per cent. council tax discount for two person households where one of the residents is in receipt of attendance allowance or disability living allowance and (ii) 100 per cent. council tax discount where a single person household is in receipt of attendance allowance or disability living allowance; what estimate his Department has made of the take up of the (A) 25 per cent. and (B) 100 per cent. council tax discounts among households in receipt of attendance allowance or disability living allowance; and if he will make a statement. (258726)

As at the end of August 2008, there were 107,130 people in receipt of attendance allowance and 10,300 people in receipt of disability living allowance where their main disabling condition has been recorded as dementia.

There have been no discussions at ministerial or official level with the Department for Communities and Local Government regarding automatic enrolment for council tax discounts. No estimates have been made about the take-up of council tax discounts among households where someone is in receipt of attendance allowance or disability living allowance.

Notes:

1. Disability living allowance figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and have been adjusted to be consistent with WPLS data. Attendance allowance caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

2. Although the preferred data source for benefit statistics is 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, the 5 per cent. sample data have been used in this case because they provide some detail not yet available from the 100 per. cent data sources, in particular, more complete information on the disabling condition of disability living allowance claimants.

3. Where more than one disability is present only the main disabling condition is recorded.

4. A diagnosed medical condition does not mean that someone is automatically entitled to disability living allowance. Entitlement is dependent on an assessment of how much help someone needs with personal care and/or mobility because of their disability. These statistics are only collected for administrative purposes.

5. Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital.

Sources:

Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample (DLA) and DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (AA)