My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Anne McGuire) has made the following Statement.

I notified the House on 13 December that following the European Court of Justice decision of 18 October 2007 I would publish details of the eligibility criteria for payment of the disability benefits ((disability living allowance (care component), attendance allowance and carer’s allowance)) within the European economic area and Switzerland (EEA). I have now arranged for information to be placed on the Directgov (www.direct.gov.uk) and the Department for Work and Pensions (www.dwp.gov.uk) websites. This sets out which categories of customers in receipt of the benefits may continue to be paid if they move to another EEA state.

The interpretation of the judgment is particularly complex as these disability benefits are different in some respects to the other benefits covered by the European regulations. My officials are continuing their discussions with the European Commission on the eligibility of people already living in another EEA state who wish to claim from abroad. I will place further information on the websites once these discussions are complete.

A specialist section has been set up in the Pension, Disability and Carers Service to deal with queries. Customers who would like more information about the effects of the judgment should contact the address below:

Website: www.directgov.uk

Address: Exportability Co-ordinator, Pension, Disability and Carers Service, Room B120D, Warbreck House, Warbreck Hill Rd, FY2 0YE.

Email: exportability.team@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

We anticipate that first payments will start to be made to eligible claimants from later this month.