Disability Living Allowance

Danny Alexander
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the take-up rate of disability living allowance was for (a) children under 16 and (b) children under 18 in full-time education, broken down by (i) region and (ii) ethnicity in the last period for which figures are available;

(2) what the take-up rate of attendance allowance was amongst (a) children under 16 and (b) children under 18 in full-time education, broken down by (i) region and (ii) ethnicity in the latest period for which figures are available;

(3) what the take-up rate of disability related benefits was amongst (a) children under 16 and (b) children under 18 in full-time education, broken down by (i) benefit, (ii) region and (iii) ethnicity in the last period for which figures are available.

Mrs. McGuire
Attendance allowance provides targeted help with the extra costs of disability for people who become disabled after the age of 65. For those under 65, disability living allowance can be claimed for help with extra costs. Estimates of the take-up rate of both these disability benefits are not available.

Danny Alexander
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the merits of increasing the age limit for claiming disability living allowance in line with the increase in state pension age.

Mrs. McGuire
Disability living allowance (DLA) is available to people up to age 65 who make a claim for help with their care or mobility needs. There is no need to increase the age limit for claiming DLA to take account in the increase in the state pension age for women from 2010.

Provisions for increasing the age limits for DLA and attendance allowance (AA) from 2024 were included in the Pensions Act 2007. Raising the DLA/AA age limits at the same time as each of the increases in state pension age from 2024 is a logical step to ensure that all working age disabled people who can claim help with their disability-related costs continue to have access to the extra help provided by DLA.