Mark Garnier, Wyre Forest's Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman, voiced his opposition to Gordon Brown's new plans to scrap disability benefits for the elderly. The small print of Labour's plans to create a National Care Service reveals they will scrap Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance for pensioners to pay for it, and this will have a direct effect on Wyre Forest's pensioners.
An average £3,400 a year will be snatched away from 2.4 million pensioners - equivalent to a quarter of the average pensioner's income. In Wyre Forest, this would affect 4,300 pensioners - 3,010 who receive Attendance Allowance, worth an average of £60 a week, and 980 who receive Disability Living Allowance, worth an average of £75 a week.
Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance are based on need; they are not means tested and are intended to cover the extra costs arising from the impact the disability has on the life of the disabled person. The key feature of these benefits is that they can be spent by disabled people how they wish, without restrictions, to best support their individual care needs.
Mark Garnier said:
"As is ever the case with Gordon Brown's announcements, the Devil is in the detail. IN launching an eye catching announcement in the Queen's Speech - the Personal Care at Home Bill - Gordon Brown has chosen to penalise one of the most vulnerable groups in our society. This Bill is a precursor to a new National Care Service, which was proposed in a government Green Paper in July this year. IN this Green Paper, titled Shaping the Future of Care Together, all funding proposals are underpinned by scrapping disability benefits for pensioners.
"These benefits - that provide an average £3,400 a year for our pensioners (a quarter of their average annual income) - provide vital support for disabled pensioners, giving them the chance to lead an independent life with the freedom to tailor their care to their needs. That is not right and I am completely supportinve of Conservative plans to help people with their care costs, and to fight Brown's plans to cut benefits for elderly disabled people."