Discrimination In Disability Benefits

EDM number 953 in 2003-04, proposed by Roger Berry on 31/03/2004.

That this House believes that it is injust and discriminatory to deny people who become disabled from the age of 65 the opportunity to claim disability living allowance; further believes that the alternative benefit offered to older disabled people, attendance allowance, is inadequate because it does not contain a mobility component, is not available to those with lower-level needs and requires a claimant to wait three months longer before making a claim; notes further that attendance allowance does not passport its recipients to the Motability scheme, or exemption from vehicle exise duty; further believes that this differentiation between older and younger disabled people is based on an outmoded and unfounded conception of older people as inactive and non-contributing members of society; and therefore urges the Government to support the aims of the Mobilise campaign, to end age discrimination in disability benefit and make a genuine commitment to active ageing and the full participatory citizenship of older people.

This motion has been signed by a total of 244 MPs, 1 of these signatures have been withdrawn.