Centre for Policy on Ageing



Alarm over allowance — [attendance allowance]
Author(s)	Mark Hunter
Journal title	Community Care, issue 1787, 17 September 2009
Pages	pp 26-27
Source	www.communitycare.co.uk
Keywords	Physical disabilities ; Attendance allowance ; Services ; Finance [care] ; Social policy.
Annotation	Disability user groups are rallying round to defend the attendance allowance benefit from proposals that could see it absorbed into the social care system, first mooted in the Green Paper, 'Shaping the future of care together' (Cm 7673; 2009). The AA is a tax-free benefit for people aged 65 or over who need help with personal care because they are physically disabled or mental ill. At present about 1.58 million people currently claim it; two-thirds are aged over 80. AA is not means-tested and is usually awarded without a medical examination. It is believed by many in the welfare benefits field that this benefit is in fact the forerunner of direct payments and as such should be kept intact. A case study illustrates the use of AA in helping to provide independence to a partially sighted person. (KJ/RH).
Accession Number	CPA-091106209 A
Classmark	BN: JHP: I: QC: TM2 *
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.