SNP candidate for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, Paul Wheelhouse, has hit out against Labour plans to scrap Attendance Allowance for nearly 170,000 elderly and disabled Scots.

The plans, announced by Gordon Brown, would see attendance allowance scrapped to fund a National Care Service in England with no consideration of Scottish pensioners.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) show that 167,940 people in Scotland receive attendance allowance. Independent research by ISER shows that removing attendance allowance would push 40% of those people into poverty, or 67,000 Scots. That would equate to 1,096 people in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk.

In addition to removing attendance allowance Scotland's carers could also be affected.  Receipt of this allowance by the disabled person is one of the grounds for receipt of Carer's Allowance by the carer and its removal could affect 46,300 carers in Scotland.

The proposals have been opposed by Age Concern, Help the Aged, Royal National Institute for the Blind, MacMillan Cancer Support and Leonard Cheshire Disability and a petition on the Downing Street website had by the weekend attracted almost 24,000 signatures.

Commenting, Paul Wheelhouse said:

"This will be terrible news for some of the Scottish Borders' most vulnerable people.  It is inconceivable that, instead of tackling poverty, Labour is planning to push 67,000 Scots into poverty, and remove funding from a further 100,000.

"It is estimated that 1,096 people will be pushed into poverty in the Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk constituency alone, and will face real hardship.  In addition, a further 1,644 would suffer a severe drop in their income.  This is a clear sign of how little the UK Government considers its impact on Scotland and, in particular, on vulnerable Scots.

"Attendance Allowance offers essential support to many of Scotland's elderly and disabled residents and helps Scotland's carers.  To get rid of this valuable benefit would be a real hammer blow to elderly and disabled Scots.

"Without Attendance Allowance there is a real danger that many more elderly people may be forced out of their homes into the care system, instead of living independently in their homes.

"This proposal is entirely focused on England, with no attention paid to the consequences in Scotland. Labour's plans ignore Scotland completely and it is time they listened to the concerns of the Scottish Government and the many charities that are dismayed by this uncaring UK Government's plans."

 ENDS

1.      Attached are details of the number of attendance allowance recipients (according to the Department for Work and Pensions) in each Westminster constituency.

2.      Charities who deal with elderly and disabled people have united in opposition to Labour's plans:
Age Concern and Help the Aged are opposed to the move, pointing out that 'That extra bit of help may help prevent, or delay the need for more formal care.'

The Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB) is actively campaigning against the proposals as some 53,000 blind and partially sighted people across the UK receive AA.

Macmillan Cancer Support has also expressed concern, fearing that removing AA 'would leave many cancer patients over 65 unable to pay for the extra costs of disability, such as a special diet, higher fuel bills or travel to hospital.'

Leonard Cheshire Disability stated in their response to the Green Paper they would be 'strongly opposed' to integrating AA into the social care system - adding:  '.it simply does not make sense to look to remove elements that are actually working successfully at present.'

3. Attendance Allowance (AA) is a non means tested tax free benefit paid to people over the age of 65 requiring help from another person due to severe mental or physical disability. It is paid directly into an account of the recipient's choice.  It is paid at two different rates:

o       Higher rate: £70.35 per week
o       Lower rate:  £47.10 per week

The Higher rate applies to those needing help both day and night.  The Lower rate applies to those needing help either day or night.

4. Motion put forward on Thursday 14 January 2010 (Note: all 44 Labour MSPs present voted against the motion, which was passed by 73 votes to 45).

Scottish Government Motion:

S3M-5515 Alex Neil: Attendance Allowance for People with Disabilities-That the Parliament notes that the UK Green Paper, Shaping the Future of Care Together, published in June 2009, may have long-term implications for vulnerable older and disabled people in Scotland who are eligible for attendance allowance and disability living allowance as it proposes to remove the universal benefits of attendance allowance and disability living allowance and instead redesign the benefit system to meet English social policy objectives and redirect funding to pay for the provision of a National Care Service in England, while failing to give adequate consideration to the position in Scotland, and calls on HM Government to consult fully with the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament, local authorities, NHS boards and other interested parties before proceeding any further.