The Conservative Party has today called on the government to end its plans to scrap attendance allowance and disability living allowance for the over-65s as part of an opposition day debate on reform of adult social care.
This signals the latest in the party's campaign against government plans to use disability benefits for pensioners to fund increases in adult social care funding.
This signals the latest in the party's campaign against government plans to use disability benefits for pensioners to fund increases in adult social care funding.
The government's plan to fund at least a quarter to a third of the
personal care costs of all eligible care users would require money
being transferred to the adult care budget from disability benefits.
Health secretary Andy Burnham has ruled out using the DLA budget for people aged under 65, but maintained that it was still considering using money currently spent on AA.
DLA for people aged over 65 - paid to those who were claiming the benefit before their 65th birthday - may also be transferred into the social care budget.
The plan sparked anger from a wide range of disability charities and older people's groups.
Speaking ahead of the debate shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Scrapping the Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance to pay for Labour's new National Care Service would be a serious mistake and a deeply retrograde step."
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Health secretary Andy Burnham has ruled out using the DLA budget for people aged under 65, but maintained that it was still considering using money currently spent on AA.
DLA for people aged over 65 - paid to those who were claiming the benefit before their 65th birthday - may also be transferred into the social care budget.
The plan sparked anger from a wide range of disability charities and older people's groups.
Speaking ahead of the debate shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Scrapping the Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance to pay for Labour's new National Care Service would be a serious mistake and a deeply retrograde step."
Watch the debate
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