Christine Horton and Richard Berthoud
Attendance allowance is paid by the Department of Social Security to disabled people who require regular assistance with their personal care. But it has never been clear whether the benefit is intended as a contribution towards the costs of care, or towards the other additional expenses faced by people with disabilities.
Christine Horton and Richard Berthoud have explored the way the attendance allowance is actually spent by disabled people. How does it fit into the household budget? Is it used in different ways by people who have more or less income from other sources? What is the effect on family carers? Do people pay for care provided by non-relatives? The authors have also looked at the use of the attendance allowance by members of a special scheme which organises rotas of paid carers to look after confused old people at home.
The government has published policy documents on community care and disability benefits within the past year. This research report is published at a time of exceptional interest in the financial and care needs of people with disabilities. It is the first in a series of PSI studies on disability incomes.
The programme is supported by the Joseph Rowntree Memorial Trust.
Paperback
ISBN 0 85374 437 4
1990 96 pages 216x135mm
Report number 734
Contents:
The Bexley Community Care Scheme
Conclusions about social security and paid care