Written question asked by Lord Laird (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord McKenzie of Luton (Labour) on Wednesday, 12 November 2008.

Benefits: Disability Living Allowance

Question: How many people who receive disability living allowance for alcoholism are in receipt of higher income support, pension credit, housing benefit, or council tax benefit; and what the annual cost of such credits or benefits is in Northern Ireland.

Answer: The information is not available. Entitlement to disability living allowance is not dependent on a specific diagnosis or medical condition but on whether a severely disabled person needs personal care and/or has mobility difficulties. An award of disability living allowance would not be made on the basis of a diagnosis of alcohol abuse. The decision would be based upon someone's care needs and on the difficulty they have in getting around as a result of their alcohol dependency and any associated physical or mental conditions caused by long-term excess consumption. We have no plans to undertake specific research in to how people with a dependence on alcohol spend their benefit.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 705 c130-1WA; 5884
Session: 2007-08
Subjects: Disability living allowance Alcoholic drinks Misuse Social security benefits
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk