MP hits out over Attendance Allowance “scaremongering”

Apr 8 2010 by Debbie Hall, West Lothian Courier

MP Michael Connarty reassured elderly carers this week that there are no plans to scrap their Attendance Allowance.

SNP MSP Angela Constance had warned nearly 1700 people in West Lothian could be plunged into poverty under proposals from the UK Government to scrap allowances.

However, Linlithgow and Falkirk East MP Connarty, hit out accusing the SNP of “scaremongering”.

Attendance Allowance is a tax-free benefit for people aged 65 or over who need someone to help look after them because they are physically or mentally disabled.

Ms Constance had said that the proposals, published last month in a green paper, could see the 2000 elderly people in Livingston who claim the allowance struggle to make ends meet.

However, Mr Connarty said the issue had only related to England in the first place, and the proposals to scrap the allowance were dropped last week.

He said: “There is no proposal to remove attendance allowances and Angela Constance and the SNP should apologise for scaring people for political gain.

“The proposals for paying for ‘personal care' for people in England who go into residential or nursing homes had been published in a white paper and contained no proposal for the removal of Attendance Allowance for those who remain in their own home.”