Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether funding for attendance allowance will be ring-fenced if responsibility for administering this benefit is devolved to local authorities.

As part of a broader consultation on plans to devolve 100% of business rates to local councils by 2020, the Government asked for views on whether there is a better way to provide help for older people with care needs by giving more responsibility to councils in England.

The Government has already announced that in England, any new responsibility passed to local authorities would be matched by the transfer of the equivalent spending power; this would not be a savings measure. The Government has also confirmed that those already receiving Attendance Allowance would not be affected by any change.

That consultation has now closed and responses are being considered. The Government response will be published in due course and the Government will consult further should any changes to Attendance Allowance be proposed.