The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed 57 health conditions that qualify for Attendance Allowance, a non-means-tested benefit for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care due to illness or disability. The list was published as Labour Party Prime Minister Andy Burnham promised to keep the cost of living at the top of his agenda.
Attendance Allowance is not affected by earnings or savings, and claimants do not need to have a carer in place to apply. Eligibility requires a physical or mental disability or health condition severe enough to need help caring for yourself or supervision, and the need must have existed for at least six months.
Main conditions and claimant numbers
Among the most common qualifying conditions, arthritis accounts for 541,802 claimants, followed by dementia with 215,523, heart disease with 137,134, and respiratory disorders with 115,188. Other high-volume conditions include diseases of the muscles, bones or joints (97,365), back pain unspecified (83,360), cerebrovascular disease (82,105), and malignant disease (65,675).
Further notable conditions include visual disorders (55,187), terminally ill (50,087), Parkinson's disease (49,817), neurological diseases (40,827), cognitive disorders unspecified (25,533), renal disorders (23,473), and trauma to limbs (23,389). Diabetes mellitus accounts for 22,290 claimants, spondylosis 21,876, psychosis 16,693, and psychoneurosis 13,164.
Less common but covered conditions
The DWP list also includes hearing disorders (10,513), multi-system disorders (9,334), peripheral vascular disease (8,191), bowel and stomach disease (7,898), asthma (7,518), chronic pain syndromes (6,663), epilepsy (3,807), multiple sclerosis (3,730), skin disease (3,611), and frailty (2,759).
Inflammatory bowel disease accounts for 2,658 claimants, alcohol and drug abuse 2,373, major trauma non-paraplegic/tetraplegic 2,269, metabolic disease 2,188, learning difficulties 1,613, and blood disorders 1,590. Behavioural disorder has 861 claimants, infectious diseases including COVID-19 840, motor neurone disease 788, and traumatic paraplegia/tetraplegia 603.
Rare conditions and additional categories
Haemodialysis accounts for 331 claimants, personality disorder 210, infectious diseases other or unspecified 153, AIDS 138, haemophilia 127, and tuberculosis 123. Cystic fibrosis has 119 claimants, multiple allergy syndrome 88, bacterial disease unspecified 47, viral disease unspecified 46, and hyperkinetic syndrome 33.
Additional qualifying categories without listed numbers include severely mentally impaired, double amputee, deaf/blind, total parenteral nutrition, and protozoal diseases including malaria and other unspecified protozoal infections. The DWP also notes that a separate alert has been issued regarding 100,000 state pensioners facing a payment cut, with officials contacting a 'select' group of recipients.
