Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance he has issued to local authorities on the abolition of the Independent Living Fund; what discussions he has held with his ministerial colleagues on this issue; and what steps he is taking to monitor the effect of this decision on disabled people at a national and local level.

My Department is committed to working closely with the ILF and other Government Departments to support the work required to enable an effective transfer for ILF users by 30 June 2015.

The ILF also has undertaken a dedicated programme of engagement with local authorities and is also engaging directly with all of those authorities who will be involved in the transfer of user care and support in 2015.

This includes a local authority commitment to the Code of Practice between the ILF and local authorities in England, backed by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and the Local Government Association (LGA).

DWP is currently developing plans for monitoring the impact of ILF closure on those groups who share protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, both on former users of the ILF and on disabled people more generally.