SUMMARYThe National Insurance (old persons'and widows' pensions and attendance allowance) Act 1970 provides for an attendance allowance to be paid to disabled persons who require a lot of attention or supervision both at night and by day. With the passing of the National Insurance Act 1972 this became known as the higher rate and a new lower rate was introduced in 1973 for those who require a lot of attention or supervision either by day or at night. The current rates of attendance allowance are at the higher rate £8.00 a week and at the lower rate £5·35 a week. To qualify for the attendance allowance the conditions must have been satisfied for at least 6 months. The allowance can be paid from the age of 2 years, which means that the conditions must have been satisfied from the age of 18 months; one of the conditions for children is that they need substantially more attention or supervision than a non‐disabled child of the same age. Whether a person satisfies the medical conditions and if so for how long they are likely to remain satisfied is decided by the Attendance Allowance B