The government is facing calls to end age restrictions on disability benefits from a coalition of charities.

Government Response: Department for Work and Pensions

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "It's normal for social security schemes to contain different provisions for people at different stages of their lives, and the interaction between old age and disability gets harder to define clearly as the ageing process continues.

"The aim of Disability Living Allowance is to provide additional help with the extra costs of people who have the very considerable disadvantage of being severely disabled early, or relatively early, in life.

"As a result, they face limited opportunities to work, earn and save compared with their non-disabled peers.

"Attendance allowance provides similar help for people who have had those opportunities and for whom the onset of disability comes with old age."

Forum Response: Carers UK

A spokesman for Carers UK said: "We know from calls to our CarersLine that not being able to claim mobility benefits after the age of 65 can have a huge impact on the quality of life of not only the older person but of their carer and the rest of the family too.   In one case, a man had missed out by a matter of weeks because of his age.  He and his wife are in receipt of Income Support, they have a young teenage son and their car is now 12 years old.  They live in a rural area and are terrified that the car will break down because they cannot afford a new car as they have no savings.  It is a lifeline - vital for quality of life for their son, for the husband who cannot stand for long waiting for public transport which is virtually non-existant and for his wife, the carer, to reduce the time spent on caring activities."

Forum Response: The Stroke Association

A spokesman for the Stroke Association: "Each year in England and Wales over 120,000 people over the age of 60 have a stroke. Stroke becomes much more common with advancing age and has a greater disability impact than any other medical condition. Exemption from Disability Living Allowance for people who become ill after reaching the age of 65 dramatically impacts on many elderly stroke patients who rely on government assistance to continue living full and independent lives after their stroke.

"The Stroke Association therefore fully supports the call by a coalition of disability charities to end the age restrictions on disability benefits. The Stroke Association believes this will allow elderly stroke patients to access vital state benefits, such as help with mobility, which are currently not provided."

Forum Response: Counsel and Care

Martin Green chief excutive of Counsel and Care said: "Unless a charity is set up with a specific age group as the target they should not impose artificial age limits. It is important that people received the benefits they need based on a clear criteria rather than being denied access to support just because of their age"