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Welfare Reform Bill

I should like to say at the outset that the Scottish National party and Plaid Cymru are not opposed in principle to the objectives of the legislation. In my experience, most people on disability benefits genuinely want to work, but there are many barriers to that aim and it is those rather than a wish to languish on benefits that prevent them from doing so. In so far as the legislation genuinely helps and encourages people, providing support for them to get into work and, crucially, to retain work, it will have our wholehearted support. One problem, however, is that we are effectively debating in a vacuum, because we do not yet have the regulations that will set out the detail of the system. Mencap makes the telling point in its briefing that the Bill refers to regulations 243 times in its 73 pages, which is more than three times a page. I appreciate that the Minister has said that the regulations will be published prior to considering the Bill in Committee and that is welcome, but I reiterate that we need to see them well before that stage so that we can consider the detail and so that those of us who are lucky enough to serve on the Committee do not have to deal with them there and then. The hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Miss Begg) made some very good points. Like her, I arranged meetings with groups in my constituency and throughout Tayside to discuss the White Paper when it was first published. The meetings were useful. In some cases I was able to reassure people about some of the more wild stories. One headline in Third Force News read ““Welfare Reform Plans Outrage Disability Groups””. The reason behind it was a comment made by the Secretary of State about more responsibility and increased obligations. In the early stages, there was much concern among groups representing disabled people that the reforms would impact seriously on them. As it turned out, as is often the case, once the White Paper was published and looked at, people realised that it was not as bad as had been trailed. The meetings were also useful because they enabled me to make a submission to the consultation. One of the principal concerns, which is reflected in various briefings that have been sent to us, is about the scope of the personal capability assessment. Every hon. Member must have had a number of constituents raising concerns about the operation of the current system and claims of inadequacy of the assessment by the medical practitioner appointed by the DWP. It is interesting but hardly surprising to note the findings of the report ““Paying the Price: the real costs of illness and disability”” for Citizens Advice Scotland, which noted that there was a 63 per cent. success rate among its clients who appealed against a decision. That must suggest that a significant proportion of decisions were incorrect in the first instance. In particular, many of those I consulted were concerned that the people assessing them did not have sufficient expertise in their condition. Many felt that they were given a cursory examination by a complete stranger who lacked relevant experience, and that is reflected in briefings. For example, Mencap said:"““The reform of the PCA must be carried out with expertise in learning disability factored in at every stage.””" Rethink said:"““People should have a choice as to whether examinations, assessments or interviews occur at their own homes or at examination centres.””" Macmillan Cancer Relief made the very good point that people suffering from terminal cancer cannot be expected to go through the same assessment procedure as others. They should have the choice of being assessed at home, rather than in an examination centre. The more cynical could say that all those organisations are making special pleas for their own groups, but the crucial point is that they are all making the same pertinent argument. Whatever form the PCA takes, we must ensure that whoever carries out the assessment has expertise in the particular illness or disability from which the subject of the interview suffers. Rethink makes an additional point that people who suffer from severe mental illness may not open letters or answer the telephone, not through ill will, but often through forgetfulness or disorganisation. That is a particular concern, as anyone who is deemed to fail to co-operate at various stages could face benefit sanctions. A reasonable person would conclude that allowances should be made for such situations, but I encountered a similar problem with a constituency case, related not to incapacity benefit but tax credits. My constituent has a bipolar mental illness, and for long periods she does not open mail or, in fact, deal with any of her affairs. She failed to fill in a form to renew her tax credits, and they were stopped. She received demands for repayment of tax credits, even though it appears that she would have been entitled to them had she filled in the form. The Department is insisting on repayment. I approached officials in the Department, but I was told that they had absolutely no discretion in the matter because the form had not been filled in. I appreciate that that case does not relate directly to the Bill, but it shows what can happen when regulations do not take into account the specifics of particular conditions. Clearly, such situations are much more likely to occur in relation to incapacity benefits. I therefore urge the Minister to ensure that the regulations make provision for someone with sufficient knowledge of the condition to carry out the assessment. Alternatively, as some groups have suggested, much more weight could be given to a written medical assessment from people who are treating the applicant. At present, that does not seem to enter into the equation until the inevitable appeal. There is genuine concern about how people on benefits would fare if they tried to obtain work. The CAB report disclosed that more than half of such people thought that they would need benefits protection while they tried work. That is a serious problem for those on benefits who would not automatically be subject to the new rules—at least, not initially—but who could volunteer for inclusion. Many fear doing so because they are concerned that, if matters did not work out for them, they could end up worse off than if they had simply remained on benefit. Serious thought needs to be given to the question of whether we could introduce a guarantee period, in which anyone who obtained a job that did not work out within the period would not be worse off. I appreciate that that would not be easy, but it would help a great deal. The hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Angela Browning) made a very good point about supporting people once they are in work. In the Norwegian scheme, there is a buddy system to help people who find work to complete the initial period, and to make sure that they stay in work. That is essential to allow people with mental illnesses and learning disabilities to become used to the work environment. In those cases, we are not talking about rehabilitation; in many cases, we are talking about getting people into work for the first time. I agree that those on the new allowance should receive automatic access to other benefits, as is the case for people on jobseeker’s allowance. I appreciate that some things, such as prescription charges, are a matter for the Scottish Executive, but others are a matter for the DWP, and I think that the issue needs to be considered again. Some organisations expressed concern about the use of private organisations to encourage people back to work. They feared that easy cases would be cherry-picked if payment is based on the number of people who returned to work, with difficult cases being omitted from the project. It is vital that that is not allowed to happen, as almost 90 per cent. of people with learning disabilities who are known to social services are unemployed. People with learning disabilities who are employed often work part-time and receive low pay. People with learning difficulties can work, and they want to do so. If the reform truly aims to help them into work, serious thought must be given to the provision of services so that we can ensure that providers encourage and support them into work. I was interested in what the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) said on the subject, and in what the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton said about top-slicing. We must ensure that sufficient funds are provided for niche providers, whether or not they belong to a consortium, that provide the greater support required by that group. If we seriously wish to tackle the problem, the easy cases, if there are such things, must not be skimmed off and only those people helped back to work. Serious efforts must be made to ensure that people with lifelong disabilities are helped, too, which will entail serious discussion with employers on employment practices and, in some cases, their views on the employment of disabled people. The supported group—I appreciate that I am arguing for both sides of the coin—should not simply be labelled as unemployable. The National Autistic Society has called for the establishment of a clear system so that that group receives appropriate advice about work and training opportunities, as well as reassurance that their benefits will not be jeopardised. The reform must encompass everyone and, although I accept that Ministers face a difficult job in balancing all those concerns and desires, we need early sight of the regulations. That leads me on to one area where there may be serious disagreement about the Government’s strategy. The Bill appears to be driven by a desire to save money but, if we genuinely wish to do so, we must achieve joined-up thinking between Government Departments and the devolved Administrations. We must tackle, too, the problem of finding jobs for people who are coming off benefit—a matter that was touched on by the hon. Member for Kingswood (Roger Berry). A large number of people ended up on incapacity benefit as a result of the mass unemployment of the late 1970s and 1980s, and many of them stayed on it for many years. We must not allow that to continue: when we roll out pathways to work it must be funded as fully as the pilot projects—a point that was well made by the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South. Many organisations have expressed concern that the pilot projects were successful because they were well funded, with everything available at their beck and call. If such support is not available when the project is rolled out, we will not achieve the same success nationally. The initiative must not be viewed as a way of saving money. We may need to spend money, at least in the short term, to save money in the long term. The initiative is worth while, and it has our support, but we need to see the regulations and exactly what has been proposed.