---

Mr. Terry Rooney (Bradford, North) (Lab): I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his very encouraging and positive statement. Does he agree that all those on incapacity benefit have a civil right to work, just as anybody else does? Does he also agree that the state's role should be to remove any barriers that are preventing those people from taking up employment and escaping from poverty? We still have a major problem in this country because too many employers discriminate against disabled people. Will my right hon. Friend tell us what the Government are going to do, collectively, on that issue?

Mr. Hutton: I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for raising those points. I agree that people with a disability should have the right to work, just like anyone else in our country. The reforms that I have outlined today will mark a significant step forward in that regard. We were the first Government to legislate for comprehensive civil rights for people with a disability, and we will do nothing in these reforms that will compromise or undermine the civil rights of people with a disability.

In relation to my hon. Friend's important point about employers, we have instigated and are continuing to support a very important programme—the access to
 
24 Jan 2006 : Column 1313
 
work programme—into which we are putting about £60 million. That programme helps people on incapacity benefit who are going back into the world of work to make the necessary adjustments. Sometimes that could involve adjustments to the physical environment in their workplace. We will continue to offer that help, and to emphasise that support. There are also provisions in disability discrimination legislation to require employers to make reasonable adjustments in the workplace. That will be very important. We are also working with a significant network of employers, through the employers coalitions. For example, many big, significant employers are working with Jobcentre Plus to ensure that there are vacancies for people with a disability, which is crucial. The proposals that I have outlined today will help in all these areas, and I hope that my hon. Friend will be able to support them.

Mr. David Laws (Yeovil) (LD): May I also thank the Secretary of State for giving me advance sight of his statement? We share with him the ambition of seeking to help people with disabilities back into work and ensuring that the benefit system and our training systems are designed to help them. The Secretary of State has rightly set a very ambitious target for the reduction of the number of people on incapacity benefit by 1 million over the next 10 years. Does he agree, however, that even if he achieves that, it will take the level of people on incapacity back down only to the 1991 level, which was itself double the level that was inherited in 1979? There is therefore a long way to go, even if the target of 1 million is achieved.

I want to ask the Secretary of State some specific questions about the reform of incapacity benefit. Does he accept that delivering tailored support for people with diverse medical conditions is going to be quite expensive? Is he confident that he has the resources to do that, against the background of a decline in Jobcentre Plus staff of some 20,000—almost one in four—employees between 2002 and 2008?

The Secretary of State spoke of an extra £360 million over the next two years. A quick look at the figures suggests to me that that is a good deal less per person than the amount that he has been spending on pathways to work. Has there been any contraction of expenditure per person to make this scheme possible?

May I ask about changes in the benefit system? Has there been any extension of means-testing that is implicit in the new employment and support allowance? That is not clear from the Green Paper, and it would be helpful to have it on the record.

Does the Secretary of State plan to take further action to make the benefit system more accessible to those who can work only for limited periods? Will he also tell us whether he has ruled out for good the suggestion of his right hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field)—a single working-age benefit with top-ups for people with disabilities?

Safeguards are vital for some of the groups whom we are discussing. The Secretary of State clearly indicated that he would undertake to complete the assessment relating to the new personal capability test within three months. That is important, because until people have passed the test they will be stuck on the jobseeker's allowance rate, which is considerably lower than the rate
 
24 Jan 2006 : Column 1314
 
that they would obtain today. Can the Secretary of State offer us any reassurance about what will happen to people who are not seen within three months? Will they automatically move to a higher rate?

What protection will there be in terms of sanctions for people who might otherwise lose their employment and support allowance? Does the Secretary of State accept that there is real concern, particularly about people with mental health difficulties that cannot easily be detected? There is worry about whether there will be a proper process of scrutiny, with appeal rights.

We are willing to work constructively with the Secretary of State to find solutions to extremely important issues that have been neglected for too long. Does he accept that today's announcement and the target that he has set represent the easy part, and that the test will be whether he can deliver the improvements during the years ahead?

Mr. Hutton: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his support for the direction of travel that we set out in the Green Paper. We look forward to working with him in the months ahead. I am confident that we can deliver the programmes of help and support that I have announced. As I confirmed to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond), it will involve the use of private and voluntary providers as well, which I consider entirely sensible.

My proposals involve no extension of means-testing. Yes, we are considering making more part-time options available to people on incapacity benefit and lone parents, and we mentioned some in the Green Paper.

The hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) asked about long-term reform. He has only had a few minutes in which to look at the Green Paper, but the final chapter sets out the options, and picks up some of the points that my right hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) has been making. We have already announced changes in the linking rules, extending the 52-week period of grace allowing people leaving incapacity benefit to test whether a new job works for them to two years. They can return to the existing level of incapacity benefit without having to reapply. I hope that that gives the hon. Gentleman some reassurance. Of course there will be proper appeal mechanisms in relation to any benefit sanction initiated here.

The hon. Gentleman asked whether we could guarantee that we could complete the medical tests within 12 weeks. Yes, that is the commitment that we are making. His supplementary question, asking me to revise the benefits paid in the event of a failure, therefore does not arise.

Mr. Peter Kilfoyle (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab): Given that last year the Secretary of State's Department closed the biggest employer in my constituency, an area of high unemployment, and is now busy closing the jobcentre in Walton, the right hon. Gentleman will forgive my scepticism about where and how these jobs will be delivered.
 
24 Jan 2006 : Column 1315
 

I should be grateful if the Secretary of State would clarify one point. The figure of 2.7 million is constantly bandied about. Does it refer to claimants and recipients of incapacity benefit, or only to claimants? If it refers only to claimants, what is the true figure for recipients?

Mr. Hutton: My hon. Friend is right: the Department is currently undergoing a major reorganisation of its Jobcentre Plus services. It is also a major investment, however. We are spending more than £2 billion on trying to improve the service for his constituents and others. As he will know, that involves change. I entirely respect the position that he takes in relation to his constituency, but we are trying to improve the service nationally, and have set out a course of action that we think will achieve that.

In relation to my hon. Friend's specific point about the 2.7 million figure, 2.74 million people are currently in receipt of either the means-tested income support element, which supports those on incapacity benefit, or contributory incapacity benefit. I have made it clear today that we want to reduce that figure, and I hope that he will work with me to make sure that we do.

Sir George Young (North-West Hampshire) (Con): I welcome the Secretary of State's statement, but does he accept that on occasions there will be a genuine disagreement between his Department's medical assessment of an individual's ability to return to work and that individual's assessment with his or her GP? Does he have any plans to review the appeals system, which many people find slow, complex and bureaucratic, with a view to enhancing its efficiency and credibility?

---