Welfare Reform Green Paper

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 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?