Welfare Reform Bill

I am sorry that I was not present for the whole debate, but I congratulate the hon. Member for Kingswood (Roger Berry) on these amendments. I believe that the vast majority of people not currently in the labour force want to work. I have been a Member of Parliament for 18 months, and most of the people with disabilities that I have met in that time have been desperate to re-enter the work force. I understand the arguments underpinning the amendments—that the words ““medical assessment”” attach a pejorative meaning to a condition that many people have come to terms with. People with serious disabilities try to overcome them, and very often succeed—to the extent that when one meets them on the street and asks how they are they respond by saying that they are feeling extremely well. They say that because they have moved on from their disability, and that is why the hon. Member for Kingswood is right to say that the word ““assessment”” is much to be preferred. With this Bill, we are trying to help people re-enter the labour market. We are not burdening them with a medical condition, but are trying to find a route that eases them back into work. We are also trying to put in place the support systems that allow them to re-enter the labour force with the mechanisms that they need to be productive and have successful and fulfilling careers. Many of the people whom I have met feel excluded from the labour market because they believe that there is a lack of understanding of, or concern about, what they need to make the transition back into work. I know that my party supports these amendments, so my support for them will not upset anyone. People with disabilities face the stigma that they have a medical condition. If the amendments get rid of that, that is another excellent reason to support them.