Draft Legislative Programme

One of the biggest issues that faces my constituency continues to be the number of people on incapacity benefit—nearly one in five people of working age—largely thanks to economic measures that previous Governments took. Nearly 50 per cent. of those people are on incapacity benefit with mental health problems. We are trying to get more people into work, but are we going to ensure that proper mental health services are available, so that instead of popping pills and sitting on benefits, people can be in work and lead a productive life?