Welfare Reform Bill

I am at one with my right hon. Friend in supporting anything that will create jobs. That involves action on the demand side and, indeed, measures such as those in the Bill, which is why to the best of my knowledge every single disability organisation supports the Welfare Reform Bill, because they believe that the measures in it will provide improved opportunities for disabled people. I was simply making the point that we should not set up a false opposition between the Welfare Reform Bill on the one hand and laudable measures to boost the economy on the other. I want to concentrate on the Bill's impact on disabled people, not least because according to official statistics, 3 million of the 10 million disabled people in this country are living in poverty. If we take into account the extra necessary costs of disability, whether it be for transport, adaptations, personal assistance, equipment or whatever, conservative estimates such as those produced by the Leonard Cheshire disability charity suggest that it is not 3 million but 6 million disabled people and their families who live in poverty. We must ask what policies are best fitted to tackle that incredibly serious problem, and I believe that for those who can, work is the best way out of poverty.