Background

At the end of January 2006 the Government announced its proposals for changes to Incapacity Benefit for new claimants from 2008. It also announced measures to help a million more disabled people into work. This was in the ‘Green Paper’ consultation, "A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work".

Welfare Reform Bill

Following this, a Bill (the Welfare Reform Bill) has now been introduced into Parliament, with some changes made to the government’s proposals following the consultation.

MPs debate government plans

The Bill had its first major debate in Parliament on 24 July 2006 (Second Reading in the House of Commons), where MPs generally welcomed the government’s aspiration of getting a million more disabled people into work. However they questioned whether the Bill includes sufficient measures across the board to make this happen.

What the Bill says

• Incapacity Benefit and Income Support, where paid on the grounds of incapacity for work, will be replaced with a new benefit called 'Employment and Support Allowance' (ESA).
• ESA will be paid at two rates; a ‘Work related activity component’ for people judged able to move towards work and a ‘Support component’ for people judged unable to work.
• The ‘Work related activity component’ for people judged able to move towards work will be paid at a higher rate than the current long-term rate of Incapacity Benefit. However, claimants will have to undertake compulsory Work Focused Interviews or risk losing benefit. These changes will affect new claimants from 2008.
• Only those people with "the most severe disabilities and health conditions", who are assessed as unable to work, will not be expected to engage in work-focused activity (although they will be given the opportunity to if they wish). This group will receive the ‘Support’ component of ESA, to be paid at a higher rate than the current long-term rate of Incapacity Benefit, and, we understand, at a higher rate than the ‘Work related activity component’.
• The current test for getting Incapacity Benefit, the Personal Capability Assessment (PCA), will be changed so that it identifies the capacity that people have to move towards work, rather than just looking at their incapacity to work as it does now. Indications are that registered blind people will be included in the group regarded as being able to move towards work and placed on the ‘Work related activity component’ of ESA.
• As well as the PCA, there will be a new assessment called the ‘Work-focused health-related assessment’. This will take place after the PCA (for people judged able to move towards work) and will look at what skills and abilities the claimant has, as well as identifying equipment or adaptations that would help them move towards work.
• After this claimants will be expected to produce Action Plans setting out the work-related activity (training, courses, rehabilitation or voluntary work) that they will undertake. The Bill gives the government powers to make it compulsory in the future to undertake this activity.

Information from RNIB Website