Westminster Hall debate on Incapacity Benefit

Tuesday 16th May 2006

House of Commons (Westminster Hall)

Debate on Incapacity Benefit

Alexander on funding and contracting arrangements

Danny Alexander, Liberal Democrat Disabilities Spokesperson

Danny Alexander said, 'It is important to bring together people and organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors to deliver in a coherent, co-ordinated and locally driven way - that is an important consideration - policies and proposals to help back into the labour market people who have been out of or excluded from it for a long time, perhaps for reasons of incapacity.'

'The hon. Gentleman (Graham Allen, Lab) rightly drew attention to the social and human waste that incapacity benefit creates. A number of people have been on incapacity benefit for a substantial time. He drew attention to the often-quoted statistic that people who have been on incapacity benefit for more than two years are more likely to die or reach retirement age than they are to find work. That is a damning indictment of the current system.'

'It is important that the Government's approach to welfare reform should not be to deliver it in a top-down way, but to allow local communities and organisations to develop their own strategies, programmes and ideas about how best to tackle the problems that they face in their own communities.'

'I want to speak about the national role of the DWP in bringing to fruition some of the local ideas that we have heard about today? Two other issues relating to the approach so far about which there are real concerns are, first, funding, and secondly, the arrangements for contracting with voluntary sector organisations.'

'The overall package in the welfare reform Green Paper for funding the pathways to work scheme was £360 million. It is clear that £360 million is not enough? over two years the total funding needed would be £440 million. However, that estimate does not include the cost of the back to work credit or the condition management programme. A further point is that the £360 million will supposedly come from existing DWP budgets. I am keen to hear from the Minister where the axe will fall to release even that inadequate sum for rolling out the pathways to work project.'

'A successful condition management programme rolled out nationwide is dependent on a supply of properly qualified professionals such as cognitive behaviour therapists, but there is a shortage of such therapists and they take up to five years to train. It is important that the Minister in his response addresses how to ensure a supply of properly trained condition management professionals and properly qualified employment advisers. I also want to know how the importance of having people in those areas comes up against the current cuts in DWP staff in a number of areas - and, as I know from my own experience, how that has an impact on morale.'

Finally, Danny Alexander said, 'In the Green Paper, the Government talked about setting up a taskforce to look into reforming the PCA for people with mental health conditions. I understand that that taskforce has still not been set up. Will the Minister address that?'