Work Capability Assessment Consultation

Liz Kendall Excerpts

Tuesday 5th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall (Leicester West) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for early sight of his statement.

I know from talking to disabled people in my constituency and across the country that work can bring dignity and self-respect through the choice, control and autonomy from having money in their pocket and making the contribution they want to make in life. Work is the reason for my political party, and supporting working people is why Labour Members get up in the morning. That belief is shared by the British public, including hundreds of thousands of people who currently feel shut out of the workplace and trapped on benefits when they could work if they had the right help and support.

On this Government’s watch, a staggering 2.6 million people are now out of work as a result of long-term sickness. That is the highest number ever, up almost half a million since the pandemic alone. This is a serious challenge for millions of our constituents and for the economy, and it deserves a serious response, but that is not what we have seen today.

Labour has been warning for years that benefit assessments are not fit for purpose and, crucially, that unless we have a proper plan to support sick and disabled people who can work, even more will end up trapped in a degrading benefit system, costing them and the taxpayer far more. Labour has already set out plans to transform the back-to-work help that is available by personalising employment support and tackling the huge backlogs in our NHS and social care. Our “into work guarantee” will let people try work without fear of losing their benefits. Our plan is backed by the Centre for Social Justice, the Social Security Advisory Committee and disabled people’s organisations. Why not the Secretary of State?

We will ensure that employment support meets specific local needs through proper devolution to local areas and, when disabled people get a job, we will make sure they get the support they need to keep them there as soon as they need it, rather than having to wait for months on end.

We will study the consultation carefully, but I see nothing in the statement that matches Labour’s vision or scale of ambition. It does not even deal with the glaring problems in the current system. Eighty per cent of personal independence payment decisions are overturned at tribunal, of which only 2% are because new evidence has become available. How will the proposals make any difference to the totally inadequate decision making that causes untold stress to disabled people and wastes millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money?

The backlog of Access to Work assessments has trebled to 25,000 since the pandemic. How will the proposals help to bring that down? Where is the plan to help slash waiting lists for help with anxiety and depression, which we know is a major problem, or to get the carers that families need to look after sick and disabled relatives so that they themselves can work?

This is not a serious plan. It is tinkering at the edges of a failing system. If you run your NHS into the ground for 13 years and let waiting lists for physical and mental health soar, if you fail to reform social care to help people care for their loved ones and if your sole aim is to try to score political points rather than reforming the system to get sick and disabled people who can work the help they really need, you end up with the mess we have today: a system that is failing sick and disabled people, failing taxpayers and failing our country as a whole. Britain deserves far better than this.

[Mel Stride]

I thank the hon. Lady for her remarks. It is gratifying that she agrees with much of the premise I set out. She recognises the importance of work and that 2.5 million people, or thereabouts, are on long-term sick and disability benefits—we are all equally concerned that the number is growing. She also argues that the work capability assessment, in its current form, is not fit for its required purpose, which is exactly why we are coming forward with these reforms. She refers to the PIP assessment requirements, which are not relevant to the work capability assessments that we are discussing and that are subject to the current consultation.

We clearly have a plan. The hon. Lady has been in her position for a very short period, and I respect and understand that. I invite her to look closely at the announcements that were made—the £2 billion-worth of support at the last fiscal statement, including our White Paper reforms in exactly the area where she is seeking progress; the universal support; and the WorkWell programme. She mentioned working with local providers, and there is a huge drive on that. As for mental health, we are consulting on occupational health across businesses to make sure that we get in right at the start where people may otherwise end up on a long-term health journey. We are also working closely with the NHS on getting employment advisers involved, for example, in talking therapies, which we know are so effective in addressing mental health concerns.