Pensions Bill

Debate between Baroness Finlay of Llandaff and Lord Freud

Monday 24th February 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Freud]

My Lords, the House may find it helpful to know that, although I do not agree that a change to conditionality in respect of only this specific group of amendments is appropriate, I am proposing to conduct a wider review into the circumstances where children could be in considerable distress and where it is clear that conditionality should not be applied. I am not attempting to curtail debate but it may be of advantage to the House to have that information in order that we may have a more informed debate on this group of amendments.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)]

My Lords, I have Amendments 18, 19 and 20 in this group. I am grateful to the Minister for informing us of his proposal to hold a review of the level at which conditionality is set in relation to considerable distress in bereaved children. I appreciate his concern and the time that he has spent with me and others in looking at the problems of bereaved children.

However, I must point out that bereaved children express emotions differently from adults. Indeed, the most distressed children often appear almost blunted to the death of the parent and are simply quiet, withdrawn and can even appear disinterested. I hope that there will be no attempt to assess an individual child’s distress because I can foresee the problem of some families blaming that child for not caring enough, and therefore blaming that child for somehow not falling into a group that could have had more benefit. Sadly, transference occurs in bereavement and sometimes bereaved parents project their anger at the death on to the way in which the bereaved child is behaving and are on a very short fuse with the child, which compounds that child’s isolation. These are complex situations and there are serious long-term sequelae.

When a parent dies the support that the state offers must be easy to understand. It must support the widowed parent in providing support to their grieving children. Noble Lords are well aware that the death of a parent places enormous pressure on the rest of the family. The surviving parent has to both provide stability to children and adjust to life as the sole carer and earner while dealing with their own grief as well as that of their children. Quite often they have had no time to begin to adjust to impending widowhood—for example, in any sudden death, whether it is through a road accident, manslaughter, murder, suicide or whatever—and yet their children’s need for stability following the death of a parent makes it vital that the surviving parent is available to them, is present and is able to respond to their needs, which may change almost from minute to minute, hour to hour.

Stopping payments after only one year will have a significant impact on family finances but the major disruptions include the widowed parent often having to increase their working hours to replace lost income, thereby being less available to the children at the time when they are most in need of support. Amendment 18 seeks to increase the period of time that the bereavement support payment is payable to at least three years or until the youngest child has reached the age of seven, whichever is the longest period.

Can the Minister clarify the cost analysis that underpins the decision to end bereavement support payment after only one year, because one year is much too short to address a family’s needs? Removing the payment at the first anniversary of the death adds an additional pressure on the family at a time that is already very emotionally difficult when they often relive the acute episode surrounding the bereavement. Many families report that the second and subsequent years following bereavement are even harder than the first because support from friends and family tends to disappear and children can experience late effects of dealing with grief and bereavement.

The current allowance is paid until the youngest child leaves full-time education. The proposal to reduce this to a period of just one year is a dramatic change. Data provided by the Childhood Bereavement Network suggest that only one family in 28—that is, 4%—claims for less than one year. Most families would therefore receive payments under this Bill for a much, much shorter time than they would under current arrangements, especially if the children are younger. In Committee I described the shortening of this period of time as cruel. A year is a very short time in the life of those bereaved, whether adult or child.

The current benefit is paid until children leave full-time education in recognition partly of the complex emotional needs of young children. Removing the payment when the dependent children are very young is particularly worrying. Pre-school children become very clingy when they realise that one parent is no longer around. They require stability and security. The grief of losing a parent is challenging enough without compounding the disruption caused by the stress of worsened financial hardship for the surviving parent with the premature ending of a bereavement support payment.

Amendment 19 seeks to clarify that the bereavement support payment will be payable to a widow who is pregnant at the time of her spouse’s death. Can the Minister confirm that when the spouse of a pregnant woman dies the allowance would be payable to her? Amendment 20 seeks to clarify what support would be offered in the tragic event of both parents dying. Can the Minister confirm that in the event that both parents die, the guardian of the surviving children under the age of 18 will be eligible for any bereavement support payment which would have been paid to a surviving parent had that parent not died, and that the guardian has six months in which to lodge the claim? Can the Minister also confirm that the changes to the bereavement support payment do not affect the guardian’s allowance? Finally, can the Minister confirm that changes to the bereavement support payment do not affect child benefit?

Pensions Bill

Debate between Baroness Finlay of Llandaff and Lord Freud

Wednesday 15th January 2014 Grand Committee

[Lord Freud]

Yes, I did. There is an element of push-pull and expectation, and the expectation here is that people would engage with the labour market after six months except where there would be difficulties in doing so. That is exactly why we want to develop a good guidance package, which we shall do in consultation with the key stakeholder.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff]

I apologise if I am interrupting the Minister when he is about to clarify something further, but I have a question about those situations where things are even more complicated. For example, one parent may have been driving the car, the other parent killed and one of the other siblings killed, so that the bereaved child feels anger towards the surviving parent as the person who was in control of the vehicle when the accident happened, as well as being bereaved of another sibling. Are those the sort of situations that the guidance will address, and will it allow a more flexible interpretation and some flexibility, particularly, over the six-month type of requirement? It is incredibly likely that the surviving child will have an extremely difficult time, including in establishing a relationship with the surviving parent.

Occupational Health Services

Debate between Baroness Finlay of Llandaff and Lord Freud

Thursday 1st March 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Freud]

I will not talk about the prodding too much, my Lords, although we get plenty of that here. One of the most valuable developments has been the self-referral process. There has been a lot of experimentation and piloting in relation to self-referral to physiotherapy and it has all been found to be very valuable. Patients have been empowered and highly satisfied with the results, with a lower level of work absence. The service provision has reduced costs and has substantially reduced the quantity of medicines prescribed as a direct result.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff]

Do the Government recognise that, given that on average 17 days’ sickness absence can be related to musculoskeletal disorders, the placement of physiotherapy in the workplace, as has happened in Rhyl in North Wales, can result in a decrease in sickness and the maintenance of people in work? Rhyl’s experience is of 82 per cent of people being able to remain in work, but that requires joined-up thinking between employers, health services and the benefits system.

[Lord Freud]

My Lords, that is absolutely smack on what the sickness absence review is looking at and whose recommendations we will be examining. The noble Baroness mentioned Rhyl. There have indeed been some quite remarkable improvements in this area. The project with which I was most impressed was in Lincolnshire, where triage was available on the same day. Advice, triage and signposting dramatically reduced the level of absence from work and, indeed, reduced the number of sessions of prodding that were required.

Welfare Reform Bill

Debate between Baroness Finlay of Llandaff and Lord Freud

Tuesday 17th January 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Freud]

I accept that there are concerns but one has to stand back. We are spending £12 billion on PIP in real terms, which is the same as the spending in 2009-10. The talk about a big cut refers to a big cut of a projection—the 20 per cent. I want to reinforce that point. In this House we should not get carried away with the simplicity of the big cut. It is not a big cut. With PIP we are trying to direct scarce resources, at a very difficult time, to the people who need them most. That is the purpose of it.

One of the other things that is happening—and is probably the biggest difference in emphasis between DLA and PIP—is that PIP is trying to take account of people with mental health problems in a way that DLA finds much harder. That is why the assessments and activities that are looked at are very different. Therefore, PIP is different and there are changes. Some people will lose out but they are the people who need the money less. That is the point of making the adjustment. However, the overall sum remains that £12 billion.

To pick up the point of the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, we have the power and flexibility to treat 16 year-olds differently. This includes different assessment processes during the migration period. We are working actively now with children’s groups to make sure that we have the right migration strategy for youngsters and to finalise it. We will publish that approach. It is not a settled matter, which was, I think, the noble Lord’s real question. We are working very hard to get it right.

Let me deal with some of the amendments. Amendments 57, 58, 50ZGA and 56ZC would prevent our abolishing DLA for those aged 18, and potentially limit our flexibility by imposing statutory duties that would be less able to respond to change, especially as we refine and improve processes as a result of feedback and our experiences. It is very important that we have that flexibility. One of the things that we will discuss later this evening is feedback and the amount of research that we will carry out on a continuous basis. Clearly we want to incorporate that into how we apply PIP, particularly for youngsters.

This is very technical but I need to make it clear that the Government consider Amendment 56ZC to be consequential on Amendment 50ZGA; and, separately, Amendment 58 to be directly consequential on Amendment 57. I do not want any misunderstandings later, although the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, is not in her seat at the moment to give me a piece of her mind. Given the reassurances that I have given the noble Baroness, and the technical limitations that the amendments of the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, would impose, I hope she will withdraw her amendment.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff]

If the amendments which the noble Lord, Lord Patel, and I have tabled would be more restrictive, does the Minister now have more powers to make regulations to exercise discretion in relation to people of different ages? Does this discretion remain wider by not including our amendments where an age group is highlighted?

[Lord Freud]

This is a framework Bill. There is a lot of potential flexibility as we set up the regulations, particularly in this migration period, as we move into them. This flexibility would be denied by these amendments.

Welfare Reform Bill

Debate between Baroness Finlay of Llandaff and Lord Freud

Wednesday 11th January 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Freud]

The figure that I quoted is the existing one. I shall come straight on to the cancer issue because it is clearly of great importance. On the basis of the Harrington recommendations, the figure is expected to go up by about 10 per cent on the existing figure on our modelling basis.

There is a great deal of misinformation about the position and I shall try to pull out some of the main issues on cancer. First, the Guardian printed a letter from Professor Harrington in which he said:

“I believe the government’s proposals would significantly improve on the current system and would be of considerable benefit to those who face the real personal challenge of a cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment”.

He went on to say:

“The government’s proposals have been developed as a result of evidence submitted to me by Macmillan and discussions with cancer specialists. The proposals would considerably increase the number of people who receive unconditional support in the benefits system. They would also reduce, not increase, the number of face-to-face assessments that individuals suffering from cancer would undergo. The proposals are underpinned by a presumption that people undergoing cancer treatment will be entitled to the benefit if they have the necessary supporting evidence. They widen the scope of the people this applies to, while also allowing people who want to work to do so. This will mean better provision all round. Delays in these proposals may ultimately affect individuals and their quality of life”.

We have now published the Macmillan evidence, which I hope is available and of great interest to noble Lords. What is interesting about the evidence is how many professional oncologists support this approach. I have a few quotes here which I would like to share with the House. The first states:

“Not all patients will experience toxicity related to treatment … Not all patients should be exempt”.

The next states that,

“some people on long-term maintenance treatments may have little or no upset and be quite able to work”,

and so on. That evidence is available to noble Lords.

As to where we are on the important issue of cancer, we are now carrying out a consultation with the industry. That will be ready in March, when we will pick up the responses and apply them. The noble Lord, Lord Patel, may take some comfort from the fact that there is now a major process going on as we consider this issue, and he would be right to take such comfort.

On the point raised by my noble friend Lady Thomas on the WCA, we are absolutely committed to making it as effective as possible. It is beginning to move quite quickly now in the right direction. We have taken forward all of Harrington’s recommendations from year one, which means that decision-makers are better supported and have received new training, and all the ATOS reports now have a justification. Professor Harrington has praised the improvements that he has seen so far.

The other point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Patel, was—

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff]

Before the Minister moves on, I wonder if I could ask for some clarification. When he talked about the evidence from oncology, he implied that patients would have to be not working for two years. I do not see anything in any of the proposed amendments that stops people going back to work as soon as they want to go back to work. Indeed, one hopes that many people will get back to work, perhaps on a part-time basis or whatever, within months of having their treatment, but the purpose of the amendments is not to force those who are so debilitated post-treatment or during treatment, particularly with fatigue that can go on for weeks or months before it improves, and not to make them subject to a guillotine coming down at the end of the year. Can the Minister clarify that there is nothing in the amendments that stops people going back to work as quickly as they want to?

[Lord Freud]

Clearly, there is nothing in any amendment or proposal to stop people going back to work should they wish to go back to work, but we are talking about the expectations that there are between the citizen and the state. That is a really important psychological relationship between the two, and that is what we are talking about rather than anything else.

I pick up the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Patel, when he quoted Citizens Advice. We were disappointed by what it said, not because it said stuff that we did not like to read but because it was based on the evidence of 37 work capability assessments when there were more than 600,000 completed in the year to May 2011. That report also relied solely on Citizens Advice’s own interpretation of the healthcare professional’s report and did not allow the HCP the opportunity to explain the reasoning.

Our view and policy is that the right way to address cancer diagnosis and treatment is by ensuring that the WCA provides an accurate and effective dividing line between the support group and the work-related activity group. We want the WCA to consider and assess fully the effects on an individual from both their cancer and the treatment they are receiving for that cancer. As I said, sufferers will be entitled to any income-related ESA.

I pick up the point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, on the burden on those who can least afford it, because some quite simplistic numbers are flying around here. We have said that income-related ESA will be available to those with the lowest incomes. I accept that if an ESA claimant’s partner has earnings of £152.70 a week, no income-related ESA will be available, but that does not mean that the couple will be £94.25 a week worse off when the contributory ESA is withdrawn. I give an example of why that is not the case. A couple with a rent of £100 a week and council tax of £25 a week, one with the earnings of £152-odd and the other with a contributory ESA of £94, will have a total income of £291 before ESA is withdrawn and £277 afterwards. The main reason is that housing benefit and council tax rise substantially. So there is less income but there are not these very dramatic changes when you go through the actual sums—