Welfare Reform
Debate between Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie and Baroness Sherlock(1 week, 1 day ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Sherlock (Lab)
I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London for that important question. I mentioned earlier that the prevalence of disability has increased. I have to correct that: the rate of prevalence has increased. Again, the rate of the increase of disability benefits has gone up by twice as much. If I have got that wrong, they will correct me again and I will read it out next time I get up.
On the question of health, crucially, we have invested almost £26 billion extra in the NHS, but change will take time. We intend to implement our reforms to PIP in November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. To reassure the right reverend Prelate and anyone listening, everyone claiming PIP will continue to receive it until they are reassessed and their eligibility changes. We will always seek to protect the most severely disabled.
In the meantime, we are looking to do a couple of different things. We are trying to get early intervention to stop people falling out of work, and we are about to launch our health accelerators, which will support efforts to tackle economic inactivity through getting the NHS to shift to prevention. We are trialling in some of our pilot areas how exactly we can bring together the NHS and employment support to address that.
The right reverend Prelate raises an important point. One of the challenges for us is that there are things that will need the NHS to be sorted out. There are other areas where a range of different types of support could enable people, even now, to get into work. We are determined to do both.
Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interests in the register. There is much in this Statement to be welcomed, apart from the bit that says it is all the Conservatives’ fault. I particularly welcome the emphasis on getting disabled people back into work. At Cerebral Palsy Scotland, where I work, we are dealing with a devolved social security system. Adult disability payment, ADP, is replacing PIP and DLA in Scotland. It is similar, but it has a different application and renewal process. We are finding that there are people caught between DWP and Social Security Scotland. Apparently, there are about 80,000 people in Scotland still on PIP. Can the Minister assure me that, in the process of all these reviews and all this change, those on the devolved benefits systems will not get left behind or be negatively affected?
Baroness Sherlock (Lab)
I thank the noble Baroness and commend her for her work with Cerebral Palsy Scotland. She raises a really important point. To be clear, the proposals in the Green Paper would apply directly only to UK Government areas of responsibility. We are working through the areas of interaction between reserved and devolved benefits, with the Scottish Government in particular. The noble Baroness described one area, and there are others. As she mentioned, the Scottish Government’s adult disability payment replaced PIP. Therefore, the proposals on PIP will apply only to those areas we control. I encourage her to speak to the Scottish Government. In the end, it will be for the Scottish Government to work out how they will make their system sustainable. From our side, we can make sure that, as far as possible, the systems align. It is an important point and one we are very aware of. We will certainly make sure we address it specifically in our discussions with the devolved Administrations.
Health-related Benefit Claims
Debate between Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie and Baroness Sherlock(4 months, 3 weeks ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Sherlock (Lab)
Honestly, I have no idea—but I have colleagues in the Department of Health who will. As a Government, we are developing significant extra support and making sure that there is an NHS fit for the future, including by providing appropriate support. I am afraid that I will have to find someone to write to my noble friend about the number of CBT therapists.
Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Con)
My Lords, many schemes have been getting people on benefits into work, but research shows that one of the biggest challenges is keeping people in work and enabling them to move on to a second, third or fourth job and a career. What are the Government doing to support keeping people in work?
Baroness Sherlock (Lab)
What a great question. We are absolutely committed to this being a strategy not just to get people into jobs but to get people into good jobs, to keep them there and to help them progress over time. The focus of the “Get Britain Working” White Paper will be on that. In this country we need good jobs and we need people to get them. They need to be given the support to get there—and continuing support, if they need it, while they are there—and then to have the ability to progress. Our three-part scheme will not just include the youth guarantee but bring together the national jobs and careers service as well as skills and help-at-work support. It is all about trying to get people in jobs and make sure that they progress when they are there. I thank the noble Baroness for asking a great question.