Benefits: Eligibility

Baroness Janke Excerpts

Thursday 9th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Cryer (Lab)]

I am grateful for the question, but I do not recognise the figure of 70%. The noble Viscount is accurate in saying that the ambition is to move 2 million people into work. The traditional view, which still holds credibility, is that being in work is not just the best way out of poverty but that people in work are generally much healthier than people who are not. The problem is that, under the previous Government, we saw a situation develop where roughly 60% of households in poverty have at least one person in work. That had never been the case before in British history. That itself provides all sorts of complexities and problems, which we are trying to deal with, partly through the White Paper, which he mentioned, but also through the Green Paper, which introduces the consultation in the spring.

[Baroness Janke (LD)]

My Lords, seven in 10 refused claims for personal independence payments are overturned after mandatory reconsideration, even before appeal. Data has shown that the DWP spent £22.8 million on mandatory reconsiderations and £24.5 million on appeals in the 2022-23 financial year. Do the Government agree that the assessment process is massively failing disabled people and putting them under unnecessary stress? Is it not time that the Government made the assessment shambles fit for purpose, starting with the form itself, so that claimants receive their entitlement without the stress of initial refusals and lengthy and intimidating appeals?

[Lord Cryer (Lab)]

The noble Baroness raises a perfectly reasonable question. However, I point out that the mandatory reconsideration process was changed—this was under the previous Government, to give them credit. For one thing, it was brought in-house, whereas it used to be contracted out, and made more straightforward. More recently, as was contained in the White Paper which I talked about earlier, assessors have been given more time. The noble Baroness will be aware that, some time ago, there was a system of target-driven assessments. That is what led to the fairly inhumane treatment of people who were disabled. The system is not perfect—and through bitter personal experience I agree that it is not perfect. It has been improved, but we are looking to improve it further through the consultation in the spring.