Welfare Reform Bill

Lord Wigley Excerpts

Monday 24th October 2011 Grand Committee

I was asked by the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, to define the seasons of the year. Clearly, spring arrives after winter and before summer, and in the case of the review it will arrive before the end of April next year. On that basis, I urge the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment.

[Lord Wigley]

I apologise very much to the Committee that my five-hour journey from Wales took six hours and that I was late in arriving. The Minister referred to a consultation with the devolved Administrations. Clearly, some of the criteria for passported benefits may vary within the responsibilities of those devolved Administrations. Will the report that he is referring to, and which he will be bringing forward shortly, cover that point in adequate depth to make sure that there is no falling between two stools?

[Lord Freud]

Yes. I thank the noble Lord for that question. I have specifically asked the SSAC to cover the point of working with devolved Administrations when it comes up with its recommendations so that will be incorporated in its original review, let alone in our subsequent review.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Wigley]

My Lords, I intervene very briefly in support of the amendments spoken to by the noble Baroness, Lady Hollins, and to note the very eloquent way in which she presented them. The experience that she brings to this Committee is something phenomenal. There can be no doubt whatever that the Minister would not want to be in breach of discrimination law. However it is one thing to say that and another to provide the systems to ensure that does not happen. The point of these amendments is to ensure that there is a systematic approach and that the health dimension—the professional dimension—is brought on board to ensure that reasonable adjustments are undertaken where they can be. It is not enough for us just to hope that that happens. It needs to be built into the system.

In response to this group of amendments, I hope the Minister will be in a position to tell us how the Government intend to ensure that there is a systematic approach to this, that it is not left to luck and that people who need their situations to be explained and put over professionally get that opportunity. It is clearly going to be very difficult indeed for the system by itself to have the expertise that professionals would have at hand, and we need to make sure that all the information is fed in so that everyone has a fair crack of the whip.

[Lord Boswell of Aynho]

My Lords, it is very difficult to add anything to the most eloquent remarks of the noble Baroness, Lady Hollins, and I do not intend to do so. As I have already mentioned to the Committee, I have some experience of the Conservative Disability Group, but the remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, prompt me to add two more thoughts to the pot. I should declare that I am not a professional in this area. I am fairly familiar with disability law, and of course the Minister is absolutely right that reasonable adjustments are an obligation and, indeed, an equality duty within the Equality Act for the public sector.

There are two other considerations the Minister needs to remind his officials to make sure are properly considered. One is the need at all times for public officials to act reasonably in administrative law and the second is for people, who are in a sense, when they go into an assessment, undergoing some kind of trial process, to be treated according to the laws of natural justice. The Minister has to take this trio and convince the Committee not only of his sincerity, but of his ability to effect the means by which they are delivered.

--- Later in debate ---

There are additional checks and balances. If a claimant is unhappy with specific work, search and availability requirements, they will be able to ask for another adviser to review them. This happens now under the jobseeker’s allowance, and there will be an appropriate review procedure under universal credit as well. Where a claimant does fail to meet a requirement, sanctions will not apply where the claimant demonstrates that there is a good reason. In considering whether a claimant has a good reason for a failure, decision-makers must consider any relevant matter raised by the claimant. So if the claimant submits relevant information about their health condition that has prevented them from complying with a requirement, the decision-maker must take that into account.

[Lord Wigley]

I am very grateful. Would the system that he is describing take on board the fact that the claimant may not be in a position to express, have the confidence to express, or know how to express the reasons that he or she cannot make that case? Therefore there is the need for access to professional advice.

[Lord Freud]

As I said in the previous debate, taking on board advice from a claimant’s own medical practitioner and other sources is part of the process here. To pick up the point raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Hollins, for claimants in the work preparation group, we intend to carry forward the current system of home visits to claimants with mental health problems to ensure we understand why they fail to comply. Of course, all sanction decisions can be referred to an independent tribunal, helping ensure we get it right. But equally, we intend to move away from extensive—and ultimately incomplete—lists and regulations. It is impractical for legislation to catch all the relevant matters that may arise in every single case of non-compliance, and the lengthy JSA regulations—which have matters that must and may be taken into account in determining whether a claimant has good reason—are not actually helpful for decision-makers or claimants.

To pick up the point from the noble Baronesses, Lady Meacher and Lady Hollins, on the work capability assessment, we do rely on the WCA and therefore Professor Harrington’s review is critical to help us get it right. Claimants should be placed only in a work preparation or a work-related requirements group where they are capable of meeting these very basic requirements. Once in those groups, clients will need to take account of their health condition. They are designed to take on board all the available evidence on that individual.

The noble Baroness, Lady Hollins, asked what happened with the Harrington review. As noble Lords know, we took on board the entirety of Malcolm Harrington’s first recommendations. The main thing was to empower decision makers to make the right decisions. In response to the question asked by the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, we have introduced a mental health co-ordinator in each district who has an outward-facing role working with mental health services and an inward-facing role developing the knowledge and confidence of advisers. The other area of Professor Harrington’s advice that was taken up was on improving our communications so that claimants understand the process and the result and are able to add additional evidence if they need to. In response, we have also made improvements in mental health with mental function champions across the network at Atos. Professor Harrington is currently undertaking his second independent review. We are waiting for it, and we will then look very hard at what to do with those recommendations. We will take them very seriously.

Turning to Amendment 51E on work-focused health-related assessments, the noble Baroness, Lady Hollins, will know that these assessments have been suspended because they were not working as intended. We will re-evaluate, as I have already said. I have already offered to write to the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, on care leavers, and I will add that topic to that letter.

I do not want noble Lords to feel that I am being negative in this area, and it is over-easy to think that I am. I have valued the contributions noble Lords have made. I do not see these things as appropriate for the Bill, but I am clearly going to consider deeply the points that have been made today with the aim of applying them appropriately as we implement the system. I value what noble Lords have said. It resonates. We need to get it right. On that basis, I ask the noble Baroness to withdraw her amendment.