Work Capability Assessment Consultation

Marion Fellows Excerpts

Tuesday 5th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mel Stride]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. Just to clarify, there are no plans on the part of the Government to make any changes to the way in which PIP operates—and she did refer specifically to PIP. On the broader point, which is an important point about the interaction between my Department and the Scottish Government, I assure her that I have written today to my Scottish counterpart to open my door to whatever discussions they wish to have. The Minister for Disabled People will also be having his regular engagement with the Scottish Government next week.

[Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)]

I am almost tempted to say another week, another consultation. Disabled charities come to me regularly with real doubts and worries about the way disabled people are being treated. I visited Project Search in my constituency last week. It was wonderful and inspiring—they practically had to throw me out the door. It is a programme that takes in young people, often from college, with severe disabilities and learning issues and gets them into work and then continues to support them. The support that is offered once people get into work is crucial to the success of any programme the Government undertake, and how they treat these people is vital. What is the Government going to change? How are they going to change these work capability assessments to benefit the recipients, and how will they treat the people that they force into them?

[Mel Stride]

I believe that my hon. Friend the Minister for Disabled People will be meeting the hon. Lady very shortly. That is in the diary, so those matters can be discussed in greater detail then. Specifically, she asks what support we will be providing. It will be exactly the kind of support to which she has just alluded. There will be universal support to help train and place individuals in work, and it will stay with those individuals for up to 12 months to make sure that they get the support to hold down that job.