Incapacity Benefit (Hansard, 19 June 1995)

§ 10. Lady Olga Maitland
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has had with regard to the incapacity benefit. [27609]

§ Mr. Hague
I have received a number of letters about incapacity benefit. This major reform was introduced because, when the nation's health was improving, the number of people claiming invalidity benefit doubled.

§ Lady Olga Maitland
I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Will he confirm that, last year, the Government spent £7 billion on invalidity benefit—more than the total sum spent on further and higher education? Will he therefore join me in welcoming the new incapacity 10 benefit, which will control that spending and ensure that only those who are genuinely incapable of working will receive benefit?

§ Mr. Hague
My hon. Friend is right. Reform of the system was vital to ensure that benefit went to the people that it was intended for. Without that reform, expenditure would have grown at an unsustainable rate. That is the reality that the Government have faced up to and which the Opposition are unwilling to confront.

§ Ms Eagle
Will the Minister comment on the distress that some of the questions on the incapacity benefit form are causing my constituents and many other people, especially questions such as "Does your bladder work?" for which they are asked to tick the yes or no box? Those who drew up the questionnaire did not even have the decency to put "Private and Confidential" on the top. My constituents are having to answer questions on things about which they feel embarrassed, knowing that there is not even any confidentiality in the processing of the form. Will the Minister reconsider the design of the form to take account of some of those difficulties?

§ Mr. Hague
The hon. Lady must recognise that the form is an opportunity for individuals to express their opinion about whether they are incapable of work and to give their own account of the difficulties that they face and any conditions that they have. Many of them will also have a medical examination to make a further assessment and many of them will find that their GPs are asked for their opinions. The hon. Lady would be the first to come to the House and complain if we did not ask individuals for their opinions. The information is not publicly available. There is no question of distributing such information in the public domain; she need have no worries about its confidentiality.

§ Mr. Luff
On the subject of the medical test, will my hon. Friend confirm that many GPs will welcome these changes? They will no longer have to act as gatekeepers for long-term incapacity benefit, a role which many of them greatly disliked.

§ Mr. Hague
My hon. Friend is right. Many GPs have welcomed the changes because, with the best will in the world, in the past, their decisions about benefit produced haphazard and inconsistent results. That was one of the principal problems with the old system, and we have removed it from the new system.

§ Mr. Bradley
Has the Minister received representations from individuals who are terminally ill or from groups which represent them? I am sure that he remembers accepting the Labour amendment which will allow the higher rate of incapacity benefit to be paid to terminally ill people at 28 weeks instead of 52 weeks. Will he ensure that all the regulations allow for all linked benefits, including the Christmas bonus, to be paid to terminally ill people at 28 weeks instead of their having to wait for 52 weeks, so that they receive the maximum amount of benefits at the earliest possible opportunity?

§ Mr. Hague
The hon. Gentleman knows that the exemptions from the test provide for people with severe conditions, which will include people who are terminally ill. If the hon. Gentleman thinks that any commitment that we have made is not being met, I will certainly look at it. At the moment, I am not aware of any such instances.