Disabled People (Hansard, 23 March 1998)

§ 6. Mr. Keith Simpson
What the benefit status of people with disabilities who take part in the welfare-to-work scheme will be. [34047]

§ Mr. Denham
The Government's new deal for disabled people will be offered to people with disabilities or long-term illnesses in receipt of the following out-of-work benefits: incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance and income support.

§ Mr. Simpson
I thank the Minister for that answer, but can he give the House an assurance that people with disabilities who participate in the Government's welfare-to-work programme will not lose any of their entitlements, especially if they are put on to the jobseeker's allowance?

§ Mr. Denham
Yes. Participation in the programme will be voluntary, but the House will recognise that the Government are implementing a strategy with several strands: we want to improve the quality of personal advice for disabled people who are seeking work; we want to tackle discrimination in the workplace; we want to make work pay—in last week's Budget, we announced the introduction of a tax credit for disabled people; and we want to reform the benefits system by, for example, introducing the 12-month linking rule for those on incapacity benefit.

§ Mr. Skinner
Does my hon. Friend agree that we do not need lectures from the Tories, whom we constantly had to fight during those tawdry years of Tory government to get disability legislation that would give equality to the 6 million disabled people in Britain? Will he also bear in mind the fact that the last thing we need from a Labour Government is a tax on disabled people's benefits? I was associated with the group Disability Rights Now in campaigning against the Tories. To prevent Downing 7 Street from being daubed with paint again, would not it be a good idea for the Prime Minister to stop inviting tinpot so-called music makers to No. 10 and instead to invite the disability rights people to discuss these important matters?

§ Mr. Denham
I can assure my hon. Friend that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has met organisations of and for disabled people to discuss welfare reform. I am sure that my hon. Friend welcomes the announced introduction of a disabled persons tax credit and that he will also recognise the importance of establishing the disability rights task force, which will lead to a disability rights commission and comprehensive and enforceable rights for disabled people.

§ Mrs. Browning
Is the Minister aware that there are types of disability whereby people fail to find work because of basic communication problems, despite their intellectual ability and training or higher education qualifications to do that work? What plans does he have to build on the previous Government's piloting of the mentoring system, under which such people had someone alongside them, both at interview and in the workplace, not to do training or the job, but to deal with communication difficulties?

§ Mr. Denham
We are anxious to explore a variety of ways in which we can enable disabled people who want to work to get into work. This Government—unlike the previous Government—have allocated £195 million from the windfall tax to fund a series of innovative schemes to consider the different ways in which the barriers that disabled people face in getting into work can be overcome. Bids are being received for the first 20 of those additional schemes. The hon. Lady will, I am sure, be keen to see which schemes have been put forward by the wide variety of voluntary organisations and others who have been involved in that process.