§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to exempt carers from the contributions requirement in respect of incapacity benefit. [58578]
§ Mr. TimmsCarers currently have to pay a minimum amount of National Insurance contributions at some point prior to the claim, in order to qualify for Incapacity Benefit. This will continue to be the case in the future. However, as we made clear in our consultation paper "A New Contract for Welfare: Support for Disabled People" we are planning to modify the proposed new contribution test so that carers who received Invalid Care Allowance are not disadvantaged because they were unable to pay contributions due to their caring responsibilities in one of the two tax years before the claim.