§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on the implications and operation of the new permitted work scheme; how many(a) gainers and (b) losers she estimates there are (i) in this scheme and (ii) the previous therapeutic earnings arrangements; and if he will make a statement. [56588]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownWe consulted widely on the permitted work rules for people receiving incapacity benefits and the new arrangements which took effect from 8 April have been generally welcomed by disability organisations.
We want to give people on these benefits the opportunity to ease their way back into work without it affecting their benefit. Under the old rules, people had to show that the work would be beneficial to their medical condition. This was sometimes difficult to prove. The new rules help to open up employment opportunities for people of working age claiming a benefit because of their illness or disability. Both therapeutic work and the new permitted work rules allow people to try out some work without losing benefit.
We estimate that between 27,000 and 54,000 people receiving an incapacity benefit were undertaking therapeutic work at 8 April. People already doing therapeutic work when the rules changed can carry on doing it until April 2003, after which they can apply to do permitted work and will be subject to the new permitted work rules. These allow work for 16 hours a week on average and earnings of up to £66 a week for a 26 week period which can be extended for a further 26 weeks in certain circumstances.
We anticipate that the numbers doing permitted work will increase to around 70,000 in the first year of the new scheme and to around 110,000 over the next four years. In addition everyone receiving an incapacity benefit will be able to earn up to £20 a week indefinitely.
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Consultant Project details Cost (£) OCP1 Refocus on growth areas/key accounts and develop a flatter organisational structure/reduced level of management layers. 193,000 OCP1 A separate piece of work to reorganise Interwork into a more efficient, flatter structure better able to deliver WORKSTEP support and to enable more people to progress to unsupported jobs outside of Remploy. 137,000 Peter Whittaker/Russam GSM Refocusing packaging project to encourage growth of the business. 25,000 Ray Emptage Improve the business planning process and help Remploy become more market focused in looking at its skills and strengths/abilities. Involved an in-depth study of market places to identify new areas of business and strategies to strengthen market penetration. 87,000 Flaxman Bros Recommend site improvements at Barking. 10,000 Paul Clark Recycling project, developing a new area of business. 31,000 Life Cycle Solutions Recycling project, related to the above. 2,000 Deloitte Touche2 Improving financial control systems in furniture business. 6,000 Deloitte Touche2 Developing operational systems to support delivery of Interwork. 26,000 These changes, together with our other measures to support people in finding suitable work, will help more people to mov off benefits and into employment.