§ Mr. Pawseyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether he will estimate the gross cost of abolishing the therapeutic earnings limit for invalidity pensioners and explain how the main costs would arise;
382W(2) whether he will estimate how many people with earned income would be eligible for the invalidity pension if the therapeutic earnings limit was abolished;
(3) whether the abolition of the therapeutic earnings limit would result in extra income tax revenue and in a reduction of public expenditure on means-tested benefits.
§ Mr. RossiThe "therapeutic earnings limit" is not an earnings limit in the normal sense of the phrase. It is an indication of the amount of work which an invalidity benefit claimant, in the course of his treatment and with the approval of his doctor, may do without being regarded as capable of work and thus not entitled to invalidity benefit.
The total abolition of the limit would be incompatible with payment of a benefit based on incapacity for work. The numbers of people affected, the costs and the effect on public expenditure would depend on how the independent adjudicating authorities would decide an invalidity benefit claim from someone who was able to earn. Estimates are not, therefore, possible.