§ Mr. Alan HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to maintain in being his panel of experts, or a subgroup of it, in order to monitor the effectiveness and appropriateness of the new medical test of incapacity for work and to advise on such modifications as may prove necessary.
§ Mr. ScottThe assessment panel was formed to help us construct incapacity scales to be used in the new medical test. We are still considering the procedures for monitoring and evaluating both the new benefit and the medical test of incapacity.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy to apply the Social Security (Sickness and Invalidity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance) Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations 1994 so as not to give discretion to refuse benefits on the grounds that a person is capable of work if he or she has undertaken work as a volunteer for fewer than 16 hours in the week in which it was performed; and if he will alter the regulations to make this clear.
§ Mr. ScottThe purpose of the regulations is to allow people who have been accepted as incapable of work for the purposes of sickness benefit, invalidity benefit or severe disablement allowance to do unpaid voluntary work of fewer than 16 hours in a week without losing benefit. We believe that they achieve this. They are not intended to override the usual medical control procedures which apply to all claims. If an adjudication officer decides, for other reasons, that a person is not incapable of work, it is clearly right that benefit can be withdrawn, notwithstanding the fact that a person is doing voluntary work. It is not our intention that people should lose benefit solely because they do such voluntary work, and this has been made clear in the guidance issued by the Benefits Agency.