HL Deb 27 July 1998 vol 592 c162WA
Lord Higgins

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the article on page 10 of the Financial Times of Thursday 9 July anticipating a statement by the Secretary of State for Social Security to the House of Commons on the subject of pilot projects to help the disabled was the result of either an official briefing or a leak. [HL2741]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Social Security (Baroness Hollis of Heigham)

The article referred to followed a routine ministerial briefing and did not anticipate a statement in the House of Commons. The article in question contained no new announcement of government policy. It covered the introduction, later in the year, of personal adviser pilots under the New Deal for Disabled People; and our plans to pilot benefit changes to help disabled people who want to work. Parliament was already aware of these initiatives.