Incapacity Benefit (Hansard, 13 March 2002)

§ Mr. Roy
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how he expects the incapacity benefit case load to change as a result of the fixed-term claim. [37079]

§ Mr. Nicholas Brown
We are transforming the welfare system from a passive organisation paying out benefits to an active system that fights poverty, creates opportunity and helps people become self sufficient and independent.
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For people of working age we are taking a single approach to work and benefits to make work pay, make work possible and to support those who cannot work. This service will be delivered through Jobcentre Plus-a personal service with one goal: helping people of working age to live independent lives.
People making new or repeat claims to Incapacity Benefit in Jobcentre Plus Pathfinder offices are required to attend a work-focused meeting. These meetings provide disabled people with the opportunity to discuss with their personal adviser the help, benefits and opportunities available to them. We are ensuring that no-one is written off, or allowed to write themselves off. But we will not force people with disabilities into work and people who are eligible for Incapacity Benefit will receive it.

§ Mr. Chope
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy for the general practitioner case notes of claimants for incapacity benefit to be used as evidence in support of such claims. [40787]

§ Mr. Nicholas Brown
People who claim a state incapacity benefit will at some point have their entitlement reviewed under the personal capability assessment (PCA). A lack of good quality information about a customer's medical condition can in some cases mean that seriously ill people, who should be completely exempted from the PCA procedures, are not identified as early as they could be. We also believe that better quality medical information would enable more customers to be correctly assessed under the PCA without the need for a medical examination.
Currently the customer's own doctor, usually their general practitioner (GP) will be asked to provide the Department's medical officer with a short factual report or a special statement containing clinical details. Working in collaboration with the Department's contractor, SchlumbergerSema Medical Services, we are currently piloting an alternative evidence gathering procedure in the Sheffield and Rotherham areas. With the permission of customers and GPs in the pilot areas, we are testing whether using GP medical records will provide the Department's medical officer with better factual information to advise the decision maker. We will be carefully evaluating this pilot to see whether there are benefits in terms of improved customer service and more robust and accurate decision making. The evaluation will be used to inform any future decisions on the use of GP casenotes in relation to benefit assessments.

§ Mr. Chope
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many doctors are employed(a) full-time and (b) part-time to conduct medical examinations of claimants for incapacity benefit. [40782]

§ Mr. Nicholas Brown
There is an available pool of 179 full-time doctors and 852 part-time doctors to carry out medical examinations for customers claiming incapacity benefit.