2 February 2005 - Johnson announces reform of Incapacity Benefits to replace “sickness” culture with work focus
The biggest change in incapacity benefits since they were created was unveiled today by Work and Pensions Secretary Alan Johnson.
The reformed benefit will provide enhanced financial security for the most severely sick and disabled as well as more money than now for all those claimants who take part in work focused activity. Those who completely refuse to engage – failing even to attend interviews – will receive JobSeekers Allowance rates.
This reform will build on the extension of the successful Pathways to Work initiative which recognises that nine out of ten people who go onto IB want to work again and provides the help and support to enable them to do so. It will also involve more active support from employers, GPs and the NHS to help people get back to work when fall ill.
Alan Johnson said:
“We know that a million people on Incapacity Benefits want to work. So we must end the stifling of ambition caused by a system which for too long has assumed that all people with health conditions and disabilities are condemned not to work and instead live in isolation as passive recipients of benefits.
“It doesn't make sense to have a system that lumps everyone together - treating in exactly the same way the person with back pain and the person with terminal cancer. And for people with conditions that the right support can make more manageable, we should be rewarding steps towards work instead of the length of time on benefits.
“Our radical reform should mean that sickness benefit represents a pause in people’s working life, not a full stop. Our agenda is one of rights and responsibilities: we can expect more of people as long as we safeguard their right to financial security and expand their opportunities to engage with the labour market.
"With unemployment at record low and 600,000 vacancies in the economy we have a golden opportunity to tackle this problem and help one million people achieve their own aspiration of staying in or getting back to work.”
The strategy makes clear that benefit reforms will only work if they are part of a much bigger programme of change – involving the role of employers, GPs and full civil rights for disabled people. The key elements of benefit reforms for new claimants are:
- The name ‘Incapacity Benefit’ will be scrapped so that people are not immediately classed as incapable.
- Initially people will be put on a holding benefit paid at JSA rates, accessing the new reformed benefits only once they have been through a proper medical assessment. This will take place within 12 weeks, and be accompanied by a new Employment and Support Assessment.
- Two new benefits “Rehabilitation Support Allowance” and “Disability and Sickness Allowance” will differentiate between those who have a severe condition and those with more potentially more manageable conditions.
- The majority who have more manageable conditions will receive the “Rehabilitation Support Allowance”. It will offer everyone a basic benefit at JSA levels (about £55), but then ensure that they can build up to get more than today’s long-term IB rate by giving them extra money, first for attending Work Focused Interviews, and then also for taking steps to get them back towards the labour market.
- Those with the most severe conditions will automatically receive more money than now on the “Disability and Sickness Allowance”. They will be able to volunteer to take up employment support.
- All of this will be built on the foundations of our successful Pathways to Work programme which is being extended to a third of the country on the road to making this a national offer.
Notes for editors
- The new proposals will be piloted and consulted on with all key stakeholders including disabled people themselves. Our goal is that key elements will be in place for new claimants by 2008. Existing claimants should also be able to take advantage of elements of the extra support on offer and the new system.
- Placing employment advisers in GP's surgeries will also be piloted, as the doctor's surgery becomes the first step back to work not the route to a life of inactivity.
- The Chancellor announced in the Pre Budget Report that the Pathways to Work approach would be extended to a third of the country, covering 900,000 people on Incapacity Benefits. This will be rolled out over 14 new pilots by October 2006. This will extend the scheme originally rolled out to seven pilot areas starting in October 2003.
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