Clause 1
Welfare Reform Bill
11:00 am
David Ruffley (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; Bury St Edmunds, Conservative)
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. He and I have been speaking to the same outside groups, and briefings that I have received from them indicate that they are waiting with great anticipation for his contribution. I shall not pre-empt the argument for fear of being out of order and detaining the Committee on this clause, but we should debate the point.
If I may speak parenthetically, one of the issues that was flagged up in the Green Paper was on that point—reform of statutory sick pay and the issue of early intervention. Intervention at the early stage of a claim is absolutely right, but quite often the first two or three months of incapacity is not the first two or three months on incapacity benefit. Instead, it is the half year that a man or woman may have been on statutory sick pay—not in the benefits system, not having made a claim, but at home, ill, still being an employee of the company at which he or she may have suffered an accident, or having fallen out of regular work. With the greatest respect to the Government, the Bill does not say enough about what should happen at that stage of rehabilitation and of early intervention, before the benefits system kicks in. The Opposition are looking at it and the current debate will enlighten both our thinking and everyone’s. I am glad that the hon. Gentleman made the point and I look forward to his later amendments.
I have heard the CBI case. However—this may interest the Committee or it may not, but I am interested in it—