Clause 2
Welfare Reform Bill
6:15 pm
John Robertson (PPS (Dr Kim Howells, Minister of State), Foreign & Commonwealth Office; Glasgow North West, Labour)
These are emotive amendments and the issues are always difficult to deal with, but they are extremely important. The amendments are possibly more important than any others I have spoken to today. They are in my name, that of my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries and Galloway (Mr. Brown) and others and their aim is to include in the support group patients undergoing cancer treatment and those with terminal illnesses. We want those undergoing active treatment to be included in the support group for a minimum of 12 months.
At this point, I want to thank Macmillan Cancer Support and many others who have assisted, including the Disability Benefits Consortium. There are too many names to read out, but I particularly want to thank Macmillan Cancer Support, not simply on a personal level for the help that it has given many members of my family who unfortunately had cancer but for its help in drawing up these amendments.
I welcome the inclusion of terminally-ill people in the support group and the commitment to achieving that through paper-based assessment rather than requiring a face-to-face medical assessment. Not all patients undergoing active debilitating cancer treatments are included in the support group. I also welcome the inclusion of the majority of people undergoing chemotherapy treatment in the support group. However, I am concerned that the regulations as drafted do not cover all patients undergoing active seriously debilitating cancer treatment. In particular, I feel that it would be of value to ask the Minister whether the Government intend to treat patients undergoing oral chemotherapy as having limited capability for work as they are not included in the draft regulations on certain persons to be treated as having limited capability for work-related activity.
Will patients undergoing radiotherapy be treated as having limited capability for work-related activity? Will patients undergoing or recovering from major surgery for a serious or life-threatening illness, such as cancer, be treated as having limited capability for work-related activity? It is not clear for how long people undergoing active treatment would be included in the support group, so it would be valuable to clarify for how long people would be included in the support group before being subject to review. The wording of the draft regulations suggests that they would be included during chemotherapy treatment and it is felt that 12 months to allow for several months of treatment and a period of recovery is a reasonable fixed period after which to review support group status for these claimants. It may be helpful to note that our support for inclusion in the support group for a fixed period of 12 months of someone undergoing or recovering from chemotherapy or radiotherapy or major surgery is based on advice from clinician Professor Jane Maher, chief medical officer at Macmillan Cancer Support and consultant clinical oncologist at Mount Vernon cancer centre at Hillingdon hospital, where she has worked for the past 20 years with Dr. Gareth Tuckwell, medical director of Hospice in the Weald, Kent and a member also of the Macmillan board of trustees.
Further evidence, if it is needed, of the distress caused by the current poor implementation of discretion, comes from Macmillan benefit advisers who have encountered a number of cases in which Jobcentre Plus staff have imposed inappropriate attendance requirements or conducted focus interviews with seriously ill patients. I believe that Macmillan has provided the DWP with some case studies. I shall read out only one so that members understand its train of thought.
In September 2005, a Macmillan benefits adviser in the west of Scotland was advising a terminally ill client attending a hospice and receiving disability living allowance under special rules. The client needed to make a new claim for IB so the adviser telephoned the Glasgow Jobcentre Plus office on their behalf to say that the client was bed bound, but the official refused to waive the interview. Instead, the official sent out a visiting officer. On arrival at the hospice, it quickly became obvious to the officer that the client was seriously ill, and unfortunately the client has since died.
Amendment No. 140 concerns fast-tracking those with a terminal illness. The aim is for all people with a terminal illness, including new claimants, to be fast-tracked to the support group through a swift and simple paper-based assessment. There are concerns about the draft regulations. We welcome the inclusion of terminally ill people in the support group and the commitment to achieving this through paper-based assessment rather than face-to-face medical assessments, as is currently the case. However, it is not clear whether terminally ill people will be able to access the support group quickly.
Furthermore, it is not clear from the draft regulations and support material whether the DWP intends to fast-track the claims of terminally ill people. We feel that that would be valuable in clarifying certain matters. For instance, how long will a new, terminally ill claimant have to wait before being included in the support group? As stated previously, we feel that one month is a realistic and appropriate length of time. They should not have to spend 13 weeks on a low-rate JSA. Furthermore, how long will an existing claimant, receiving the work-related activity component who then becomes terminally ill, have to wait before being included in the support group?
I know that my hon. Friend the Minister is sympathetic to my amendments and my concerns, and I ask him on this occasion to accept them, or at least to draft his own to satisfy the points that I have raised.