Clause 4
Welfare Reform Bill
9:10 am
Danny Alexander (Shadow Minister and Disability Spokesperson, Work & Pensions; Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, Liberal Democrat)
I am not sure that I can comment on what the Minister might like to do, but I would certainly like him to do that.
Moving on from that principle and rationale, there are some practical implications, particularly for people who are currently, or may in future be in receipt of the disability premium on grounds not related to incapacity. I would be grateful if the Minister clarified briefly the implications of that change. First, will people on means-tested employment and support allowance still be able to receive the disability premium if they qualify for it on other grounds, for instance, if they are registered blind or receiving disability living allowance? Currently, about four in 10 people on incapacity benefit also receive disability living allowance.
Secondly, will employment and support allowance recipients be entitled to a disability premium for their housing or council tax benefit? For employment and support allowance recipients, what will happen to the currently more favourable treatment for people receiving the disability premium such as access to linking rules in relation to benefit, being able to study full-time—returning to a debate we had earlier in Committee—and having a higher earnings disregard, which is £20 rather than £5?
The last question I should like the Minister to address is: will people on other benefits such as means-tested jobseeker’s allowance, or carers or lone parents on income support—in other words, those not in receipt of ESA or IB at the moment, or ESA in the future—still be able to receive the disability premium? In other words, will it still exist for those other classes of benefit recipient? I would be grateful if the Minister clarified those matters.