Clause 9
Welfare Reform Bill
11:45 am
Danny Alexander (Shadow Minister and Disability Spokesperson, Work & Pensions; Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendmentNo. 152, in page 7, line 10, leave out first ‘is’ and insert
‘and such other matters as the Secretary of State may by regulation prescribe’.
I understand that there will be a clause stand part debate, so my remarks on the amendment will be brief. Its purpose is to probe the Government’s thinking about the test of limited capability for work-related activity. The regulations make it clear that exemption from conditionality—in other words, from membership of the support group—will be a purely medical decision, rather than one that introduces any other, for example, social factors. It will be a purely medical decision based on an assessment of whether someone meets any one of the 46 descriptors.
Other factors might be worthy of consideration, and it would be useful if the Minister explained in more detail why the exemption from conditionality for the support group is based solely on medical criteria. What is the conception underlying the way in which the support component has been created? The amendment seeks to introduce a power to allow other factors,such as caring responsibilities, to be taken into account. Could they be introduced to decisions about the support component? Although they are outsidethe descriptors, the amendment would allow for the introduction of a social model and take account ofthe wider barriers to employment that people in the support group might face. If such factors cannot be taken into account in considering someone’s entitlement to membership of the support group, will the regulations ensure that other matters such as caring responsibilities can be considered when deciding whether someone entitled to the work-related activity component will be subject to conditionality, whether that be membership of the support group or work-related activity?