Social Security

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 4:11 pm on 25 October 2001.

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Photo of Alistair Darling Alistair Darling The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 4:11, 25 October 2001

I very much hope to catch your eye later in the debate, Mr. Deputy Speaker, but I want to point out now that no history of incapacity benefit that starts in 1995 can possibly be complete. The total case load of incapacity benefit is far too high, and to a large extent that is because a very large number of people went on to the then invalidity benefit in the 1980s. The problem was that those people were given no help or advice to return to work; the then Tory Government simply dumped them on that benefit to disguise unemployment. If we are going to have a history lesson, let us have a complete history lesson.