Incapacity Benefit (Income Support) Reassessment Information Event For MPs/MLAs

Good Evening everyone.  I am delighted to be here in my role as Minister for the Department for Social Development to talk to you about Incapacity Benefit Reassessment, and to ensure that, as elected representatives, you are kept fully informed about this important exercise.

This event builds further on the extensive communication programme that my Department has already undertaken on Incapacity Benefit Reassessment, since it began in February of this year.

The communication programme has covered political representatives, the voluntary and community sector and the Northern Ireland media.  I know the events to date have been well received and I hope you find today’s equally valuable.

I understand that officials from the Social Security Agency have, over the summer months, delivered a number of briefings and presentations on Incapacity Benefit Reassessment to help prepare, inform and enable constituency office staff to respond to enquiries from constituents.  These events took place across Northern Ireland, and feedback on them has been extremely positive.

The White Paper: “Raising Expectations and Increasing Support: Reforming Welfare for the Future”, published in December 2008, first set out the intention to reassess existing Incapacity Benefit customers using the Work Capability Assessment.  The policy, which we can all sign up to, was designed to put in place active support structures to help benefit claimants in their search for work, whilst addressing deficiencies in welfare provision which locked claimants into a cycle of worklessness.  

In Northern Ireland, Incapacity Benefit Reassessment will directly impact on 76,000 people and is part of a much wider Welfare Reform package, aimed at delivering a 21^st century welfare system that will be taken forward by my Department.

There is wide political consensus that the benefit system needs to be reformed.  Across Great Britain and NorthernIreland people have been trapped in the spiral of worklessness and despondency, often over several generations.  For the vast majority of people who can work, being in employment is the best possible option for escaping poverty and being able to play a full role in society.

Everyone should have the opportunity to work, and people with an illness and disability should be provided with the help and support necessary for them to engage in appropriate work, if they are able.  Of course there will always be people who will need our support and we will always provide this.

Many parts of the current benefits system however do not give people that opportunity, and nowhere is this more starkly illustrated than the current Incapacity Benefit regime – exemplified by the fact that across the UK, someone claiming Incapacity Benefit for more than two years is more likely to die, or to retire, than they ever are to find work again.  In Northern Ireland over 77% of Incapacity Benefit customers have been on the benefit for over 4 years.

The current Incapacity Benefit regime does not entail the same level of work-focused intervention and support as the Employment and Support Allowance regime and we need to move customers from the “inactive” Incapacity Benefit regime to the “active” Employment and Support Allowance regime.  The very name of Incapacity Benefit sends a signal that a person is incapable and there is nothing that can be done to help them into work – this cannot be the case and is not sustainable for the future.  

Instead of being labelled “incapable and abandoned”, for the many people who can work, the reassessment will be a starting point of a “journey back towards the workplace”.  The Incapacity Benefit reassessment will focus on what an individual can do despite their health condition, rather than simply what they can’t. Those with the most severe disability or health condition will not be expected to undertake any work-related activity and will get the extra support they need and are entitled to.

For many people, reassessment will mean a major milestone in transforming theirlives and I fully appreciate and understand that the reassessment journey will be a worrying and confusing time for many existing Incapacity Benefit customers in NorthernIreland.  It will particularly impact on those who do not qualify for Employment and Support Allowance and have to claim another benefit such as Jobseeker’s Allowance.

I know that the Social Security Agency has been extremely proactive in addressing these concerns, developing a Reassessment customer journey which takes account of, and meets the unique challenges facing us here in Northern Ireland.  We are also overseeing a slower ramp-up process than that being operated in Great Britain, to ensure that the correct processes are in place and fully tested before full reassessment capacity is reached. This will be discussed in greater detail later in the event.

We are joined this evening by representatives from Atos Healthcare, the medical provider who carries out the Work Capability Assessment for the Social Security Agency. The Work Capability Assessment is an integral and important part of the customer journey, later Dr Angela Graham, the Atos Medical Manager for NorthernIreland will talk you through the Work Capability Assessment, followed by the opportunity to ask questions.

I am aware that the Work Capability Assessment has come in for some adverse comments in Great Britain, similar to the approach taken by the Department of Work and Pensions, ProfessorMalcolmHarrington was asked to conduct an independent review of the Work Capability Assessment for NorthernIreland.

Professor Harrington’s report for Northern Ireland was laid before the Assembly yesterday ,it acknowledged that my Department had responded positively to his recommendations, which were similar to Great Britain and, with the steps being taken, he was reassured that the fairness and effectiveness of the Work Capacity Assessment in NorthernIreland will improve further.  It is also very pleasing to note in his report, the very positive comments he makes about the high standard of decision–making in this area within the Social Security Agency.

However, this is by no means the end of the scrutiny of the Work Capability Assessment – indeed it is just the beginning and ProfessorHarrington has agreed to include NorthernIreland in his work for year 2 and that report will be laid before the Assembly in due course.

We are all well aware of the difficult financial climate today and some may question the timing of this Incapacity Benefit Reassessment exercise during such economic uncertainty.  We do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past, where a previous downturn in the economy resulted in people being written off as unable to work, and left to stagnate on inactive benefits with no route back to the workforce when the economy recovered.

By focusing more on what people can do rather than what they can’t, we expect to see many more people start the journey to work and we intend to offer them the support they need on the way. I do not believe that it is acceptable to write people off to a lifetime on benefits because they have a health condition or disability.  Many people with health conditions are able to sustain and progress in employment.  I fully acknowledge changing minds and attitudes is much harder than simply changing processes, however, that is the challenge we face.

The benefit system as it stands needs to be changed. We need to reduce benefit dependency whilst ensuring that those who are most in need of support, receive it. This cannot be ignored and must be addressed.  I can assure you that tackling these issues along with ensuring people in Northern Ireland are fully supported through this process is a top priority for my Department.”

Thank you.