Blunkett brushes off incapacity benefit reform fears

19 May 05
Work and Pensions Secretary David Blunkett has dismissed claims that the government's proposed welfare reform package could punish the genuinely sick or disabled by forcing them back to work.

20 May 2005

Work and Pensions Secretary David Blunkett has dismissed claims that the government's proposed welfare reform package could punish the genuinely sick or disabled by forcing them back to work.

Blunkett said the public should 'not believe for a minute that the reform of the welfare state for the twenty-first century is somehow punitive — it is not'.

The programme outlined three key welfare reform Bills, including existing plans to reform incapacity benefit, which is paid to 2.7 million people at a cost of £7bn annually.

The government plans to scrap IB and replace it with two benefits. Claimants with severe disabilities will be moved to a disability and sickness allowance, with no requirement to seek work. But others would be given a rehabilitation support allowance, which will pay out less to claimants who are not actively seeking jobs.

Opposition parties, backbench MPs and lobby groups have all attacked the plan. Critics claim it is merely a cost-cutting exercise and argue that compelling people to seek work could punish genuine claimants with 'borderline' conditions and older recipients.

Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern, said: 'Many older people want to get back into work but the system must be flexible enough to accommodate individual health needs and circumstances. Those who are unsuccessful in finding work should not be penalised.'

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the new Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary, claimed that 1 million people who want to work were still 'trapped' on IB.

He urged the government to 'get a grip' on broader welfare reform after figures published this week revealed a rise in the number of people claiming benefit.

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