The new deal that helps the disabled to get back to work

Despite the odd bad day, which we all have, most of us recognise that almost everyone is better off in a job than out of a job.

We also know that most people want to work. As Minister for Disabled People, just about everyone I talk to tells me they’d rather have a job — one right for them — than be unemployed and trapped on benefits.

When incapacity benefits were introduced, society had low expectations about what the system could and would do. Many of those who started claiming between the late 1970s and the mid-1990s, as employment in some traditional industries collapsed, saw this as the end of their working lives.

While there has been a fall in the number of people moving on to incapacity benefits over the last decade, we’ve also seen a number of significant changes — claimants now come from different places, claim for different reasons and have different experiences of employment and welfare. The length of time they remain on benefits is also changing.

More importantly, attitudes towards disabled people, those with severe health conditions, and amongst disabled people themselves have changed.

When incapacity benefits were introduced, society was guilty of viewing disability in terms of what a person couldn’t do. As a result, we had a benefits system with low expectations of what people could achieve, leading people to hold ever-lower expectations of themselves.

Now, we focus on what people can do. We’ve listened to disabled people and we’ve got the message: people want independence and they want to work to achieve it. Most people on incapacity benefits don’t want to be there; they may well suffer in the long term from being there, and given the opportunity and support most can, and want to, get back into work.

Of course this makes sense, because being in a job is good for you: it’s not just better for the economy, it’s also better for the individual. Work is the best route out of long-term poverty, enables greater independence and, in many cases, can even improve your health and well-being.

There’s a clear link between benefit dependency and poverty. Of those constituencies with the largest numbers of incapacity benefit claimants, around half contain pockets of the most severe deprivation in Britain today.

So we want a benefits system that supports those who are disabled or who fall ill, but which also actively works to get them back into employment. We want to end the social injustice suffered by those caught in the benefits trap and by doing so promote real equality of opportunity for all. We are aiming to help people back into work and reduce the numbers on incapacity benefit by one million.

How are we going to do it? Our Welfare Reform Bill, which is currently going through parliament, sets out the legislation needed to achieve it. It’s not about cutting benefits, it’s about growing opportunities.

We’re overhauling incapacity benefits, starting with the name: why label people ‘incapable’ when what we’re aiming to do is enable? We are going to phase in a new Employment and Support Allowance, which will simplify the current system and replace the old incapacity benefits.

Reflecting the experiences of those who have already benefited from programmes, such as Pathways to Work, we’ll be introducing a growing range of individually tailored support.

At the same time, any claimants with severe health conditions or disabilities will automatically be paid the allowance at a higher rate, with no conditions attached.

In support of these reforms, we’re also reviewing the assessment process that people face when they claim incapacity benefits for the first time. The new process will be better at assessing the impact of physical impairments and mental health conditions on an individual’s potential to work.

It will determine what an individual cannot do, but then go on to assess what they can, and will be as fair, robust and simple as possible. It’s not about forcing people to take on jobs that aren’t appropriate. It is about giving everyone real opportunities and access to work.

The government has also been tackling discrimination against disabled people in the workplace through the strengthening of the Disability Discrimination Act, and there are more measures and greater protections still being implemented.

However, as well as changing the attitudes and behaviours of employers, we need to help potential employees currently on incapacity benefits to gain access to the job opportunities that already exist.

Changes to incapacity benefits are just one part of our programme of welfare reform. Once people return to work, there’ll be more support, for longer, and greater access to training to help people achieve their full potential. We’re improving the process of applying for benefits and considering how best to involve health care professionals, particularly GPs, in assisting people to remain in or return to work. We’re looking to reduce the number of people moving on to benefits in the first place by creating healthier workplaces and providing better access to occupational health support.

The government’s welfare reforms are all about supporting and encouraging people to get the jobs we know they really want. The new legislation that has been bought forward is intended to make that happen. Helping people off incapacity benefits and back into work is better for individuals, businesses and the wider community. And delivering real equality for disabled people is at the heart of that process.

Anne McGuire is Minister for Disabled People.