WELFARE REFORM AND PENSIONS BILL

Clause 47: New claimants of Income Support, Incapacity Benefit, Housing and Council Tax Benefit, Widows and Widowers Benefit, Severe Disablement and Invalid Care Allowance, who are of working age, will have to undergo a work-focused interview. The purpose of this is to assess the employment potential of the claimant and to provide advice on services available. This process has to be undertaken before eligibility for benefit is considered. There is no obligation to seek employment, although claimants could mistakenly infer this from the nature of the interview. Furthermore, existing claimants may be called for interview, as a condition of continued entitlement.

The UKFSMHA is concerned that such interviews may cause unnecessary distress to service users, before and during the interview. Moreover, this may deter people from attending interviews, thereby causing their claims to be suspended, which will cause further distress and disruption to their lives. There is no adequate provision made to support people for whom such an interview may cause difficulties. We therefore suggest that the claimant should have the right for an advocate to attend or to be able to have a medical exemption from this process provided by their GP or consultant, if they are likely to suffer further mental distress. Moreover, no claimant suffering mental distress should be submitted to an interview without the consent of their consultant. There should be provision of an information and support service concentrating on making access to employment easier, rather than access to benefits more difficult.


Clause 50: The "all works test" currently used to assess claimants will be renamed the "personal capability assessment", whereby further information will be asked about the claimant's employment capabilities, in order to advise the claimant on employment potential, support and services.

This may confuse claimants, insofar as their incapability based on their illness will be weighed against their own capabilities. The UKFSMHA welcomes the idea that claimants suffering from mental distress can seek advice on opportunities and help but this should be available at any time, at the claimant's own request. The assessment of employment capabilities can seldom be accurate for people with experience of mental distress. Few tests can evaluate the problems of stigma within the workplace nor other conditions at work, which may contribute to further mental distress. Moreover, such assessments are inappropriate, as they are likely to reinforce the claimants' negative thoughts about themselves.


Clause 51, 52 & 54: Incapacity Benefit for new claimants will only be paid where national insurance contributions have been actually paid in one of the last two tax years. This will effectively exclude carers not receiving invalid care allowance, those on very low wages and the long term unemployed with a previous long employment track record. Moreover, Incapacity Benefit will be reduced if the claimant is already in receipt of a pension over a certain amount. Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) will be abolished. (Continued)

The UKFSHA objects to the abolition of SDA and reductions for those with pensions. We suggest that there should be exemptions for carers, those recently unemployed but who have had a number of years of employment behind them and those whose wages are so low that they are below the national insurance threshold. To recognise the variable nature of mental distress experienced by many people, there should be greater flexibility within the benefits system. This would enable service users to work during periods when they can work and be able to safely rely on benefit when they cannot.

Clause 53: Incapacity Benefit will be extended to those with insufficient contributions, if incapacitated under the age of 20.

Given that the onset of mental illness is generally around the early twenties to late twenties and that many young people now enter higher education or undergo employment training before entering the workplace (and are, therefore, unlikely to have adequate NI contributions), we suggest that this should be extended to 30.

Clause 56: Disability Living Allowance will no longer be given for life but for an indefinite period.

We are opposed to this change and are concerned that it will cause uncertainty and anxiety to many claimants. Furthermore, this does not prevent claimants who feel they are no longer entitled to benefit from ceasing to claim and can be claimed by those who are in employment. Many service users are given their diagnosis "for life" and this benefit should be there to protect against the poverty and discrimination which such labelling brings.