Welfare Reform and Incapacity Benefit — 22 Nov 2005 at 18:49

I beg to move,

That this House is extremely concerned that the Government is failing to tackle welfare reform despite promises to do so; recognises that the pensions system is in crisis; notes that the Prime Minister believes the Child Support Agency is not suited to carry out the task that it has been given; believes that the New Deal has failed to deliver; notes that 116,000 more people are claiming incapacity benefit than in 1997 despite the Government's pledge to reduce the number; is deeply disturbed that the Incapacity Benefit Green Paper, which was due to be published in the summer and then the autumn, will not now be published until January; believes that this is due to continuing conflict between the Prime Minister and the Department for Work and Pensions on the desired content of the Paper; and calls on the Government finally to deal with the increasingly urgent need for welfare reform, for the benefit of users of the system and all taxpayers.

I beg to move, To leave out from "House" to the end of the Question, and to add instead thereof:

"welcomes the Government's consistent commitment since 1997 to pursue welfare reform to create an active, enabling welfare state where rights match responsibilities; supports the recent publication of the Principles of Welfare Reform, which builds on the foundations laid out in A New Contract for Welfare, published in 1998 and the Department for Work and Pensions' Five Year Strategy of February 2005; commends the Government's achievements in helping 2.1 million children out of absolute poverty since 1997; recognises the success of the New Deals, through which over 1.2 million people have moved into work; notes that new claims for incapacity benefit have been cut by one third since 1997; further recognises the importance of the National Pensions Debate in creating a dialogue with the public and building a consensus on pensions reform; further welcomes the progress made on tackling disability discrimination, opening doors for disabled people to remain in or return to work; in contrast, condemns the shameful record of the Opposition who spent more on administering the Child Support Agency than they paid out in maintenance and who allowed those on unemployment benefit to hit three million twice whilst also trebling the numbers on incapacity benefits between 1979 and 1997, costing the taxpayer billions and condemning millions of people to a life of benefit dependency."

Question put, That the original words stand part of the Question:-

The House divided: Ayes 232, Noes 309.

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