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Tories unveil benefit reform plan Tories unveil benefit reform plan
(about 2 hours later)
The Conservatives are to unveil plans for incapacity benefit reforms which would require all claimants to be assessed to prove they cannot work.The Conservatives are to unveil plans for incapacity benefit reforms which would require all claimants to be assessed to prove they cannot work.
Tories say their plans, to be announced on Sunday, involve checks to see if a person is capable of work and would remove 200,000 people from benefits. The Tories say their plans, to be announced on Sunday, would remove 200,000 people from benefits.
The benefit is claimed by 2.64m people at an estimated annual cost of £12.5bn. Incapacity benefit is claimed by 2.64m people at an estimated annual cost of £12.5bn.
Those removed would be given Job Seekers' Allowance and have their income cut by £20 a week. However, Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain accused the Tories of copying the government's ideas.
He said: "They are plagiarising plans already announced by us before Christmas and seeking to present them as their own.
"The Tories have no credible plan to fund an expansion in 'welfare to work'. Far from achieving the massive savings the Tories need to fund their tax changes, these plans require significant investment in the short term which leaves them with a black hole in their spending plans."
Those removed would be given Job Seekers' Allowance and have their income cut by £20 a week, under the new Tory plans.
Under Job Seekers' Allowance, claimants of Job Seekers' Allowance must demonstrate that they are looking for work, or their benefit is cut.
The government is set to introduce its own tougher tests in the autumn, expected to cut the number of claimants by 20,000 each year.The government is set to introduce its own tougher tests in the autumn, expected to cut the number of claimants by 20,000 each year.
We think it's time to take tough action against those who are deliberately staying at home and claiming benefits rather than going back to work Chris Grayling Shadow work and pensions secretaryWe think it's time to take tough action against those who are deliberately staying at home and claiming benefits rather than going back to work Chris Grayling Shadow work and pensions secretary
Under the Tory plans, people who are confirmed to be too sick to work would still be paid their full benefits, but would be re-assessed at regular intervals. Under the Conservatives' proposals, people who are confirmed to be too sick to work would still be paid their full benefits, but would be re-assessed at regular intervals.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling said: "We think it's time to take tough action against those who are deliberately staying at home and claiming benefits rather than going back to work.Shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling said: "We think it's time to take tough action against those who are deliberately staying at home and claiming benefits rather than going back to work.
"Under Gordon Brown we have seen millions of people coming into the country to work. Yet it's still possible for many British people to stay at home on benefits and not go back to work. That simply doesn't make sense.""Under Gordon Brown we have seen millions of people coming into the country to work. Yet it's still possible for many British people to stay at home on benefits and not go back to work. That simply doesn't make sense."
The number of people claiming Incapacity Benefit is at the lowest level in seven years, but is still higher than when Labour came to power in 1997.The number of people claiming Incapacity Benefit is at the lowest level in seven years, but is still higher than when Labour came to power in 1997.
Under Job Seekers' Allowance, claimants must demonstrate that they are looking for work, or their benefit is cut. The government contends that all the Tories are trying to do is push existing reforms through further and faster, BBC's political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg says.
Ministers have agreed changes to the incapacity benefit system that will take effect later this year, for example a tougher test to qualify for the payment in the first place, and a rebranding of the benefit to become Employment Support Allowance.
The number of people on incapacity benefit has also been falling in recent years but has not prevented it from rising up the political agenda.
Mental health charity Mind reminded Mr Cameron that the benefit already has a strict standard which claimants must reach, and was not widely targeted by fraudsters.
It also called on the Tory leader to address the problems and discrimination that mental health sufferers are exposed to, which often keeps them out of work.
A spokeswoman said: "David Cameron needs to bear in mind that for the 40% of claimants who have mental health problems, the crucial issue is inadequate training of mental health assessors.