My Lords, with the leave of the House, I will repeat a Statement given in the other place by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. The Statement is as follows:

“With permission, I would like to make a Statement on our proposed changes to the work capability assessment, which aim to ensure that no one who can work is permanently written out of this country’s strong labour market story. It is a story that has seen nearly 4 million more people in work compared to 2010; 2 million more disabled people in work than in 2013; and record numbers of people on payrolls. But, although it is the case that the number of people overall who are economically inactive has fallen strongly from its pandemic peak, there remain over 2.5 million people who are inactive because of long-term sickness and disability.

Yet we know that one in five people on incapacity benefits who are currently not expected to prepare for work want to work in the future, if the right job and support were available, and the proportion of people going through a work capability assessment who are being given the highest level of award and deemed to have no work-related requirements at all has risen from 21% in 2011 to 65% last year. This situation is excluding significant numbers of people from receiving employment support to help them to move closer to work opportunities. It is holding back the labour market and economy but, perhaps most important of all, it is holding back human potential. I want to ensure that everyone who can benefits from all the opportunities that work brings—not just the financial security but all the physical and mental health benefits too.

No one who can work should be left behind. That is why, earlier this year, we announced an extra £2 billion-worth of investment to help disabled people and those with health conditions move into work. That includes bringing in our new universal support employment programme, which will assist disabled people and those with health conditions to connect with vacancies, and will provide support and training to help them start and stay in a role. Through our individual placement and support in the primary care programme, we are investing £58 million to help more than 25,000 people to start and stay in work. We are modernising mental health services in England, providing wellness and clinical apps, piloting cutting-edge digital therapies and digitising the NHS talking therapies programme. We have also published fundamental reforms to the health and disability benefits system through our health and disability White Paper. That will see the end of the work capability assessment and a new personalised, tailored approach to employment support to help everyone reach their full potential.

The scale of our reforms means that they will take time to implement, but there are changes we can make more quickly that will also make a difference. So before the White Paper reforms come in, I want to make sure that the work capability assessment—the way in which we assess how someone’s health limits their ability to work and therefore what support they need—is delivering the right outcomes and supporting those most in need. Today my department is launching a consultation on measures to ensure that those who can work are given the right support and opportunities to move off benefits and towards the jobs market.

As I have said, we know that many people who are on out-of-work benefits due to a health condition want to work and, assisted by modern working practices, they could do so while managing their condition effectively. We have seen a huge shift in the world of work in the last few years—a huge change that has accelerated since the pandemic. This has opened up more opportunities for disabled people and those with health conditions to start, stay in and succeed in work.

The rise in flexible and home working has brought new opportunities for disabled people to manage their conditions in a more familiar and accessible environment. More widely, there have been improvements in the approach that many employers take to workplace accessibility and reasonable adjustments for staff. A better understanding of mental health conditions and neuro- diversity has helped employers to identify opportunities to adapt job roles and the way disabled people and people with health conditions work.

The consultation that I am publishing today is about updating the work capability assessment so that the way it works keeps up with the way people work. The activities and descriptors within the work capability assessment, which help to decide whether people have any work preparation requirements to improve their chances of gaining work, have not been comprehensively reviewed since 2011. It is right that we look afresh at how we can update them, given the huge changes we have seen in the world of work. For instance, the work capability assessment does not reflect how someone with a disability or health condition might be able to work from home—yet we know many disabled people do just that.

Our plans include taking account of the fact that people with mobility problems, or who suffer anxiety within the workplace, have better access to employment opportunities due to the rise in flexible and home working. We are consulting on whether changes should be made to four of the activities and descriptors that determine whether someone can work, or prepare to work, to reflect changes in working practices and better employment support. This includes looking at changing, removing or reducing the points for descriptors relating to mobilising, continence, social engagement and getting about. We are not consulting on changes to the remaining descriptors, which will remain unaltered. These changes will not affect people who are nearing the end of life or receiving cancer treatment, nor will they affect the majority of activities for those with severe disablement—for example, if a person has severe learning disabilities or is unable to transfer from one seat to another.

We are also consulting on changes to the provision for claimants who would otherwise be capable of work preparation activity but are excluded from work preparation requirements on the basis of substantial risk, most commonly on mental health grounds. The original intention for substantial risk was for it to be advised only in exceptional circumstances. It was intended to provide a safety net for the most vulnerable. However, the application of risk has gone beyond the original intent. We are therefore consulting on how we might change how substantial risk applies, so that people are able to access the support they need to move closer to work and a more fulfilling life. We are also considering the tailored and appropriate support that will be needed for this group, safely helping them move closer to work.

These proposals will help people move into, or closer to, the labour market, and to fulfil their potential. We are consulting over the next eight weeks to seek the views of disabled people, employers, charities and others about our proposed changes. If the proposals were taken forward following consultation, the earliest we could implement any change would be from 2025, given the need to make changes to regulations and ensure appropriate training for health assessors.

These plans are part of our wider approach to ensuring that we have a welfare system that encourages and supports people into work, while providing a vital safety net for those who need it most—a welfare system that focuses on what people can do, not on what they cannot, and that reflects the modern changes to the world of work. It is time to share the opportunities of work far more fairly. It is time for work to be truly available to all those who can benefit from it. It is time to get Britain working. I commend this Statement to the House.”