Sickness, disability and carers' benefits

This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on sickness, disability and carers' benefits. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.

Standard Notes

Date	Description
19.02.2013	Draft Care and Support Bill 2012-13
	This note provides general information on the draft Care and Support Bill that was announced in the Queen's Speech on 9 May 2012 and published by the Government on 11 July 2012.
07.02.2013	Draft Universal Credit Regulations 2013
	Starting in selected 'Pathfinder' areas from April 2013, Universal Credit (UC) will begin to replace a range of means-tested benefits and tax credits for working age families. The Draft Universal Credit Regulations set out the detailed rules for the new benefit.
07.02.2013	The housing element of Universal Credit
	This note highlights some of the key differences between the current Housing Benefit system and the housing element of Universal Credit.
28.01.2013	Draft Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013
	Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people of working age, starting from April 2013. Part 4 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 provides the framework for PIP, but the detailed rules for the new benefit - including the assessment criteria - are to be set out in regulations.
30.11.2012	The Work Capability Assessment for Employment and Support Allowance
	The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) was introduced in October 2008 to assess entitlement to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). Between now and 2014, 1.5 million incapacity benefits claimants will also undergo the WCA. The WCA has however proved controversial and remains so, depsite changes to the test itself and how it is applied as a result of Government an independent reviews.

Research Papers

Date	Description
04.01.2013	Welfare Benefits Uprating Bill
27.04.2012	Social Indicators
	A compendium of the latest social statistics. This edition includes articles: Constituency-level crime data, ESA assessments and reassessments and Measuring well-being
04.03.2011	Welfare Reform Bill: reform of disability benefits, Housing Benefit, and other measures
	This paper has been prepared for the Second Reading debate in the House of Commons. For information on the provision in the Bill relating to the introduction of Universal Credit, please see the complementary Library Research Paper, 11/24. Besides Universal Credit, the Bill proposes a number of other significant welfare reforms, including replacement of the current Disability Living Allowance, restriction of Housing Benefit entitlement to social housing tenants whose accommodation is larger than they need, time-limiting the payment of contributory Employment and Support Allowance to twelve months, and capping the total amount of benefit that can be claimed.
13.03.2009	Welfare Reform Bill: Committee Stage report
	This is a report on the Committee Stage of the Welfare Reform Bill. It complements Research Papers 09/08 and 09/09 prepared for Commons Second Reading.
23.01.2009	Welfare Reform Bill: social security provisions
	This paper is one of two which examine the main proposals of the Welfare Reform Bill 2008-09. It deals with Part 1 of the Bill, which includes provisions to establish a 'work for your benefit' scheme for the long-term unemployed, to allow piloting of the 'personalised conditionality' regime, and to enable the future abolition of income support. See also Research Paper 09/09.

Select Committee Reports

Date	Description
08.12.2010	The community care grant.
	Public Accounts Committee report [Commons]
08.09.2010	Support to incapacity benefits claimants through Pathways.
	Public Accounts Committee report [Commons]
29.06.2009	Supporting carers to care.
	Public Accounts Committee report [Commons]
21.04.2009	Legislative scrutiny: Welfare Reform Bill;
	Human Rights Joint Select Committee report [Commons and Lords]
17.12.2008	Valuing and supporting carers.
	Government response. Department for Work and Pensions; Work and Pensions Select Committee report [Commons]

Early Day Motions

Date	Description
08.12.2011	CHILDREN'S ACCESS TO DISABILITY LIVING ALLOWANCE
	That this House notes that the parents of ill children often need to live in hospital wards with their children; further notes that living expenses such as meals are not paid for by ...
29.11.2011	INCAPACITY BENEFIT REFORM
	That this House notes the report on the Government's Incapacity Benefits Reform published by the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, based at Sheffield Hallam University, ...
27.10.2011	SOCIAL SECURITY (S.I., 2011, No. 1736)
	That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Housing Benefit (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (S.I., 2011, No. 1736), dated 14 July 2011, a copy of which was laid ...
29.06.2011	DISABILITY LIVING ALLOWANCE - MOBILITY COMPONENT
	That this House is aware that the disability living allowance mobility component helps meet the extra costs many disabled people face in their everyday lives; notes that for disabled ...
04.04.2011	GOVERNMENT REVIEW OF THE REMOVAL OF THE MOBILITY COMPONENT OF DISABILITY LIVING ALLOWANCE/PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE PAYMENT
	That this House notes the importance of the disability living allowance (DLA)/personal independent payment (PIP) mobility component in helping disabled people to be independent and ...

Lords Library Notes

Date	Description
06.02.2013	Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill (HL Bill 78 of 2012-13)
	The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill implements an announcement by the Chancellor in the 2012 Autumn Statement that increases in certain working-age welfare benefits and tax credits would be limited to 1 percent, rather than increasing them in line with inflation. This Library Note is intended to provide background information in advance of the Bill's second reading in the House of Lords on 11 February 2013.

POST Papers

Date	Description
11.07.2012	Assessing Capacity for Work
	This briefing discusses the role of the Work Capability Assessment and its suitability as a gateway to benefit.