Employment minister to give evidence to Economic Affairs Committee

At 3pm on Tuesday 3 December, the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, as part of its short inquiry on the relationship between the welfare system and long-term sickness, will hear evidence from:

• Alison McGovern MP, Minister for Employment at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
• Tom Younger, Deputy Director, Labour Market Analysis Division at DWP
• Shaun Butcher, Deputy Director, Disability Analysis Division at DWP.

This evidence session, which is open to the public, will be held in Committee Room 3 of the House of Lords. It will also be streamed live and on demand on Parliament TV.
 
Topics the committee is likely to cover in this session include:

• Main drivers of labour market inactivity.
• Whether the NHS is the Government’s main lever for reducing labour market inactivity and waiting list times.
• What the Government’s measure of success is for its strategy on reducing labour market inactivity.
• The Government’s target for reducing the welfare bill for health-related benefits.
• The conditionality in the welfare system around health-related benefits.
• Whether the fit note is fit for purpose.
• Witnesses’ views on the effectiveness and fairness of benefits assessments from the perspectives of the individual and state.

More about the Economic inactivity: welfare and long-term sickness inquiry
 
As a follow up to its 2022 inquiry into economic inactivity, the committee is carrying out a short inquiry on the relationship between the welfare system and long-term sickness in Great Britain.
 
Rates of economic inactivity – measured as a proportion of people of working age – fell steadily from 2012, reaching an all-time low of 20.7 per cent in early 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic saw a sudden and dramatic reversal of this trend with rates of long-term sickness becoming an increasingly important factor as the pandemic wore on.
 
The committee is seeking to understand the impact, if any, that changes in the benefits system have had on trends in long-term sickness and inactivity. It will hear views on what is being done in this area, and what should be done, to mitigate elevated levels of long-term sickness-related inactivity and the associated rising costs of welfare.