Government assessments for benefits claimants ignore lack of support -

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 17th Mar 2008

Responding to concerns expressed by charities about the Government's plan announced in last Wednesday's Budget to extend a new eligibility test to all incapacity benefit recipients, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Danny Alexander said:

"Disabled people are understandably cynical about proposals from a government that continually emphasises tough measures against benefit claimants, when what is needed is targeted support to get the millions of disabled people who want to work into jobs.

"Undergoing the assessment could deliver benefits but it will not change the fact that many claimants need specialist help to overcome mental health problems and disabilities, which is still severely lacking.

"The Government should focus on providing more personalised support for claimants to get them back into long-term work."