I am encouraged that the benefits system is being reformed so that, instead of trapping people into welfare dependency, it rewards work and - backed by the right support and encouragement - helps people lift themselves out of poverty and stay out of poverty. The Government is doing that while ensuring that the welfare system supports the elderly, the vulnerable and disabled people.
In 2010, we inherited a system that did not do that. The benefits system often failed the very people it was supposed to help, writing people with disabilities off to a life on benefits, instead of giving them the help they needed to get into work. Over the past five years, the Government has gone about fixing this, helping those who are capable of taking steps back into work so they have the financial security that comes with a regular wage. Initiatives such as the Disability Confident campaign, employment support funding through Access to Work, and reforms to disability and unemployment benefits have led to significant progress in increasing the number of disabled people in work. The most recent figures show a rise of more than 200,000 over the past year.
At the same time, the Government has been careful to ensure that those who are unable to support themselves through employment continue to receive the support they need. Benefits associated with the additional costs of disability will continue to be non-means-tested, non-taxable cash benefits, exempt from the household benefits cap, giving claimants the confidence that there will be no change to their benefit if they enter work. These benefit are also exempt from the freeze on working-age benefits.