The secretary of state for work and pensions, Therese Coffey, must publish the disability benefits report she has tried to keep secret by 11 January or the commons work and pensions committee will use their powers to get a copy and publish it themselves, it was announced today.
The report is entitled ‘The uses of health and disability benefits’. Amongst other issues it looks at the unmet needs of disability benefit claimants. Even though the DWP have allegedly managed to get the report watered down they are still desperate for it not to be seen.
However, the work and pensions committee have now grown impatient with the arrogant refusal of the department to even let them look at a copy under conditions of strict secrecy.
Stephen Timms MP, chair of the committee, said:
“The Secretary of State has consistently failed to give the Committee a good reason why this piece of research should not be made public. She even admits that it falls within the Government’s own protocol for publication.
“”The continued refusal to publish the results of the research, as promised to the participants who gave up their time, will do further damage to disabled people’s trust in the Department—which is already in short supply.
The Secretary of State now has a final opportunity to think again and publish the research. If not, the Committee is firmly agreed that we will be left with no choice but to publish the report ourselves.”
Read more on the work and pensions committee website.
