08/11/06 - Campaign against unfair limit on earnings launched

���������������������������������������

�

Leading politicians, celebrities and members of the voluntary sector will today help The Richmond Fellowship Scotland launch its giveme5 campaign at the Scottish Parliament. Des McNulty MSP will deliver a keynote speech and will be joined by media commentator Pat Nevin in a debate to mark the launch.

Giveme5 is campaigning to give people on incapacity benefits more time to work by raising the weekly limit from �20 to �25. Most benefits and allowances have increased with inflation; this figure has restrictively stayed the same for more than five years and increases in the National Minimum Wage mean that the amount of hours people can work is being eroded.

�

The �20 limit, known as the Permitted Earnings Disregard, is an important stepping stone back to work for many people giving them a better chance of returning to the labour market, learning new skills and improving their physical and mental wellbeing.

�

Pam Ritchie, FOCUS Regional Co-ordinator at The Richmond Fellowship Scotland, has been forced to reduce her hours following the National Minimum Wage increase: “Doing my job and helping others keeps me well but the legislation is too restrictive. I want to work and the organisation I work for wants to support my work by paying me at the basic level, but at the moment I can barely work three hours a week because of restrictions.”

�

Pat Nevin, a long-time campaigner on issues of social inclusion, commented: "Because this limit doesn’t rise in line with inflation, the National Minimum Wage is eroding the hours people can work. This has many effects, not least of which is that the gap between claiming benefits and getting into full- or even part-time work becomes wider. Many people who earn this entitlement have mental health issues which can prevent them working for longer - three or four hours a week can be as much as their illness allows. Changing the legislation means that people receiving incapacity benefits will be able to work for one extra hour - this is a small change which can make a huge difference.”

�

Stephen McNulty, FOCUS Development Officer at The Richmond Fellowship, added: “I‘ve supported many people in the past who could have got a job but were scared because they feared they would lose benefits. The campaign can change that. Because our ambitions are modest - we’re only asking for an extra �5 a week - they are achievable but even these modest changes will really make a difference. If the government is serious about moving people off Incapacity Benefit and into employment, we need to take away the barriers and disincentives. And changing this legislation will have no cost to the taxpayer as the costs are borne by employers.”

�

FOCUS is encouraging people to sign the online petition at www.trfs.org.uk/giveme5 in support of the campaign and find five other signatories to join them.