Explainer: The sickness benefit system gets an overhaul
Months ago, Rishi Sunak and his Chancellor Jeremy Hunt went on an offensive to bring people back into the workforce. Armed with carrots and sticks, they were claiming the productivity and economic problems of the country were caused, among other things, by the fact that too many people were staying at home, refusing to come back to work following the pandemic.
Today, as Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride unveiled a shake-up of the sickness benefit system, it looked like that offensive never ended.
The plan aims to reduce the number of people who are considered to have “limited capability for work-related activity”. These people are not working or looking for work, and they’re not expected to, as they’re on the sickness benefits list.
The number of people on this classification of universal credit is high, at 1.1 million. Those who apply are subject to the scrutiny of assessors who value their inability to work.
The government’s take is that not all the people in this category should be staying at home – they just haven’t received any support in looking for work that suits their needs. Ministers have been at pains to stress that the new system will still support those who really cannot work, but help others find alternatives – for example taking work from home jobs.
The number of people on sickness benefits has increased steadily over the past decade, with many leaving the workforce in the past three years. The plans announced today seek to reverse that and are the first reform to the sickness benefits system since 2011.
According to recent figures, more than one in five Brits in 18 council areas – including Blackpool, Liverpool and Birmingham – are economically inactive. These numbers are not sustainable, and political attention to the issue is welcome.
But charities warn that the new system will prove problematic if accompanied by cuts to other benefits, like disability benefits.
Over 700,000 people who are on sickness benefits want to work, according to the Centre for Social Justice. The Centre’s analysis shows helping these people into work could save the Treasury £7bn in benefit payments and taxes. These policy changes will be beneficial for them, and for the Treasury’s pockets too, with welfare spending expected to hit £77.5bn this year.
But for all the others who will never be able to work because of the nature of their conditions or responsibilities, the government must ensure the right protections are in place. Even if reform is needed, when it comes to key benefits supporting people’s lives it is better to be cautious.