Rishi Sunak has announced plans to reform Britain’s disability benefits system in what he called a “moral mission” to address the rise in long-term sickness.
The Prime Minister has announced plans to clamp down on benefits fraud and remove welfare payments entirely from the long-term unemployed who don’t accept a job.
It comes after he pledged to overhaul Britain’s “sick note culture” and get more people back into work ahead of a major policy speech in London.
Sunak told journalists that since the Covid-19 pandemic “something has gone wrong”, with 850,000 people becoming economically inactive due to long-term sickness.
He said the UK “can’t afford such a spiralling increase in the welfare bill and the irresponsible burden that will place on this and future generations of taxpayers”.
Outlining five key reforms, Sunak said “in the next Parliament, a Conservative government” would tighten up the work capability assessment, to get benefit recipients with less severe conditions to engage in the world of work; improve support to get people back into jobs; and change the rules around receiving full benefits while working part-time or fewer hours.
He also said people would have their benefits taken away entirely – after twelve months – if they refused to accept an available job; and personal independence payments (PIP) could be reduced, require greater medical evidence to substantiate a claim, or offer alternatives.
Fraud would also be addressed, Sunak added, with a new Fraud Bill in the next Parliament allowing the government to treat benefits fraud like tax fraud.
“We can’t allow fraudsters to exploit the natural compassion and generosity of the British people,” he said.
The Prime Minister stressed: “The values of our welfare state are timeless.
“We know that there are some with the most severe conditions that will never be able to and some who can no longer work because of injury or illness.
“They and their loved ones must always have the peace of mind that comes from knowing they will always be supported.”
But he highlighted the role of work to provide “dignity” and “purpose” and argued: “Everyone with the potential should be supported not just to earn but to contribute and belong and we must never tolerate barriers that hold people back from making that contribution.”
The government says it wants the benefits system to focus on getting people into work, and be more accurately targeted.
A consultation on reforming the PIP scheme will open in a few days, in a bid to scrap the current ‘one size fits all’ approach, No10 said.
Figures show PIP payments have more than doubled to 5,300 a month in 2023, compared to 2,200 in 2019. Spending is expected to hit £32.8bn by 2027-28, the government added.
While total benefits spending on working-age people with a disability or health condition has risen by almost two-thirds to £69bn since the pandemic.
Work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said the changes would “modernise the support available for those who need it most, improve the value of the welfare system for taxpayers and ensure that most people are signed up to support back to work, not signed off”.
Health secretary Victoria Atkins added the “ambitious reforms will give people the help they need” and argued it was “fundamental to shift attitudes away from sick notes towards fit notes”.
She said: “Through tailored care and reasonable adjustments, we can build a healthier workforce for a healthier economy.”