I refer, of course, to the statement by Liz Kendall, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to the Commons on Tuesday, which ministers and the Prime Minister had been trailing for weeks.
The Secretary of State told us that the facts speak for themselves: One in ten people of working age are now claiming a sickness or disability benefit. Almost 1 million young people are not in education, employment or training—that’s one in eight of all our young people. Some 2.8 million are out of work due to long-term sickness, and the number of people claiming personal independence payments is set to double this decade from 2 million to 4.3 million, with the growth in claims rising faster among young people and those with mental health conditions.
Taxpayers are paying billions more, with spending on working-age sickness and disability benefits up by £20 billion since the pandemic, and set to rise by a further £18 billion by the end of this Parliament, to £70 billion per year. In most other comparable countries spending on these benefits since the pandemic is either stable or falling, but ours continues to rise inexorably.
So, in response to problem which she had set out with such clarity, she announced savings of a mere £5 billion by 2029/30.
I put a simple question to her:
“because working is so good for mental health, will she require claimants to do socially useful work to retain their benefits.”
I got a one word answer: “No”
60 people were signed off onto sickness benefit in the time that Liz Kendal was on her feet telling us how little she was going to do about it.
I don’t disagree with any of the measures that she did announce, but they just are not going to be enough. She said that she would not proceed with any of the measures that were planned by the last government – and I didn’t believe they would be enough either.
There is a both a practical and moral case to require people in receipt of benefits, and who are able to work , to do socially useful work whilst they are out of paid employment.
As the number employment opportunities contracts due to the Chancellor’s disastrous jobs tax on employers, the need for an initiative of this sort will become more glaringly obvious.
Nothing will come of Nothing