Rishi Sunak announced new cuts to disability benefits and said he wanted to consider whether some cash payments for claimants suffering from mental health conditions could be replaced with access to treatment and services.
In his speech on welfare, the Prime Minister said he would launch a consultation on Personal Independence Allowance (PIP), a means-tested benefit paid to disabled people to help them cope with the extra living costs caused by long-term disability or disability. . unhealthy.
Mr Sunak said the UK was proud of having a strong safety net for people in need, but said the country had a “sick note culture” that needed to be tackled.
He said “something has gone wrong” since the pandemic, particularly with the number of people with mental health conditions increasing in the number of people who are economically inactive for long periods of time.
“What is most concerning is that the largest proportion of long-term illnesses are among young people on welfare,” Sunak said.
He said the country could not afford a “soaring” disability welfare bill of £69bn, which currently exceeds the core school budget, and claimed the PIP budget was expected to rise by 50% over the next four years. .
Other measures he laid out include:
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To encourage more people to return to work, shift responsibility for issuing ‘health certificates’ from GPs to other ‘work and health professionals’.
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Confirmed plans to legislate “in the next parliament” to end benefit claims for people who have claimed benefits for 12 months but do not comply with the conditions for accepting available work.
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More people on Universal Credit will be asked to look for more work by raising the income threshold from £743 a week to £892 a week, and those who are paid below this amount will Additional working hours must be sought.
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Plans have been confirmed to tighten work ability assessments to encourage people with “less serious conditions” to pursue some form of employment.
Regarding the PIP review, Sunak said that while it may be right to pay a one-off fee for adaptation, it may not be necessary to make payments on an ongoing basis.
The Prime Minister said the government would also consider whether further medical evidence about the symptoms should be provided, as some of the payments were made based on “subjective and unverifiable claims”.
He said some people with mental health conditions may be better served by access to treatment and therapy than by cash payments.
Around two million people are on the NHS waiting list for mental health treatment in the UK.
