Latest news with #sicknessbenefits
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
UK sickness benefits to outstrip wages by £2,500, warns think tank
Living on sickness benefits will soon pay £2,500 a year more than a minimum wage job, it has was revealed on Wednesday night. Earnings of the unemployed who claim ill health payments will overtake those of workers on the national living wage next year, warns a think tank. The shocking finding comes after Keir Starmer capitulated to a backbench rebellion and failed to secure reforms to the benefits system that would have saved £5billion. On Thursday, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch will warn Britain faces becoming a 'welfare state with an economy attached' in the face of a rapidly expanding benefits bill. In a speech on welfare reform she will warn that the country is sitting on a 'ticking time bomb' of spiralling state dependency. Analysis by the Centre for Social Justice found that a Universal Credit claimant who is not working and takes the average housing benefit and Personal Independence Payment for ill health will receive £25,000 in 2026-27. However, a full-time worker on the national living wage of £12.21 an hour will earn around £22,500 after paying income tax and National Insurance. Writing in the Mail, former work and pensions secretary Sir Iain Duncan Smith, founder of the CSJ, said: 'This isn't a swipe at claimants – many of whom are trying to do right by themselves and their families. 'But it must be a wake-up call for policymakers. 'A system designed to protect those in genuine need now appears to disincentivise work, trap people in long-term dependency, and leave them without meaningful support to recover.' The report lays bare the generosity of the system. Labour's climbdown leaves a £5billion gap in the public finances which it is feared Chancellor Rachel Reeves will have to plug with a wealth tax. On Wednesday, the rebellion continued with 47 Labour MPs voting against the Third Reading of the Government's watered-down welfare reform bill as it passed the Commons. Leading rebel Rachael Maskell branded the bill an 'omnishambles' while others said it was morally wrong for the party to cut benefits for sick and disabled people. Sir Iain said: 'Before lockdown, we had the lowest numbers of workless households since records began. 'However, figures from the Centre for Social Justice show how damaging Covid was and that, since then, the scale of the disincentive to work has grown dramatically. 'That's why the Bill's failure to look at real reform of the system is more costly than just the billions lost to the Chancellor, the real loss is that of the wasted lives trapped in a system of dependence rather than one of independence and achievement.' In its report, the CSJ - having analysed figures from the Department for Work and Pensions, the Office for National Statistics and HMRC – cited other examples of generous benefits payments which outstrip salaries for lower-paid jobs. It found that a jobless single parent claiming for anxiety and for a child with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) will get nearly £37,000 a year – £14,000 more than a worker on the national minimum wage takes home. Last week the Office for Budget Responsibility said the bill for sickness benefits was due to hit £100billion by 2030. PIP payments to assist those with disabilities and health conditions have more than doubled since the pandemic, from 13,000 to 34,000 a month. The increase has been driven by a rise in the numbers claiming for anxiety and depression as their main condition. The CSJ has previously said Britain would save up to £9billion a year targeting mental health benefits to fund NHS therapy and employment support. It said PIP and the health element of Universal Credit should be withdrawn from those with milder anxiety, depression or ADHD. Around two in three of those claiming Universal Credit Health also receive PIP, with roughly the same proportion in receipt of housing support within UC. In her speech at the CSJ on Thursday, Mrs Badenoch will argue that projections of one in four pounds of income tax soon being spent on sickness and disability benefits is a crisis that could 'collapse the economy'. Ms Badenoch is expected to say: 'It is not fair to spend £1billion a month on benefits for foreign nationals and on handing out taxpayer-funded cars for conditions like constipation. 'We should be backing the makers – rewarding the people getting up every morning, working hard to build our country. Our welfare system should look after the most vulnerable in society – not those cheating the system.' Joe Shalam, policy director at the CSJ, said: 'Liz Kendall [the current Work and Pensions Secretary] deserves credit for tackling the perverse incentives that have crept into the welfare system since Covid. 'By tightening eligibility for mental health benefits and investing in therapy and employment support, ministers can save public money and transform lives.' A Government spokesman said: 'We are changing the system so it genuinely supports those who can work into employment and ensuring the safety net will always be there for the most vulnerable – and puts the spiralling welfare bill on a more sustainable footing. 'Through our £2.2 billion employment support funding over the next four years, we are also building on the success of programmes like Connect to Work, which help disabled people and those with health conditions into work.'
Daily Mail
09-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Analysis: Jobless are better off on benefits in Starmer's Britain
A life on sickness benefits will soon pay £2,500 more a year than a minimum wage job, according to analysis. Jobless people on sickness payments are due to overtake those on the national living wage who will earn less after tax, the Centre for Social Justice found. It comes after Sir Keir Starmer failed to get through reforms to the benefits system that would have saved £5billion. The report found that a Universal Credit claimant who isn't working and claims the average housing benefit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for ill health will receive £25,000 next year. However, a full-time worker on the national living wage will earn around £22,500 after paying income tax and National Insurance. Former work and pensions secretary Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: 'Before lockdown , we had the lowest numbers of workless households since records began. 'However figures from the Centre for Social Justice show how damaging Covid was and that, since then, the scale of the disincentive to work has grown dramatically. 'That's why the Bill's failure to look at real reform of the system is more costly than just the billions lost to the Chancellor, the real loss is that of the wasted lives trapped in a system of dependence rather than one of independence and achievement.' The CSJ also cited other examples of generous benefits payments which outstrip salaries for lower-paid jobs. It found that a jobless single parent claiming for anxiety and for a child with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) will get nearly £37,000 a year. This would be £14,000 more than a worker on the national minimum wage receives. Last week the Office for Budget Responsibility said sickness was set to hit £100billion by 2030 and warned that UK finances are in a 'vulnerable position'. PIP payments to assist those with disabilities and health conditions have more than doubled each month since the pandemic, from 13,000 to 34,000 a month. The increase has been driven by a rise in the number of people claiming for anxiety and depression as their main condition. The CSJ said Britain would save up to £9billion a year targeting mental health benefits to fund NHS therapy and employment support. It said PIP and the health element of UC should be withdrawn from those with milder anxiety, depression or ADHD - a change that could save £9billion. Joe Shalam, policy director at the CSJ, said: 'Liz Kendall deserves credit for tackling the perverse incentives that have crept into the welfare system since Covid. 'People who cannot work due to sickness or disability must always be protected, but as our research shows, too many people are trapped in a cycle of dependency and wasted potential. 'By tightening eligibility for mental health benefits and investing in therapy and employment support, ministers can save public money and transform lives. The Timms Review must be brought forward to Autumn, there is no time to lose.' A Government spokesman said: 'We inherited a broken social security system that is failing people on all accounts. 'We are changing the system so it genuinely supports those who can work into employment and ensuring the safety net will always be there for the most vulnerable – and puts the spiralling welfare bill on a more sustainable footing. 'Through our £2.2 billion employment support funding over the next four years, we are also building on the success of programmes like Connect to Work, which help disabled people and those with health conditions into work.'
Telegraph
09-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The proof that benefits pay more than a full-time job
Jobless people on sickness benefits will soon receive £2,500 more a year than a minimum wage worker, new figures have revealed. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), a think tank, found that a non-working Universal Credit (UC) claimant receiving the average housing benefit and personal independence payment for ill health would have an income of £25,000 in 2026-27. This compares with a full-time worker paid the national living wage, who will earn about £22,500 after income tax and National Insurance. The calculation shows how generous the welfare system will continue to be after Sir Keir Starmer failed to get planned £5 billion cuts past his rebellious backbenchers and was forced to water down his Welfare Bill earlier this month. Last week, The Telegraph revealed that more than 1.4 million people receive Pip mental health benefits, with a record 531 claimants approved for the payments every day. It means that Britain's spending on health and disability benefits is now set to cost the equivalent of the income tax contributions of nine million workers by 2030.
Daily Mail
09-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Britain's bloated benefits bill: Jobless on sickness benefits set to be paid £2,500 MORE than those in a minimum wage job
A life on sickness benefits will soon pay £2,500 more a year than a minimum wage job, according to analysis. Jobless people on sickness payments are due to overtake those on the national living wage who will earn less after tax, the Centre for Social Justice found. It comes after Sir Keir Starmer failed to get through reforms to the benefits system that would have saved £5billion. The report found that a Universal Credit claimant who isn't working and claims the average housing benefit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for ill health will receive £25,000 next year. However, a full-time worker on the national living wage will earn around £22,500 after paying income tax and National Insurance. Former work and pensions secretary Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: 'Before lockdown, we had the lowest numbers of workless households since records began. 'However figures from the Centre for Social Justice show how damaging Covid was and that, since then, the scale of the disincentive to work has grown dramatically. 'That's why the Bill's failure to look at real reform of the system is more costly than just the billions lost to the Chancellor, the real loss is that of the wasted lives trapped in a system of dependence rather than one of independence and achievement.' Jobless people on sickness payments are due to overtake those on the national living wage who will earn less after tax, the Centre for Social Justice found. The CSJ also cited other examples of generous benefits payments which outstrip salaries for lower-paid jobs. It found that a jobless single parent claiming for anxiety and for a child with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) will get nearly £37,000 a year. This would be £14,000 more than a worker on the national minimum wage receives. Last week the Office for Budget Responsibility said sickness was set to hit £100billion by 2030 and warned that UK finances are in a 'vulnerable position'. PIP payments to assist those with disabilities and health conditions have more than doubled each month since the pandemic, from 13,000 to 34,000 a month. The increase has been driven by a rise in the number of people claiming for anxiety and depression as their main condition. The CSJ said Britain would save up to £9billion a year targeting mental health benefits to fund NHS therapy and employment support. It said PIP and the health element of UC should be withdrawn from those with milder anxiety, depression or ADHD - a change that could save £9billion. Joe Shalam, policy director at the CSJ, said: 'Liz Kendall deserves credit for tackling the perverse incentives that have crept into the welfare system since Covid. 'People who cannot work due to sickness or disability must always be protected, but as our research shows, too many people are trapped in a cycle of dependency and wasted potential. 'By tightening eligibility for mental health benefits and investing in therapy and employment support, ministers can save public money and transform lives. The Timms Review must be brought forward to Autumn, there is no time to lose.'
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Ministers face backbench calls to widen access to top tier of sickness benefits
Ministers are facing Labour backbench calls to widen access to their proposed top tier of sickness benefits. Labour backbencher Graeme Downie has proposed a welfare reform Bill amendment, so universal credit claimants with Parkinson's or multiple sclerosis who cannot work do not face repeated medical assessments to receive a payout. If MPs back his amendment, patients with 'evolving' needs who cannot work could also qualify for a higher rate of benefits. The Government's Bill has already cleared its first Commons hurdle at second reading, after work and pensions minister Sir Stephen Timms vowed not to restrict eligibility for the personal independence payment (Pip), with any changes coming in only after a review of the benefit. To meet his promise, ministers have had to table amendments to their own draft new law, to remove one of its seven clauses, which MPs will debate next Wednesday. Universal credit claimants with Parkinson's 'are already possibly struggling financially', Mr Downie told the PA news agency ahead of the debate. He added: 'The cost of living with a condition like Parkinson's can be very high. 'You may well require or need additional support.' The Dunfermline and Dollar MP said patients who struggle with their motor control might buy pre-chopped vegetables or chicken. 'Those things are expensive, so if you're already on universal credit and you're struggling, being able to do that significantly impacts your health, it significantly impacts your ability to live properly,' he continued. As part of the Government's reforms, the Department for Work and Pensions has proposed a new 'severe conditions criteria' for universal credit. Claimants in this category will be entitled to a higher rate of the benefit, and will not be routinely reassessed to receive money. To qualify, claimants must have limited capability for work or work-related activity (LCWRA) and symptoms which 'constantly' apply. Mr Downie's amendment would expand these criteria to claimants with 'a fluctuating condition'. It would cover 'conditions like Parkinson's but also multiple sclerosis, ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), long Covid and a whole range of other conditions where, you know, in the morning things could be really good and in the afternoon things could be really bad, and even hour by hour things could change', he said. 'I felt it was necessary to table an amendment to really probe what the Government's position is on this, and ensuring that people with Parkinson's and conditions like that are not excluded from even applying and being considered.' Mr Downie's proposal has backing from 23 cross-party MPs. Juliet Tizzard, external relations director at Parkinson's UK, said: 'Criteria in the Bill say that a new claimant for the universal credit health payment will have to be 'constantly' unable to perform certain activities to qualify. 'This doesn't work for people with Parkinson's, whose symptoms change throughout the day. 'People with Parkinson's and other fluctuating conditions like multiple sclerosis will be effectively excluded from getting all the financial support they need. 'The Government has responded to our call and withdrawn the damaging restrictions to Pip. 'Now, they must do the same with the universal credit health element. The health of many people with Parkinson's is in their hands.'
