Only one in 14 on incapacity benefits really can’t work - Minister

Statistics show 39% of claimants are fit to work, while more than a third drop their application before it is complete.

The Department for Work and Pensions said 17% can do some work with the right help and support.

Only 7% of first-time claimants are actually deemed too ill to work and are entitled to claim the Employment and Support Allowance having undergone the Government’s new assessment.

Work and Pensions Minister Steve Webb said: “These figures show that many people are able to work with the right help.

“We have strengthened the support now available, tailoring it to individual needs so they can overcome whatever barriers they face.

“Those who cannot work will always receive our unconditional support but for those who can work it’s right that they get the help they need to get into employment.

“We are continuously improving the medical test to ensure that it is as fair and effective as possible.”

Under the last government, those claiming benefits because they thought themselves unfit to take up employment were asked to complete a work capability assessment to find out whether they could do a job.

The scheme was piloted in Aberdeen and Burnley in 2008 before being rolled out across the country.

Officials have now started assessing those trying to make new claims to see if they are eligible for ESA, which has replaced incapacity benefit.

Under the new assessment, applicants are either judged too ill to work and receive the benefit or are judged well enough to hold down a job and then told to resubmit a benefits application but this time for Jobseeker’s Allowance.

The reforms, brought in under the last Government, also include a third category for those whom officials think could do some work if they received the right help and support.

Today’s statistics, from between October 27 and November 30 last year, are not significantly different from when ministers first announced the figures for new applicants back in April.

Then, only 6% were judged to be entitled to ESA in the long-term, while again 39% were found to be fit for work.

Again, more than a third dropped their application before it could be completed, while 16% could do some work with the right help.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The new incapacity benefit assessment is a much tougher test than previously and is designed to save the Government money by excluding more people.

“It is therefore unsurprising that more disabled people have been declared fit for work. These figures certainly don’t suggest that thousands of disabled people are suddenly ‘trying it on’.

“The TUC has heard from disabled people all around the UK who feel the tests have been unfair and ineffective, and it is interesting to see that 39% of appeals against initial judgments are successful.

“The Government needs to do much more to help disabled people back into jobs, rather than cracking down on the benefits they get when they are unable to work.

“Access to Work statistics - also released today - show that in 2010/11 the number of disabled people helped by this scheme fell by just over 1,400 on the previous year.”

Disability charities have voiced their concern at the latest figures.

A number have signed up to the Hardest Hit campaign, which looks to highlight the plight of disabled people in the face of Government cuts.

Alice Maynard, from the disability charity Scope, said: “If the Government’s aim is to get more people working, feeding negative assumptions about disabled people won’t help achieve this.

“Rather than expending energy smearing claimants, the Government needs to re-think its Work Capability Assessment, so that it captures the multiple, complex barriers to finding jobs and points people towards the right kind of support.”

Paul Farmer, chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, questioned the Government’s figures.

He said: “People found ‘fit for work’ have not been cheating the system; rather, in most cases, they have engaged with the system with genuine intentions and been turned down for benefits - often wrongly as appeals figures show.”