Crackdown on sickness benefits

Long-term Incapacity Benefit claimants around the UK are being reassessed for their ability to work, including 182,810 in Yorkshire and the Humber, where Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford have the biggest concentration of recipients.

Ministers say the programme, to be carried out over the next three years, is aimed at ending the one-size-fits all approach to those with health conditions and disabilities and argue it will help those who have been abandoned into a life of worklessness back into employment.

The first letters will be sent out today and by the end of the week 7,000 people will have been contacted about Work Capability Assessments, rising to 10,000 a week by the end of April, with the first assessments happening in June.

It follows the publication of final results from trial assessments in Burnley and Aberdeen, which ministers said confirmed almost a third of claimants were fit for work while a further 38 per cent had the potential to work with the right support. Of the 1,626 people assessed, a third had been found fit for work straight away and transferred to Jobseeker’s Allowance, 38 per cent were assessed as able to work with the right support, while 30 per cent have been placed in the support group for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), which means they will receive unconditional support and not have to look for work.

Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: “The changes we are making to the benefits system will ensure that those in genuine need get more support and those who could and should be working and given the opportunity to do so. A life on benefits is no longer an option.”

The crackdown will see up to 10,000 people “reassessed” every week, with a process that will require written information about their case and could involve tough new medical tests.

Anyone found fit for work will move onto Jobseekers Allowance and will be expected to look for work. Those who can work but need extra help and support to become ready will move onto Employment and Support Allowance and receive tailored support through the new Work Programme, which was launched on Friday, to get a job.

Those who refuse to take part will lose their benefits.

Private companies will be used to help people back into work, and rewarded with fees of up to £14,000 for each individual case. Among the firms already given contacts are Sheffield-based A4e, chaired by employment tsar Emma Harrison, G4s, and Serco.

Government figures show Leeds has the most IB claimants in the region, with 23,750, with 19,490 in Sheffield and 19,260 in Bradford. Richmondshire, with 810, Ryedale, with 970 and Craven, 1,110, have the least numbers.

“We are at the start of a revolution.” Mr Grayling said. “Many current IB claimants will be worried about what lies ahead. My message to them is simple. We will provide unconditional support to those whose health means they cannot possibly work.

“But we will put real effort into trying to help the others find a better role in life.

“And we will continue to make determined efforts to ensure that we, and the system we have put in place, treats people fairly, properly and appropriately.”

But the national roll-out is already causing widespread distress among Incapacity Benefit (IB) claimants with mental health problems, the charity Mind has warned.

In a new survey 87 per cent of people said the prospect of reassessment had made them feel anxious and more than a third said it had led to them increasing their medication.

The charity said it was concerned the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) was not fit for purpose, and called for a slowdown of the reassessment process “until the test is working fairly and effectively”.

Mind polled more than 300 people currently claiming IB for mental health problems about the forthcoming reassessments and found 75 per cent said concern about the WCA had made their mental health worse, while 51 per cent reported it had made them have suicidal thoughts.

Some 45 per cent have visited their GP or psychiatrist and 32 per cent have increased their medication as a result of the anxiety caused by the prospect of reassessment.