What changes are coming to the UK’s sickness benefits system?
The Department for Work and Pensions has unveiled a planned shake-up of the sickness benefit system intended to help thousands into work.
The reforms aim to reduce the number of people who are considered to have “limited capability for work-related activity”. They are defined as those who are not working or looking for work, and are not expected to, as they are on the sickness benefits list.
The plans announced on Wednesday have been introduced to reduce the number of people on sickness benefits, and are the first planned reforms to the sickness benefits system since 2011.
What are the changes coming to the sickness benefits system?
The consultation will review a range of categories in the work capability assessment.
These categories are designed to determine what activity people can do and how that affects their ability to work. This will help to inform assessors’ decisions on what additional financial support people can receive through their benefits, and if claimants need to do anything to prepare themselves for work.
The consultation’s proposals include updating the categories associated with mobility and social interaction, reflecting improved employer support in recent years for flexible and home working. This will minimise the risk of these issues causing problems for workers.
Mel Stride, the secretary of state for work and pensions, said the proposed changes to the work capability assessment would help individuals as well as strengthening the economy and the labour market.
“Health assessments haven’t been reviewed in more than a decade and don’t reflect the realities of the world of work today,” he said, adding that the reforms would “mean that many of those currently excluded from the labour market can realise their ambition of working”.
Stephen Evans, of the Learning and Work Institute, was quoted in the Telegraph as saying Britain’s inactivity problem is “a big challenge” as there have been “big increases in the number of people on sickness and disability-related benefits, particularly since the start of the pandemic”. The article pointed out that the number of people receiving incapacity benefits who weren’t expected to look for work is up by 30 per cent to 2.3 million since what it was before the pandemic.
The proposed changes will come into force in 2025 should the Conservatives win the next general election.
How are benefits changing?
This cohort could also benefit from a £2 billion investment from the government to help those with long-term illnesses and disabilities get into work. Funding could also be introduced for work coaches to help people who need further support.
This includes the new Universal Support programme, which will help disabled people and people with health conditions by matching them with vacancies and providing support and training to help them start and stay in the jobs they find.
How many people are on the ‘sickness benefits list’ for universal credit?
As of February 2023, 6.3 million people are in receipt of disability benefits.