Incapacity Benefit Changes Will Reduce Numbers Of Claimants

4th April 2011

Half a million people on some form of incapacity-related benefit could be found fit for work and transferred onto Jobseeker's Allowance over the next three years, ministers say.

The first few thousand letters are being sent out requiring some of the 1.6 million people on disability living allowance to submit to reassessments of their fitness to work. Pilot versions of the scheme have attracted controversy, with hundreds of people with complex conditions saying the 'tick-box' assessments fail to take account of their individual circumstances, with many deemed fit to work later having that decision revoked at appeal.

In Burnley and Aberdeen, where trial assessments were held, almost a third of claimants were fit for work and a further 38% had the potential to work with guided support.

Employment minister Chris Grayling said: "A life on benefits is no longer an option. For too long millions of people have been written off with no real support to get back into sustained employment. The evidence clearly shows that there are people out there who, with the right support, will be able to gain employment and say goodbye to a life on benefits.

"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."

Ministers said some incapacity claimants had not had their conditions investigated or questioned for years.

Grayling warned that claimants who refused to take part in the schemes would lose their benefits. Those genuinely too sick to work will continue to receive unconditional benefits, the Government said, at a higher level than now.

Source - Public Sector Executive - www.publicsectorexecutive.com/