Long Covid blamed for £6.8bn leap in sickness benefits bill...and rising
THE rising number of people too sick to return to work is hurting Britain’s growth prospects.
Since Long Covid, the crisis in the nation’s health has added £6.8billion to the annual benefits bill with nearly half a million more off ill.
Fiscal watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility yesterday warned public finances were likely to remain “very risky” after shocks including the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis.
But most alarmingly the OBR highlighted how the number of inactive workers – through health issues such as Long Covid and other ailments – has surged.
They said since the pandemic an extra 440,000 long-term sick were claiming an average £10,000-a-year each, adding £6.8billion to the annual welfare bill and sending the number of inactive, ill-health workers soaring to 2.6 million.
It comes two months after the Office for National Statistics revealed for every 13 people working, one person is long-term sick.
Shortages
The rise in long-term sickness comes as NHS waiting lists have swollen to over seven million.
Claire Hastie, founding member of charity Long Covid Support, told the Daily Express: “A survey of 3,000 people by Long Covid Support and the TUC found one in seven people had lost their job for reasons connected to Long Covid.
“In our 60,000-member support group we see huge numbers of people who are no longer able to work at all, or to their previous capacity, having to reduce their hours and/or take less senior roles.
“Others are struggling to keep their jobs but at a huge cost to their health and ability to do anything else. At a time of labour and skills shortages, the impact of Long Covid on the economy is significant, and we urgently need research to treat people with this condition.”
Lib Dem health spokeswoman Daisy Cooper MP said: “With the economy set to shrink and an increasing number of people off sick, never has it been more obvious that health creation and wealth creation are two sides of the same coin.
“The Government must come forward with a fresh plan to reverse the growing NHS backlog and for treating Long Covid, including medical research and guidelines for employers on managing the impact.”
In its latest fiscal risks report, the OBR said public debt increased because of a triple shock from the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis.
As a result, the Government’s debt pile grew in May to more than 100 per cent of annual Gross Domestic Product for the first time since 1961. Yesterday Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “This highlights why it is important to deliver on the Prime Minister’s priority to get debt falling and to control borrowing to risk prolonging higher inflation.
“That means taking difficult but responsible decisions on the public finances, including public sector pay, because more borrowing is itself inflationary.”
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “This report shows just how far we are falling behind our peers. Government borrowing has risen faster in the UK than elsewhere in the G7 and faster than at any time in the last 40 years.”
The OBR said there was a 440,000 increase in those unable to work and a 490,000 rise in workers with ill-health but in work claiming health-related benefits.
Darren Morgan, of the Office for National Statistics, said: “We saw another increase in those exiting the labour market due to becoming long-term sick.
“That means we are at a new record level of comfortably over 2.5 million.”