Sunak: It’s my moral mission to get people back to work
RISHI SUNAK today claimed there was a “moral mission” to end “sick note culture” and get fit people back to work. The Prime Minister vowed to reform welfare to “give everyone who can the best possible chance of returning” to their job after being signed off with an illness.
In a major speech in London this morning, he said: “For me, it is a fundamental duty of Government to make sure that hard work is always rewarded.”
He said that since the pandemic “something has gone wrong”, adding 850,000 more people are now economically inactive in Britain. There will be a review of the current system and specialist work and health professionals will be charged with responsibility for issuing sick notes instead of GPs. He said a planned fraud bill would expand the Department for Work and Pensions’ powers in tackling benefit fraudsters.
Mr Sunak said: “There’s a little bit of a difference and a gap between how HMRC is able to go after tax fraudsters and how DWP is able to go after welfare fraudsters. And we just want to make sure that DWP has all the same powers and tools that HMRC has.”
Responses from healthcare professionals, employers and people with experience will be sought in a consultation launching today.
Since 2020, the number of people out of work due to long-term sickness has risen significantly, reaching a record high of 2.8 million people in February, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics. A large proportion of those report suffering from depression, bad nerves or anxiety as secondary conditions.
But charities have criticised the plans. Scope director of strategy James Taylor said: “Much of the current record levels of inactivity are because our public services are crumbling, the quality of jobs is poor and the rate of poverty amongst disabled households is growing.”
We want to make sure that DWP has the same powers that HMRC has to go after welfare fraudsters