We have a moral duty to prevent the abuse of disability benefits
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The reforms that Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has set out over recent weeks reflect his determination to tackle the challenges the welfare system faces in post-lockdown Britain.
When I was secretary of state in 2010, my reforms were about fixing a broken system where it paid to be out of work, and someone who took a job could have £9 in every £10 they earned taken back by the state. These reforms helped to fuel Britain’s job creation machine, with 800 more people in jobs for every single day we’ve been in office and millions entering the labour market. Unemployment was cut by over a million and the economic inactivity rate – the share of people not in work or seeking it – fell to a record low.
But the pandemic hit us hard, and our response – the lockdown, where so many firms stopped work and people found themselves surviving on the furlough scheme and Universal Credit – sadly tore Britain’s social fabric in ways that are only now becoming fully visible. School absences soared. Mental health plummeted. And Britain’s relationship with work was put under immense strain.
Inactivity has since skyrocketed, with 850,000 more people now off work due to long-term sickness. This has been driven in large part due to a surge in mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression. This is holding back economic growth but, worse, is wasting immeasurable human potential.
Bad as things have become as a result of the lockdowns, economic inactivity is still at a lower rate than any year under the last Labour government. But we must not rest on our laurels, and it is right that ministers are acting to fix the damage done.
Getting on top of the Work Capability Assessment, so that those in need receive personalised help to get back to work, will make a real difference. The evidence is clear that gainful work can be a health treatment, particularly for mental health where the routine, purpose, and self-esteem it provides can work wonders.
But we must also tackle the sustainability of the system. The number of new claims for the Personal Independence Payment has more than doubled since 2021 to over 30,000 every month. As a result, the bill for disability benefits is soaring. If nothing changes, it is forecast to rise by £14 billion by 2028.
The last few years have seen the gateway onto PIP eroded as legal challenges have widened eligibility, while the assessment is too reliant on subjective information. This has been made worse as online “coaches” have made money out of helping some people access the system. That’s morally wrong.
PIP is a key part of fulfilling society’s obligation to provide help for people facing often unthinkably challenging conditions and disabilities. It is only right that ministers ensure that it is appropriately targeted.
Finally, we should do more to help those facing the most severe conditions. Unnecessary bureaucratic burdens should be lifted from those with life-long and progressive conditions.
Ministers have an obligation to taxpayers to ensure the benefit system is sustainable. But just as importantly, government has a duty to use welfare to change lives for the better and ensure that no one’s potential is written off.
I am pleased Stride and his colleagues are trying to get this important balance right with this package of welfare reforms.
