New Reforms To End 'Sickness Benefit Culture'

[super jumbe]

Thousands of people claiming sickness benefits will face being forced into part-time work under plans being announced by Iain Duncan Smith.

In the latest round of welfare reforms, the Work and Pensions Secretary will declare work is "good for your health" and that it can help people recover from illness.

Currently, 2.5 million people claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), which Mr Duncan Smith will say is causing a "sickness benefit culture".

He will argue that the current assessment contains a "fundamental flaw" because it incentivises people to identify reasons why they cannot work.

The shake-up will allow assessors to be "more flexible, targeted and personalised" when judging if people are entitled.

In a speech, Mr Duncan Smith will say: "There is one area on which I believe we haven't focused on enough - how work is good for your health.

"Work can help keep people healthy as well as help promote recovery if someone falls ill.
"So, it is right that we look at how the system supports people who are sick and helps them into work.

"Let me be clear: a decent society should always recognise that some people are unable to work as a result of physical or mental ill health - or both.


"It is right that we protect these most vulnerable people in our society. That support is there.

"For, despite the scaremongering, it is worth reflecting on the fact that we in this country spend more on sick and disabled people than the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) average."

The work capability assessment system that determines if someone will receive ESA has been dogged by controversy since its introduction under Labour.

Mr Duncan Smith will say that ESA was supposed to reduce the number of people on incapacity benefits by one million, but since 2010 there has been a fall of just 90,000, and plans to reform the process will now be drawn up.

Nearly one in four Jobseeker's Allowance claimants have a common mental health condition and need more support to find, and stay, in employment, he will add.

Labour's shadow minister for disabled people, Kate Green MP, has criticised the Government, warning: "In the last parliament the Tories overspent by ?8.7bn on incapacity benefit, and their disastrous Work Capability Assessment has been plagued with problems with contractors, poor assessments, and costly appeals.

"Ministers need to focus on providing tailored support for disabled people who can work in order to help them do so. Cutting the benefits of those who aren't able to work, such as those with Parkinson's or cancer, is punishing sick and disabled people for the Government's own failures."

Liz Sayce, chief executive of Disability Rights UK, said that many disabled people would welcome the announcement if it turns out that the reforms genuinely help people to find work ? but not if it proves to simply be a way of cutting the welfare budget.

She said: "One of the problems has been that the work programme has totally failed people on ESA. The figures for getting people on ESA into work are very poor. Some people do want to work, with the right kind of support.

"We would like to see radical changes to the work programme in which it was really tailored to individual needs. If there was investment in that, you might see greater numbers of sick and disabled going into work, and that would be great.

"You also need recognition that some people are not well enough to work, and reducing the money they get will simply drive more disabled people into poverty."

[Meat-Head]

Err hang on, when Daddy was found to beyond economical repair, he still had a job and wanted to go back to work, then he died .

others, fat and smoke send them back, check out job

[super jumbe]

Where is the JOBS!!!

[bandit boy]

A lot of disabled people would welcome the chance to get back in to work but it is hard enough to get a job with no disability so were are these jobs going to come from

[DOUGALMCD]

Of course we need to look at the benefits system as it is unfair that a lot of people working are being screwed relentlessly [taxed] by the government for trying to get on. There are not enough decent jobs and this country is allowing big firms to act like the banks do as everything becomes a monopoly. There are genuine sick as well though but you have to come up with a better system not another elastoplast. Politics suck in this country and are so see through.

[super jumbe]

All fantacy get the job when the tax man has the bigger peace of cake.
Friend of mine works 5 days a week for ?7.00 an hour @ ?175 week, not enough to live on so got another part time work every weekend @?6.75 an hour for 16 hours gets ?108 week, because of the second jog he is paying 40% tax, the extra 16 hours work he was expecting to get extra money is working for the govt he told me I have not had any holidays for the last 3years, he told me you are better off unemployed?

[rds60h]

All fantacy get the job when the tax man has the bigger peace of cake.
Friend of mine works 5 days a week for ?7.00 an hour @ ?175 week, not enough to live on so got another part time work every weekend @?6.75 an hour for 16 hours gets ?108 week, because of the second jog he is paying 40% tax, the extra 16 hours work he was expecting to get extra money is working for the govt he told me I have not had any holidays for the last 3years, he told me you are better off unemployed…

I would suggest that he contacts his local Tax Office straight away, because he is not in the 40% Tax Bracket. Even if he earns that amount 52 weeks of the year he will only earn ?14716. By the figures you state he is working 5 hours a day, 5 days a week at ?7.00 an Hour and 16 hours a week at ?6.75 an Hour.
Even if he was doing 40 hours a week on the ?7.00 an Hour (?280 per week) for 52 weeks a year that would still only be ?14560 plus the other job at ?6.75 an Hour that would bring in ?5616 PA so a total of ?20176 PA.
40% Tax does not kick in until ?31785 PA, so he is owed a Tax Rebate and a reduction in his Tax Code.
Life on Benefits is not the Life of Riley that is being portrayed by the huge number of Benefits programmes or the Life that Iain Duncan Smith would have people believe, this is the man who has been refusing to release the figures of those who have died within 14 days of being found "fit for work". In his words "they would not be in the interest of the Country" probably because it will show that his reforms are killing people and he is directly responsible.

[bandit boy]

I have worked for the last 38 years and have seen lots of changes in employment i have friends who are skilled men who are cleaning in supermarkets for ?6.80 an hour part time because they cannot find another job complete madness

[gmb45]

hmm if all the unemployed where found work the employed would still be relentlessly taxed, if all them thats on unemployed where employed there would be 1000s of job centre staff out of work, then who would find them work ? according to gov figures theres 2.5 million on esa, there isnt 2.5 million jobs going simples, all this is just pish to rob the less fortunate of society, and what about dla ? ( disability living allowance ) that is being scammed big time, but the gov seems unwilling to hav a go at that probably, because that would make them look complete basads, its to easy to hav a go at esa etc and still keep face.

[super jumbe]

I would suggest that he contacts his local Tax Office straight away, because he is not in the 40% Tax Bracket. Even if he earns that amount 52 weeks of the year he will only earn ?14716. By the figures you state he is working 5 hours a day, 5 days a week at ?7.00 an Hour and 16 hours a week at ?6.75 an Hour.
Even if he was doing 40 hours a week on the ?7.00 an Hour (?280 per week) for 52 weeks a year that would still only be ?14560 plus the other job at ?6.75 an Hour that would bring in ?5616 PA so a total of ?20176 PA.
40% Tax does not kick in until ?31785 PA, so he is owed a Tax Rebate and a reduction in his Tax Code.
Life on Benefits is not the Life of Riley that is being portrayed by the huge number of Benefits programmes or the Life that Iain Duncan Smith would have people believe, this is the man who has been refusing to release the figures of those who have died within 14 days of being found "fit for work". In his words "they would not be in the interest of the Country" probably because it will show that his reforms are killing people and he is directly responsible.

rds60h that?s the best advice I have got so far, I will send the message to my friend who wants to work hard and not sit around taking benefit from tax payers, I forgot to mention he has written to tax revenue last two weeks and waiting for an answer.

[GastonJ]

hmm if all the unemployed where found work the employed would still be relentlessly taxed, if all them thats on unemployed where employed there would be 1000s of job centre staff out of work, then who would find them work ? according to gov figures theres 2.5 million on esa, there isnt 2.5 million jobs going simples, all this is just pish to rob the less fortunate of society, and what about dla ? ( disability living allowance ) that is being scammed big time, but the gov seems unwilling to hav a go at that probably, because that would make them look complete basads, its to easy to hav a go at esa etc and still keep face.

You forgot that all the mugs like me would still be subsidising employers to pay low wages by our taxation being paid out on working tax credits and so on to keep those low paid from going homeless or hungry.

However, I don't rant and rave about it because those less fortunate do need help. Nor do I vote Tory, or complain about the unemployed, the sick, cost of teh NHS etc. I'm not a Daily Mail reader either either who voted with the "what's in it for me" crowd.

IN case you haven't noticed GDuff, the government are a bunch of scheming, backstabbing, lying basseds anyway. I thought everyone knew that

[Meat-Head]

Gaston do you believe in "don't steal, govment hates compition"