People with mobility impairments or mental health conditions will be asked to work from home or lose their benefits as part of what UK Government ministers said today would be their “obligation”.
The measures are due to be announced on Wednesday as part of the Autumn Statement, as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak seeks to reform the welfare system which he described on Monday as “unsustainable”.
Under the plans, first reported by The Times, hundreds of thousands of people will be told to find work that can be done from home or face a cut in benefits of £4,680 a year.
Treasury Secretary Laura Trott told Sky News: “Of course we should support people to get into work, but ultimately we have a duty to people to work if they can. Those who can work and contribute should contribute.”
Earlier, she told Times Radio that the Government’s plan was “not just to force people out”, adding: “The Government’s plan is to put in place the right mechanisms to support you, but ultimately you have to get on board with it, and it’s your duty as a citizen, and if you don’t we will consider sanctions.”
There has been strong criticism from charities, with Ayla Ozmen, director of policy and campaigns at anti-poverty charity Z2K, describing the plan as “rushed and ill-considered”.
“There is no evidence to support the idea that there are jobs suitable for these groups that can be worked entirely remotely,” she said.
“This is simply a cut to people who will suffer serious illness or disability in future and need social security support, and risks making people less well-off and keeping them out of work.”
Sarah White, head of policy at national disability charity Sense, said: “Everyone should be able to work if they want to and can, but the Government’s measures are likely to penalise disabled people and create further uncertainty for already struggling disabled families.”
Details of the policy will be set out by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after the Government consulted on the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) a few months ago.
Mr Trott also went further than Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt when asked whether the autumn statement would go beyond business tax cuts. Pressed whether the Chancellor would offer tax cuts for individuals, Trott told the BBC’s Today programme: “That’s the focus.”
“Broadly speaking, this is a big moment for us and for people across the country because inflation has been halved. We know how difficult it has been and it will have significant implications for household finances.”
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Charities have already warned that DWP plans to tighten health benefits, which are paid to more than three million working-age adults in the UK, could cause “significant anxiety” for disabled people and mean “sanctions”.
Campaigners also say changes to the welfare system could mean many people lose nearly £400 a month in support. Tony Wilson, director of the Institute for Employment Studies, told the Guardian in September that extra support to help disabled people get work should not come with such strict conditions.
“We believe in the inherent dignity of good work, and we believe that work, not welfare, is the best way out of poverty,” the prime minister said in London on Monday, setting out his plans to reform the welfare system.
“Yet today, around two million people of working age are not working at all. This is a national scandal and a huge waste of human potential. So we must do more to help those who can work to do so.”
The number of people on health-related benefit receipts has risen by a quarter since the eve of the coronavirus pandemic, with most of them in the Capacity Restricted for Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) group receiving an extra £390.06 a month.