New data reveals that each month, 20,000 people are unable to work due to mental health issues.
According to new figures, two-thirds of people receiving receiving incapacity benefits are unable to work because of mental health problems. This highlights the number of individuals in the UK who are too ill to work.
On average, those receiving these benefits have around 2.7 health conditions each. There is concern among experts that the cost of benefits could increase as long-term health issues become more complex.
This information follows the recent revelation that the number of people taking long-term sick leave has hit a record high of 2.8 million. This surge, following the Covid pandemic, has raised concerns about the future cost of benefits for the working-age population.
The Resolution Foundation think-tank commented that the data indicates ‘Britain has a larger, but sicker workforce than previously thought,’ reports MailOnline.
Hannah Slaughter, a senior economist at the think-tank, stated: “Tackling rising ill health is a huge social and economic challenge that we’ll be facing throughout the 2020s, as will getting the UK employment back up to and beyond pre-pandemic levels.”
The actual cost of supporting those on sick leave could rise by tens of billions of pounds over the next parliament.
The figures also reveal that the majority of benefit expenditure is directed towards mental health and learning disabilities, regardless of an individual’s ability to work.
Incapacity benefits, part of universal credit, are given to people who struggle to work or can’t work at all.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has shared numbers that show two million people are receiving health benefits through universal credit. This is an increase of 400,000 in just one year, with 69% seen as unfit for any job.
The information also shows that 69% were found unable to work due to ‘mental and behavioural disorders’. The majority – 538,000 people – were viewed as having no chance of even looking for a job.
Physical problems also played a big role in why people couldn’t work, with back and joint issues making up 48% of claims.
Officials have noted that claims can be for several different conditions and the data doesn’t show which is the main cause of illness. Other reasons for the big rise in people unable to work or on long term sick included chronic health problems like diabetes and obesity, which made up 15% of cases.
Heart disease and digestive illnesses, such as hernias, accounted for over 20% of cases.
Rishi Sunak has been facing growing pressure to manage the cost of benefits. Health Secretary Victoria Atkins told Sky News before that she wanted to ‘change the conversation from getting a sick note to getting a fit note’.
The Prime minister has promised to lower these numbers and has said: ‘ We should be encouraging everyone who can to work.
‘We now have nearly 2.5 million people of working age who are deemed unfit to work or even look for work, and I don’t think that’s right.
‘We now sign off three times as many people to be out of work than we did ten years ago. That just doesn’t seem like a system that’s working properly.
‘I strongly believe in a society that rewards hard work. I’ve talked a lot about it and I believe work gives us a sense of purpose, a sense of identity.
However, Christopher Rocks from the Health Foundation, a think tank, said the data ‘reinforces the increasing importance of mental health on people’s ability to work’.
This was echoed by Nil Guzelgun from mental health charity Mind who said the data ‘highlights the acute need for mental health support’.
Mr Rocks also warned that reducing benefits for people who are long-term sick with serious health conditions is counterproductive and instead encourages people to claim other health benefits – adding rather than reducing the benefits burden.
He also stressed that the health of working-age people has declined since the pandemic and over the last decade, saying ‘work-limiting health condition has gone up from 15% to 19%’.
Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, has outlined plans for job support for the long-term sick and also plans to push more people with mental health conditions to look for jobs.
Despite these plans, many key reforms are not due to happen for a year or more. However, a DWP spokeswoman stated: “We are taking the long-term decisions to help everyone who can work to do so, improving lives and growing the economy.
“Our landmark welfare reforms will cut the number of people due to be put onto the highest tier of incapacity benefits by over 370,000 and instead give them personalised support, while our Chance to Work Guarantee will enable people to try work without fear of losing their benefits.”
