Faisal Islam: Labour's plan for the broken welfare system throws up a bigger dilemma

Quick Summary:

The Government is making two key related judgments: The first is that the country cannot afford to sustain recent ballooning increases in the health-related benefit bill and caseload, in particular for mental illness.

In a recent report DWP adviser Professor Paul Gregg points to the "incredibly low" chances of sustained returns to the workforce once a person has been on incapacity benefits for two years.

However, the sharp increase in claimants of such benefits since the pandemic is not only attributable to ageing populations or increasing mental health diagnoses.

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Category: Business

Markets: United KingdomIrelandNetherlands

Topics: Time Economy People Mental Government Work Welfare Cuts Benefits Health

Source Website Secure: Yes (HTTPS)

News Sentiment: Neutral

Fact Checked: Legitimate

Article Type: News Report

Published On: 2025-03-17 @ 06:06:29 (15 hours ago)

News Timezone: GMT +0:00

News Source URL: bbc.com

Language: English

Article Length: 2181 words

Reading Time: 13 minutes read

Sentences: 93 lines

Sentence Length: 24 words per sentence (average)

Platforms: Desktop Web, Mobile Web, iOS App, Android App

Copyright Owner: © BBC Business

News ID: 27076577

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