Starmer signals budget welfare squeeze to tackle ‘worklessness’
Measures will include proposals to recover money lost to people falsely claiming benefits
Measures will include proposals to recover money lost to people falsely claiming benefits
Published: September 25, 2024
Keir Starmer indicated there would be measures aimed at pushing Britain’s long-term sick back into work at the coming budget, raising the prospect of a tighter welfare regime combined with increased support from business and the National Health Service to support people back into jobs.
“The basic proposition that you should look for work is right. People need to look for work, but they also need support,” the British prime minister said in an interview with the BBC after his speech at the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool, which the broadcaster aired early Wednesday.
Tackling “worklessness” to boost productivity would be a priority for his administration, he said, confirming he was looking at measures “where businesses are supporting people back into work from long-term sickness.”
Those measures will include a crackdown on welfare fraud, including new proposals for the department for work and pensions to recover money lost to people falsely claiming benefits, the Labour Party said. Bloomberg previously reported that Labour lawmakers expect welfare cuts in the budget to be delivered by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves on Oct. 30.
Some 2.8 million people are out of work because of sickness, around half a million more than in 2019, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. Reducing those numbers is necessary if the government wants to prevent a soaring benefits bill. The OBR says sickness and disability payments will rise by 30 billion pounds in the next five years on current forecasts.
In a speech at the party convention on Wednesday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting will announce how the NHS will be part of the government’s mission on boosting economic growth. Special healthcare teams will be sent into areas with the highest levels of economic inactivity, to introduce ways of treating people who are out of work due to ill health much faster.
“We will take the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS, get sick Brits back to health and back to work,” Streeting will say, according to a statement released by his office. “Our reforms are focused not only on delivering our health mission but also moving the dial on our growth mission.”
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a media interview while attending the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations on September 25, 2024, in New York.Image Credit: AFP
Keir Starmer indicated there would be measures aimed at pushing Britain’s long-term sick back into work at the coming budget, raising the prospect of a tighter welfare regime combined with increased support from business and the National Health Service to support people back into jobs.
“The basic proposition that you should look for work is right. People need to look for work, but they also need support,” the British prime minister said in an interview with the BBC after his speech at the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool, which the broadcaster aired early Wednesday.
Tackling “worklessness” to boost productivity would be a priority for his administration, he said, confirming he was looking at measures “where businesses are supporting people back into work from long-term sickness.”
Those measures will include a crackdown on welfare fraud, including new proposals for the department for work and pensions to recover money lost to people falsely claiming benefits, the Labour Party said. Bloomberg previously reported that Labour lawmakers expect welfare cuts in the budget to be delivered by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves on Oct. 30.
Some 2.8 million people are out of work because of sickness, around half a million more than in 2019, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. Reducing those numbers is necessary if the government wants to prevent a soaring benefits bill. The OBR says sickness and disability payments will rise by 30 billion pounds in the next five years on current forecasts.
In a speech at the party convention on Wednesday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting will announce how the NHS will be part of the government’s mission on boosting economic growth. Special healthcare teams will be sent into areas with the highest levels of economic inactivity, to introduce ways of treating people who are out of work due to ill health much faster.
“We will take the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS, get sick Brits back to health and back to work,” Streeting will say, according to a statement released by his office. “Our reforms are focused not only on delivering our health mission but also moving the dial on our growth mission.”
Keir Starmer: Those on long-term sickness benefit 'need to be back in the workplace'
Ross Hunter
Wed 25 September 2024
Keir Starmer has said his government will act to get more people on long-term sickness benefit back to work (Image: Stefan Rousseau)
PEOPLE who claim long-term sickness benefits should be made to look for work, Keir Starmer has said.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the Prime Minister said: “I think the basic proposition that you should look for work is right.
“Obviously there will be hard cases, but the way I would do it is to say yes, that’s the basic proposition, but we also want to support that so that more people can get into work.”
He had earlier said: “I’ve gone out and looked at schemes where businesses are supporting people back into work from long-term sickness.
READ MORE: Greens: Scotland and UK must work together to tax private jets
“Because quite often I think what lies behind this is a fear for someone who’s been on long-term sickness, that can they get back into the workplace? Are they going to be able to cope? Is it all going to go hopelessly wrong?
“Yes they need to be back in the workplace where they can, but I do think that if we can put the right support in place, which I’ve seen pilots of, they work pretty well, and we want to see more of those across the country.”
Some 2.8 million people are out of work due to ill-health, 500,000 more than in 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics.
A report by the BCG and NHS Confederation earlier this month found that 85% of those are long-term sick.
The Office for National Statistics say 2.8 million people are out of work due to ill-health (Image: Getty)
The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that the bill for sickness and disability benefits will soar by £30 billion in the next five years, on current trajectories.
His comments come before a speech by Health Secretary Wes Streeting to the Labour Party conference on Wednesday.
Streeting said that is was up to the government to get sick people back to health and back to work quickly.
Speaking to Sky News, Streeting said: “Where people are off ill and they are unable to work, the social security system is available, and it’s up to us to make sure that we get them back to health and back to work quickly.
“Where people are fraudulently claiming benefits, that’s a different kettle of fish, and people shouldn’t be doing that, and we’re not going to tolerate it, which is why, in her speech and through her work as the Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall will be clear, as has the Prime Minister, that we’ve got to reduce the benefits bill.
“Part of that is also about recognising that the failure of the previous government means that the NHS hasn’t always been there for people when they need it, we owe it to them to get them back to health and back to work, and that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
He added: “It’s good for the nation’s health, but also good for the nation’s economy as well, because a healthy nation is a healthy economy, and a healthy economy helps to drive a healthy nation.”
National disability charity Sense said the Prime Minister’s comments “ignore the enormous and deeply unfair barriers that far too many disabled people face when it comes to job hunting”.
Harriet Edwards, the organisation’s head of policy, said while many “desperately want to work”, the current system “blocks them from doing so”, citing the charity’s research that half of jobseekers with complex disabilities do not feel they have the support and equipment they need to look for a job.
Around 31% want assistive technology such as text-to-speech screen readers, dictation software and braille displays to help them communicate and find jobs, Sense said but added that its research suggested “zero job centres across the country have this available”.
Long-term sick need to get back to work where they can, says Starmer
Aletha Adu Political correspondent
Philip Toscano & Sion Morgan
Wed 25 September 2024
-Credit: (Image: PA)
People who claim long-term sickness benefits should be made to look for work if they are able to, the Prime Minister has said.
Sir Keir Starmer said that support will be in place to help people get jobs, as the Government looks to reduce the number of claimants.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the Prime Minister said: "I think the basic proposition that you should look for work is right."
"Obviously there will be hard cases, but the way I would do it is to say yes, that's the basic proposition, but we also want to support that so that more people can get into work."
He had earlier said: "I've gone out and looked at schemes where businesses are supporting people back into work from long-term sickness."
"Because quite often I think what lies behind this is a fear for someone who's been on long-term sickness, that can they get back into the workplace? Are they going to be able to cope? Is it all going to go hopelessly wrong?"
"Yes they need to be back in the workplace where they can, but I do think that if we can put the right support in place, which I've seen pilots of, they work pretty well, and we want to see more of those across the country."
Some 2.8 million people are out of work due to ill-health, 500,000 more than in 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics.
A report by the BCG and NHS Confederation earlier this month found that 85% of those are long-term sick.
The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that the bill for sickness and disability benefits will soar by £30 billion in the next five years, on current trajectories.
Mr Starmer's comments came before Health Secretary Wes Streeting's speech to the Labour Party conference.
Mr Streeting said "a crack team" of senior doctors will be brought in to implement reforms aimed at getting patients treated faster and help people get back to work to reduce waiting lists, unemployment and economic inactivity.
Mr Streeting told the conference in Liverpool: "We're sending crack teams of top clinicians to hospitals across the country to roll out reforms developed by surgeons to treat more patients and cut waiting lists."
"And I can announce today that the first 20 hospitals targeted by these teams will be in areas with the highest numbers of people off work sick."
"Because our reforms are focused not only on delivering our health mission but also moving the dial on our growth mission too."
"We will take the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS, get sick Brits back to health and back to work."
He had earlier told Sky News: "Where people are off ill and they are unable to work, the social security system is available, and it's up to us to make sure that we get them back to health and back to work quickly."
"Where people are fraudulently claiming benefits, that's a different kettle of fish, and people shouldn't be doing that, and we're not going to tolerate it, which is why, in her speech and through her work as the Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall will be clear, as has the Prime Minister, that we've got to reduce the benefits bill."
"Part of that is also about recognising that the failure of the previous government means that the NHS hasn't always been there for people when they need it, we owe it to them to get them back to health and back to work, and that's exactly what we'll do."
He added: "It's good for the nation's health, but also good for the nation's economy as well, because a healthy nation is a healthy economy, and a healthy economy helps to drive a healthy nation."
The report earlier this month from the NHS Confederation and BCG showed two main age groups are driving the rise in long-term sickness coupled with economic inactivity.
These are 18 to 24-year-olds and 50 to 64-year-olds, with the older group accounting for 55% of all inactive long-term sick people.
In both groups, there has been a "rapid rise" in people reporting multiple health conditions, with over 40% of those aged 50 to 64 in this group saying they have five or more conditions, the study found.
Musculoskeletal (MSK) and mental health issues account for around 50% of all conditions reported by people who are long-term sick and economically inactive.
"Data shows that growth in mental health conditions in this population extends beyond the pandemic impact, steadily rising since 2017/18 and remaining the most reported condition among 16 to 24 and 25 to 49-year-olds," the report said.
"The previously steady downward trend in MSK conditions reversed to growth post-Covid 19, particularly driven by 50 to 64-year-olds."
The report called for a whole government approach to tackling the root causes of ill health, including poor living or working conditions.
It suggested that tackling NHS waiting lists was good but "when it comes to economic inactivity driven by long-term sickness, the issue goes wider than just immediate clinical care".
It said: "Our analysis has underlined the importance of wider social determinants of health, such as economic and working conditions and crime, on overall population health."
Ross Hunter
Wed 25 September 2024
Keir Starmer has said his government will act to get more people on long-term sickness benefit back to work (Image: Stefan Rousseau)
PEOPLE who claim long-term sickness benefits should be made to look for work, Keir Starmer has said.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the Prime Minister said: “I think the basic proposition that you should look for work is right.
“Obviously there will be hard cases, but the way I would do it is to say yes, that’s the basic proposition, but we also want to support that so that more people can get into work.”
He had earlier said: “I’ve gone out and looked at schemes where businesses are supporting people back into work from long-term sickness.
READ MORE: Greens: Scotland and UK must work together to tax private jets
“Because quite often I think what lies behind this is a fear for someone who’s been on long-term sickness, that can they get back into the workplace? Are they going to be able to cope? Is it all going to go hopelessly wrong?
“Yes they need to be back in the workplace where they can, but I do think that if we can put the right support in place, which I’ve seen pilots of, they work pretty well, and we want to see more of those across the country.”
Some 2.8 million people are out of work due to ill-health, 500,000 more than in 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics.
A report by the BCG and NHS Confederation earlier this month found that 85% of those are long-term sick.
The Office for National Statistics say 2.8 million people are out of work due to ill-health (Image: Getty)
The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that the bill for sickness and disability benefits will soar by £30 billion in the next five years, on current trajectories.
His comments come before a speech by Health Secretary Wes Streeting to the Labour Party conference on Wednesday.
Streeting said that is was up to the government to get sick people back to health and back to work quickly.
Speaking to Sky News, Streeting said: “Where people are off ill and they are unable to work, the social security system is available, and it’s up to us to make sure that we get them back to health and back to work quickly.
“Where people are fraudulently claiming benefits, that’s a different kettle of fish, and people shouldn’t be doing that, and we’re not going to tolerate it, which is why, in her speech and through her work as the Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall will be clear, as has the Prime Minister, that we’ve got to reduce the benefits bill.
“Part of that is also about recognising that the failure of the previous government means that the NHS hasn’t always been there for people when they need it, we owe it to them to get them back to health and back to work, and that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
He added: “It’s good for the nation’s health, but also good for the nation’s economy as well, because a healthy nation is a healthy economy, and a healthy economy helps to drive a healthy nation.”
National disability charity Sense said the Prime Minister’s comments “ignore the enormous and deeply unfair barriers that far too many disabled people face when it comes to job hunting”.
Harriet Edwards, the organisation’s head of policy, said while many “desperately want to work”, the current system “blocks them from doing so”, citing the charity’s research that half of jobseekers with complex disabilities do not feel they have the support and equipment they need to look for a job.
Around 31% want assistive technology such as text-to-speech screen readers, dictation software and braille displays to help them communicate and find jobs, Sense said but added that its research suggested “zero job centres across the country have this available”.
Long-term sick need to get back to work where they can, says Starmer
Aletha Adu Political correspondent
THE GUARDIAN
Wed 25 September 2024
Keir Starmer: ‘I think the basic proposition that you should look for work is right.’Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images
People who have been on long-term sickness leave and claiming benefits will need get back into the workplace “where they can”, Keir Starmer has said.
The prime minister said he wants more schemes across the country that support people back into work from long-term sickness because he believes in the “basic proposition that you should look for work”.
Starmer was speaking on the final day of Labour conference, after telling members there would be “light at the end of this tunnel” but adding they must first join a “shared struggle” through tough short-term pressures.
He also told Labour activists during his speech: “If we want to maintain support for the welfare state, then we will legislate to stop benefit fraud, do everything we can to tackle worklessness.”
Asked by the BBC’s Today programme if he agreed with the proposition that virtually no one should claim benefits without trying to get back to work, Starmer said: “I think the basic proposition that you should look for work is right.
“Obviously there will be hard cases, but the way I would do it is to say: yes, that’s the basic proposition, but we also want to support [people] that so that more people can get into work.”
He had earlier said: “I’ve gone out and looked at schemes where businesses are supporting people back into work from long-term sickness.
“Because quite often I think what lies behind this is a fear for someone who’s been on long-term sickness, that: can they get back into the workplace? Are they going to be able to cope? Is it all going to go hopelessly wrong?
“Yes they need to be back in the workplace where they can, but I do think that if we can put the right support in place, which I’ve seen pilots of, they work pretty well, and we want to see more of those across the country.”
About 3 million people in the UK are not working because of long-term sickness.
In the same interview, the prime minister suggested he had accepted he equivalent of £20,000 in donations for accommodation because his son needed somewhere to revise for his GCSEs while his family home was surrounded with journalists during the election campaign.
While Starmer said the transition to Downing Street had been “really difficult” for his two children, who had grown up in north London, he did however defend his decision to take gifts from Labour peer Lord Alli amid criticism of the arrangement.
The prime minister said he was “not going to apologise for not doing anything wrong” and the freebies did not “cost the taxpayer a penny”.
He told the BBC: “My boy, 16, was in the middle of his GCSEs. I made him a promise, a promise that he would be able to get to his school, do his exams, without being disturbed.
“We have lots of journalists outside our house where we live and I’m not complaining about that, that’s fine.
“But if you’re a 16-year-old trying to do your GCSEs and it’s your one chance in life – I promised him we would move somewhere, get out of the house and go somewhere where he could be peacefully studying.
“Somebody then offered me accommodation where we could do that. I took that up and it was the right thing to do.”
Asked whether he would like to apologise for the row, he told LBC: “I’m not going to apologise for not doing anything wrong.”
It comes after Starmer said ministers would no longer take donations for clothing now they were in government, but he left the door open to receiving more access to events, such as the £4,000 worth of tickets to a Taylor Swift concert he accepted from the Premier League.
Keir Starmer warns long-term benefit claimants they should have to look for work
Wed 25 September 2024
Keir Starmer: ‘I think the basic proposition that you should look for work is right.’Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images
People who have been on long-term sickness leave and claiming benefits will need get back into the workplace “where they can”, Keir Starmer has said.
The prime minister said he wants more schemes across the country that support people back into work from long-term sickness because he believes in the “basic proposition that you should look for work”.
Starmer was speaking on the final day of Labour conference, after telling members there would be “light at the end of this tunnel” but adding they must first join a “shared struggle” through tough short-term pressures.
He also told Labour activists during his speech: “If we want to maintain support for the welfare state, then we will legislate to stop benefit fraud, do everything we can to tackle worklessness.”
Asked by the BBC’s Today programme if he agreed with the proposition that virtually no one should claim benefits without trying to get back to work, Starmer said: “I think the basic proposition that you should look for work is right.
“Obviously there will be hard cases, but the way I would do it is to say: yes, that’s the basic proposition, but we also want to support [people] that so that more people can get into work.”
He had earlier said: “I’ve gone out and looked at schemes where businesses are supporting people back into work from long-term sickness.
“Because quite often I think what lies behind this is a fear for someone who’s been on long-term sickness, that: can they get back into the workplace? Are they going to be able to cope? Is it all going to go hopelessly wrong?
“Yes they need to be back in the workplace where they can, but I do think that if we can put the right support in place, which I’ve seen pilots of, they work pretty well, and we want to see more of those across the country.”
About 3 million people in the UK are not working because of long-term sickness.
In the same interview, the prime minister suggested he had accepted he equivalent of £20,000 in donations for accommodation because his son needed somewhere to revise for his GCSEs while his family home was surrounded with journalists during the election campaign.
While Starmer said the transition to Downing Street had been “really difficult” for his two children, who had grown up in north London, he did however defend his decision to take gifts from Labour peer Lord Alli amid criticism of the arrangement.
The prime minister said he was “not going to apologise for not doing anything wrong” and the freebies did not “cost the taxpayer a penny”.
He told the BBC: “My boy, 16, was in the middle of his GCSEs. I made him a promise, a promise that he would be able to get to his school, do his exams, without being disturbed.
“We have lots of journalists outside our house where we live and I’m not complaining about that, that’s fine.
“But if you’re a 16-year-old trying to do your GCSEs and it’s your one chance in life – I promised him we would move somewhere, get out of the house and go somewhere where he could be peacefully studying.
“Somebody then offered me accommodation where we could do that. I took that up and it was the right thing to do.”
Asked whether he would like to apologise for the row, he told LBC: “I’m not going to apologise for not doing anything wrong.”
It comes after Starmer said ministers would no longer take donations for clothing now they were in government, but he left the door open to receiving more access to events, such as the £4,000 worth of tickets to a Taylor Swift concert he accepted from the Premier League.
Keir Starmer warns long-term benefit claimants they should have to look for work
Philip Toscano & Sion Morgan
Wed 25 September 2024
-Credit: (Image: PA)
People who claim long-term sickness benefits should be made to look for work if they are able to, the Prime Minister has said.
Sir Keir Starmer said that support will be in place to help people get jobs, as the Government looks to reduce the number of claimants.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the Prime Minister said: "I think the basic proposition that you should look for work is right."
"Obviously there will be hard cases, but the way I would do it is to say yes, that's the basic proposition, but we also want to support that so that more people can get into work."
He had earlier said: "I've gone out and looked at schemes where businesses are supporting people back into work from long-term sickness."
"Because quite often I think what lies behind this is a fear for someone who's been on long-term sickness, that can they get back into the workplace? Are they going to be able to cope? Is it all going to go hopelessly wrong?"
"Yes they need to be back in the workplace where they can, but I do think that if we can put the right support in place, which I've seen pilots of, they work pretty well, and we want to see more of those across the country."
Some 2.8 million people are out of work due to ill-health, 500,000 more than in 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics.
A report by the BCG and NHS Confederation earlier this month found that 85% of those are long-term sick.
The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that the bill for sickness and disability benefits will soar by £30 billion in the next five years, on current trajectories.
Mr Starmer's comments came before Health Secretary Wes Streeting's speech to the Labour Party conference.
Mr Streeting said "a crack team" of senior doctors will be brought in to implement reforms aimed at getting patients treated faster and help people get back to work to reduce waiting lists, unemployment and economic inactivity.
Mr Streeting told the conference in Liverpool: "We're sending crack teams of top clinicians to hospitals across the country to roll out reforms developed by surgeons to treat more patients and cut waiting lists."
"And I can announce today that the first 20 hospitals targeted by these teams will be in areas with the highest numbers of people off work sick."
"Because our reforms are focused not only on delivering our health mission but also moving the dial on our growth mission too."
"We will take the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS, get sick Brits back to health and back to work."
He had earlier told Sky News: "Where people are off ill and they are unable to work, the social security system is available, and it's up to us to make sure that we get them back to health and back to work quickly."
"Where people are fraudulently claiming benefits, that's a different kettle of fish, and people shouldn't be doing that, and we're not going to tolerate it, which is why, in her speech and through her work as the Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall will be clear, as has the Prime Minister, that we've got to reduce the benefits bill."
"Part of that is also about recognising that the failure of the previous government means that the NHS hasn't always been there for people when they need it, we owe it to them to get them back to health and back to work, and that's exactly what we'll do."
He added: "It's good for the nation's health, but also good for the nation's economy as well, because a healthy nation is a healthy economy, and a healthy economy helps to drive a healthy nation."
The report earlier this month from the NHS Confederation and BCG showed two main age groups are driving the rise in long-term sickness coupled with economic inactivity.
These are 18 to 24-year-olds and 50 to 64-year-olds, with the older group accounting for 55% of all inactive long-term sick people.
In both groups, there has been a "rapid rise" in people reporting multiple health conditions, with over 40% of those aged 50 to 64 in this group saying they have five or more conditions, the study found.
Musculoskeletal (MSK) and mental health issues account for around 50% of all conditions reported by people who are long-term sick and economically inactive.
"Data shows that growth in mental health conditions in this population extends beyond the pandemic impact, steadily rising since 2017/18 and remaining the most reported condition among 16 to 24 and 25 to 49-year-olds," the report said.
"The previously steady downward trend in MSK conditions reversed to growth post-Covid 19, particularly driven by 50 to 64-year-olds."
The report called for a whole government approach to tackling the root causes of ill health, including poor living or working conditions.
It suggested that tackling NHS waiting lists was good but "when it comes to economic inactivity driven by long-term sickness, the issue goes wider than just immediate clinical care".
It said: "Our analysis has underlined the importance of wider social determinants of health, such as economic and working conditions and crime, on overall population health."
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