Sunday, March 31, 2013

Nearly 900,000 on disability in UK dropped claim to payments rather than face medical evaluation, disability roles 'hid' jobless numbers-UK Telegraph

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3/30/13, "900,000 choose to come off sickness benefit ahead of tests," UK Telegraph, Patrick Hennessy

"The 878,300 who decided not to have an official assessment of whether they were fit for work was more than a third of the total number of people claiming sickness-related benefits.

The statistics also revealed that some claimants cited conditions such as “blisters”, “sprains and strains” and “acne” as preventing them from having a job. 
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More than 46,120 people claimed incapacity benefit because of “behavioural disorders due to the use of alcohol” while 29,130 claimants cited drug use.
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Last night ministers said the figures showed the full extent of how millions had been “trapped on welfare” for decades. Grant Shapps, the Conservative Party chairman, said the old system was “evil” and accused Labour of using sickness benefits to “hide the unemployed” when the party was in power. 

The statistics emerged ahead of a raft of controversial changes to the benefits system which will come into force this week - including the “bedroom tax” which sees council and social housing tenants facing reductions to their benefits if they have empty rooms in their homes. 

Also coming in is an overall benefits “cap”, which will prevent any household receiving more than £26,000 a year in total benefit payments - a figure set to reflect the average gross salary of a full-time worker....

Another 837,000 who did take the a medical test were found to be fit to work immediately, while a further 367,300 were judged able to some level of work.

Only 232,000 (one in eight of those tested) were classified by doctors to be too ill to do any sort of job....
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The vast majority of these have since dropped their claims or been found to be fit for work, according to the Department for Work and Pensions figures."...via Lucianne


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