Unemployed people, including those with disabilities, could lose benefits if they don’t step up their job hunt.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is to launch a £2.5bn ‘Back to Work Plan’ in the Autumn Statement next week, aimed at increasing workforce participation. The plan includes increased sanctions for unemployed people who don’t look for work.
Under the crackdown, “digital tools” will be used to track people’s attendance at interviews and jobs fairs. Job seekers could see their benefits payments cut but also lose associated benefits such as free prescriptions and legal aid if they’re judged not to be looking for work.
The Government says the Back to Work Plan will “help people stay healthy, get off benefits and move into work.”
Hunt, said: “We’re serious about growing our economy and that means we must address the rise in people who aren’t looking for work – especially because we know so many of them want to and with almost a million vacancies in the jobs market the opportunities are there.
“These changes mean there’s help and support for everyone – but for those who refuse it, there are consequences too. Anyone choosing to coast on the hard work of taxpayers will lose their benefits.”
Since the pandemic the number of people inactive in the UK due to long-term sickness or disability has risen by almost half a million to a record high of 2.6 million, with mental health, musculoskeletal conditions and heart disease being some of the main causes.
Currently, benefits claimants can be subjected to open-ended sanctions, such as benefit deductions, if certain requirements are not met, such as attending meetings with a work coach.
‘Sanctions are ineffective’
Under the plan benefit claimants who “continue to refuse to engage with the Jobcentre” will face having their claim closed. This will end their access to additional benefits such as free prescriptions, dental care, legal aid and help with energy costs. The latest published data shows that there were 300,000 people who had been unemployed for more than a year in the three months to July.
According to the Back to Work Plan, no one should receive full jobseekers allowance for 18 months unless they have taken support from a Jobcentre.
Richard Kramer, chief executive of Sense, said: “The Government will now double down on plans to toughen up the existing benefit sanctions regime despite all research that evidence they have limited effect in getting disabled people into work. Sanctions are ineffective. They drive destitution, not work.”
