Whole of Britain is getting sicker with surge of benefits claims in wealthy southern areas – where does your town rank?
THE whole of Britain is getting sicker with even wealthy southern areas seeing a surge in sickness benefits, analysis shows.
The inner-city parts of Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham still have the highest number of claimants, as well as towns such as Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, according to Labour research.
But the biggest proportional hikes are happening in Tory heartlands, with Tonbridge, Basingstoke, South Cambridgeshire and Buckingham seeing incapacity benefits jump by a third.
Experts point fingers at a nationwide mental health crisis, with official figures revealing 69 per cent of claims linked to it.
Deven Ghelani of the benefits analysts Policy in Practice told The Times there had been a “huge spike in claims” across the board, adding: “It’s not just de-industrialisation, it’s the nation getting sicker”.
He said the fact that “the figures aren’t localised in any way suggests the rise is down to national factors — more people feeling sicker everywhere, not being able to access the support they need everywhere, the [jobseekers] benefits regime being something people want to avoid everywhere”.
The numbers are up by at least 10 per cent in every Westminster seat, according to the research.
In Conservative-held seats, numbers are up 25 per cent and in Labour-held ones, up 24 per cent.
Shadow Work and Pensions Minister Alison McGovern said: “On the Tories’ watch, millions of people across the country are stuck on mental health waiting lists or locked out of work due to long-term sickness at huge cost to them, to business and to the taxpayer too.”
A Department of Work and Pensions spokesman said: “We are building on our strong employment record with our £2.5 billion back to work plan which will help over a million people, including those with disabilities and long-term health conditions to break down barriers to work.”
Last week, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride doubled down on claims mental health culture is in danger of having gone too far, insisting Britain needs to return to the old-fashioned belief “work is good for you”.
He argued being signed off employment and parked off on benefits is just “not right”.
He told the BBC: “I think we also need to look very carefully about whether we aren’t beginning to label or medicalise conditions that in the past would have been seen as the ups and downs of life.
“We all go through difficult times in our life. That is regrettable, but it is part… it is a natural part of the human condition.”
Mr Stride added: “I think at the heart of the approach that I’m taking… and perhaps it’s an old-fashioned belief but I think it’s one that needs to come back into fashion.
“And it is that work is good for you. Work is good for your mental health. Getting up in the morning, having a sense of purpose, interacting with other people in the workplace, having that conversation at the water cooler, or whatever it may be, it’s good for our mental health.
“And there’s plenty of evidence that shows that. So my mission is to get as many people into work as possible.”