1.8 million people on Universal Credit are getting no support to
find work, according to new data out today (Thursday 13 March).
The number has almost quadrupled since the start of the pandemic
when 360,000 people were considered too sick to look for work – a
383% rise in less than five years. In the last year alone, the
number has risen by from 1.4 million people to 1.8 million.
The number of young people aged 16 to 24 on LCWRA has risen by
249% from 46,000 to 160,000 since the pandemic – demonstrating a
worrying increase in the number people becoming trapped in
inactivity early in life, with almost one million young people
not in education, employment, or training.
The Government is already taking action to get people into work
through its plan to get Britain working which will empower local
mayors to tackle economic inactivity, overhaul jobcentres, and
deliver a Youth Guarantee so every young person is either earning
or learning.
Building on the biggest employment reforms for a generation,
is due to announce radical welfare reforms to create
a thriving and inclusive labour market - as part of the
government's Plan for Change to unlock work, boost growth and
raise living standards.
Work and Pensions Secretary, Rt Hon. MP, said:
“Millions of people have been locked out of work by a failing
welfare system which abandons people - when we know there
are at least 200,000 people who want to work, and are crying out
for the right support and a fair chance.
“This is government is determined to fix the broken benefits
system we inherited so it genuinely supports people, unlocks
work, boosts living standards while putting the welfare bill on a
more sustainable footing.”
In the current dysfunctional system, a person is placed in binary
categories of either “fit for work” or “not fit for work” through
the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) – an assessment the
Government has said it will either reform or replace, so it no
longer drives people who want to work to a life on benefits.
Through this process, those not fit for work are told they have
Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (LCWRA) – meaning
they won't receive employment support or further engagement from
the system at any point following their assessment – effectively
abandoning and locking them out of work indefinitely.
The current system, in which people 25 and over on the standard
rate of UC get £393.45 a month and those with a health condition
get an additional £416.19, gives an incentive for people to say
they can't work – and get locked out of help and support – simply
to get by financially.
Over the past five years, 67% of people on Universal Credit who
have been through a WCA were considered LCWRA - a symptom of the
assessment system pushing people to prove their inability to work
for a more generous payout.
The government has hit the ground running to tackle
health-related inactivity at its root, improving the country's
wellness by investing £26 billion in the NHS, delivering 2
million extra appointments to tackle medical waiting lists,
and hiring an extra 8,500 mental health workers, so people get
the treatment they need to stay healthy and in work.
This comes alongside the £250 million plan to get Britian working
and the recently announced 1000 Work Coaches will be redeployed
to offer intensive employment support to around 65,000 sick and
disabled people - a ‘downpayment' on our plan to restore fairness
to our welfare system.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- While a rise in LCWRA cases was anticipated for reasons
including people moving from legacy benefits onto Universal
Credit, it has surged far beyond projections.
- 70% of the increased caseload - across UC and legacy benefits
- in the past five years was not expected by the Department, and
comes as the UK remains the only country in the G7 that has
higher levels of economic inactivity now than before the
pandemic.
