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MPs tackle 'sick note Britain'Date: 19/11/2007 13:40:57
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The government has outlined new plans it hopes will see the end of the 'sick note Britain' epidemic, with the introduction of new measures to assess a person's health and reduce the number claiming employment benefits.
The Department for Work and Pensions hopes that the stringent new plans will cut the number of people claiming sickness benefits by around 20,000 people.
Currently around 2.64 million people within working age are claiming incapacity benefits, costing the tax payer an estimated £12.5 billion per year.
The new tests require people to pass a work capability assessment from next October, during which their physical and mental ability as well as their capability to carry out work will be examined.
"Currently, there are many people sitting at home in the belief they are unemployable, with no life choices or long-term prospects because they do not think their illness or medical conditions can be catered for in the workplace," work and pensions secretary Peter Hain said.
"But this is just not the case - many people with such conditions are perfectly able to take up successful careers, if the right support is in place," he added.
"The government rhetoric about 'ending sick-note Britain' will ring hollow until they do more to stem the tide of people falling into long-term sickness in the first place," concluded Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) employee relations adviser Ben Willmott.
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