The Guardian view on disability, illness and work: There is no ‘sick note culture’ in Britain | Editorial
EDespite his government’s low standards, Rishi Sunak’s speech on the benefits system on Friday was disappointing. It is widely recognized that the deterioration of public health in Britain is one of the most serious challenges facing the country. That 2.8 million people of working age are ‘economically inactive’, as they are now, is not a good or sustainable situation. But there is no such thing as a ‘disease culture’. The statutory sick pay in Great Britain is low according to international standardsand British workers take fewer sick days than workers in France, Germany or the US. The use of this soundbite was very misleading.
What Britain has is a large number of sick people. Since the pandemic, the number of people claiming disability benefits has increased by 850,000, half of whom suffer from anxiety or depression. Rising poverty – largely caused by cuts and ceilings – and healthcare waiting lists are two reasons for this decline in the population’s well-being. But changes in the benefit system have also contributed. In particular, the removal in 2017 of a supplementary benefit previously offered to claimants with limited work capacity was a mistake. It removed the incentive for people who were partially disabled to work toward finding a job.
Mr Sunak knows that public attitudes towards benefit recipients have changed during his party’s 14 years in power. Research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation last year showed this Voters think politicians are out of touch with the level of hardship people face. But while the Prime Minister emphasized his support for the principle of a social safety net, in announcing a consultation on cutting Personal Independence Allowance (which helps people with disabilities with the cost of living) it was clear that his priority is to cutting disability benefits by £69 billion. .
Fortunately, the looming election means that a plan that would take the job of handing out health certificates away from GPs is unlikely to get far. Rather than undermining people’s relationships with their doctors, ministers should see greater collaboration between employment agencies and primary care as a way to rebuild trust and capacity, both among individuals and communities.
This is the concept that Labor is developing, building on devolution proposals put forward at the Commission on the UK’s Future led by Gordon Brown. Bringing together local services is undoubtedly challenging and takes time. But some problems can be solved more quickly. One example cited by Alison McGovern, the shadow work and pensions secretary, is the excessively long waiting list to access work payments, which support people with disabilities with the adjustments that could enable them to work.
Another problem is the level and culture of employment advice centres, which are almost unique among government services in that they have no independent oversight. As the Institute for Employment Studies notes, such inspections play a role in promoting improvement, while their existence signals that a service matters. The rules also need to be changed so that claimants with health problems, both mental and physical, can attempt to work without the prospect of having to reapply for benefits if they prove unable to cope.
The details of the benefits system are highly technical, while the deteriorating health picture is complex and worrying. None of this makes for easy politics. But this is an area where Labor, unlike the government, has some interesting ideas.