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HAVE YOUR SAY

LONG TERM SICK CASES 'COULD BE SLASHED BY 60 PER CENT'

government accused of failling to tackle benefits culture

Thursday August 7,2008

By Alison Little

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(84)

MINISTERS were yesterday accused of hypocrisy by trying to gloss over 11 years of failure to tackle the benefits culture.

The accusation came after the Government welcomed research showing that the number of people claiming long-term sickness benefit could be slashed by up to 60 per cent if simple steps were taken to support them.

Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell said the findings backed up the Government’s emphasis on getting people back to work.

But his Tory shadow Chris Grayling retorted: “The attitude of Ministers at the moment is quite breathtaking.
“It is as if they are trying to airbrush out of existence their failings of the last 11 years.

“There are more people claiming incapacity benefit now than in 1997 and most current claimants started their claims under this Government.

“The latest pronouncements of Mr Purnell are little more than hypocrisy.”

About 2.7 million people claim incapacity benefit, costing taxpayers £12billion a year. About 1.8 million started claiming after 1997 when Labour came to power.

Last week Mr Purnell launched a benefits overhaul, including plans to replace incapacity benefit, re-test recipients to see if they genuinely cannot work and cut by a million the number claiming sickness payments by 2015.

**Do too many people rely on benefits?**

**Are you fed up of paying for long term sickies?**

SANDIEL - LONG TERM SICKNESS.

25.08.08, 2:40am

SandieL - I entirely agree with your comments about the form filling that genuine claimants have to go through. I also agree with what you say about MPs and their expenditure claims.

I read somewhere that over 96% of all MPs claim their maximum Parliament allowance for second home expenses to be nearer London. Besides getting tax payer funded help with any second mortgage, 96% seem to claim this max perk to purchase things like fridges and TVs, one Female Labour MP even tried to claim for a pergola.

They use the system to the maximum, all of them.
Is it any wonder therefore, that we have so many scroungers abusing and using the benefits system.
Wake up people! these politicians are not so intelligent as they try to make themselves out to be. In reality, few have any understanding of the real world. They abuse the system and others simply mimic their actions, it's as simple as that.

• Posted by: steveg • Report Comment

LONG TERM BALONEY

23.08.08, 6:04am

I know for a fact that here in the Philippines, unknown to the D.S.S.,there are hundreds, if not thousands, of middle aged men drawing sickness benefits from the UK. Their girochecks are cashed by a UK relative and the money is forwarded here. By immigration law they have to leave the Phils once a year and re-enter. They go to Malaysia or indonesia for a couple of days, then return to the Phils. Sometimes they return to the UK with suitcases full of cigarettes. The profit is so big that it can pay for a return trip. Then they show their faces at the D.S.S. as if nothing has happened.
To these guys the "credit crunch" is some sort of breakfast cereal.
I know one case where a guy was on sickness benifit for years unti he became eligible for, and draws, a state pension. Now he lives the life of Riley.
Er, he isn't sick anymore!

• Posted by: poorboy • Report Comment

PENSIONS COULD BE INCREASED BY 1000% IF THE RICH PAID THE TAXES WE DO

20.08.08, 1:41am

does this take into account the ageing population? No. Is £60 a week incentive? No. How many billions a year are lost to the British public through the tax avoidance of the rich? That's the story. Why not tell it? and support the hard working British public that are the ones that buy you paper? is it because the bloke that pays your cushy wages is one of them perhaps?

• Posted by: brusselssprouts • Report Comment

THE GOVERNMENT CREATED THIS...LET THEM CLEAN IT UP!

16.08.08, 8:14pm

They should be ashamed the worst prime minister ever not that he ever was and this incompetent government......when are they going to learn their liberal values created this situation and yet they employ illegal immigrants within their public services take the NHS, which is a huge money wasting bearacracy that employes illegal immigrants that apparently care for vulnerable patients.....not too far away eaither take one of the othropedic wards at Walsgrave Hospital.....what lunacy is this when British people are either being made redundant or find it so difficult to get back into work that theres just no incentive.......

I wish a few labour politicians had to go and claim benefit then that would teach them a lesson.....instead they bleed hard workng tax payers for their money not only for benefits but to tline their own pockets....!

• Posted by: RealIstic08 • Report Comment

TIP

13.08.08, 1:22am

Eventhe MP's £24,000 would take years for someone on Jobseekers Allowance to get.

The shysters in Government are taking the mick when they are twittering on about long term sick cases.

I posted earlier on this thread because I know by my friends experience how hard it is to get benefits for being unfit for work.

The MP's must assume because they get everything so easily, these benefits are the same - too easy to get.

Well they are wrong... they should try claiming under an alias and see how far they get, and try living on the meagre amount of money allowed.

They wouldn't even get a round of drinks and a snack the the House of Commons bar.

• Posted by: SandieL • Report Comment

BENEFIT

12.08.08, 11:43am

Too many politicians are on benefit and have been for a number of years. Lets get them to pay more before we tackle benefit cheats. The biggest cheaters are the M.P.'s with all their handouts paid for by us the taxpayer.

• Posted by: Tip • Report Comment