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According to the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), over six million people who are in work would be better off on benefits under this current government.
The UK has seen a surge in people claiming benefits since Labour came to power as many companies have frozen hiring due to extra tax hikes Rachel Reeves imposed during the last two Autumn Budgets.
The government is being warned that the UK is at risk of becoming a “welfare state with a bankrupt country attached.”
The CSJ has said that one in four who work full time would actually be better off “swapping wages for benefits.
The think tank said they are expecting every day there will be 1,000 disability claims as depression and anxiety amongst Brits is soaring.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader and Work and Pensions Secretary who founded the CSJ, said, “My reforms changed the welfare system to make work pay and brought workless households to an all-time low.
“But because of the post-Covid collapse in vetting and rise of health-related welfare claims, millions of workers could take home more from welfare than wages after tax. This is an outrageous state of affairs.
“The system must stop writing off thousands every day and incentives to work need to be restored to end this ruinous waste of human potential.
“Welfare reform is ultimately about transforming lives. The danger now is that Britain turns into a welfare state with a bankrupt country attached.”
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said, “Labour is waging a war on work. Benefits should never pay more than a full-time job.
“This Government penalises hard work, taxes graft, and rewards dependency. Only Reform UK is on the side of alarm-clock Britain – we’ll cut taxes, end welfare traps, reduce the burden on families, and make sure hard work finally pays again.”
Former Labour Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said, “The number of people being abandoned to health-related benefits shows why welfare reform cannot be left on the ‘too difficult pile’.”
He said the CSJ’s Welfare 2030 project will help to “develop a blueprint for a system that values contribution, protects the most vulnerable, and helps thousands more people gain all of the advantages that come with a job.”
Joe Shalam, the think tank’s policy director, said, “Universal credit showed that welfare reform can work when rooted in clear principles and designed for implementation. But soaring health benefit claims are reversing those gains and pushing thousands away from the workforce each day.
The Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately said, “Work should always pay, but Labour have scrapped reform, weakened checks, and allowed health-related benefits to balloon out of control.
“Labour are trapping people on welfare, and working families are treated like mugs for getting up every morning.
“Only the Conservatives have a leader with a backbone, the strong team and a plan to reform welfare, cut taxes and double apprenticeships to build a stronger economy and get Britain working again.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said, “We are glad this report confirms that the vast majority of people are better off in work, and that some PIP claimants are working. This is a snapshot, as some of the jobs mentioned are likely to be roles on which people would progress to higher salaries during their careers.
“We will continue to ensure that people are better off in work, and are already rebalancing the rates of universal credit for sickness and unemployment this year, as well as investing £1billion to support people with health conditions back into the workplace.”
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