Thaindian News

By Venkata Vemuri
London, July 12 (IANS) The British government proposes to stop incapacity benefits, worth billions of pounds annually, to people who claim they cannot work due to causes like obesity, depression and mood disorders.

According to figures from the Office of National Statistics and the National Health Services, nearly 2.5 million people are currently on incapacity benefits. This costs the exchequer approximately 12.5 billion pounds (about $18 billion) a year.

Of them, over 400,000 are said to be suffering from health disorders, which are not permanent and treatable.

Critics have been calling for excluding people without permanent disabilities from the incapacity benefit list. They say that instead these people should be forced to take up medical treatments and regain employment.

The government proposes to axe the incapacity benefits by 2014 as part of moves to be tougher on those shying away from work. Work and Pensions Minister Chris Grayling has said in a departmental statement that all claimants will be moved to other benefits where they will be under stricter requirements to find a job.

A majority suffer from “depressive episodes”. Nearly 40,000 each are known alcoholics, drug addicts or have had a “reaction to severe stress”.

Around 9,000 claim not to be able to hold down a job because they have “phobic anxiety disorder”.

Five thousand-odd beneficiaries say they cannot work because they experience “mood disorders”. Around 1,800 have eating disorders while 1,950 are too obese to go to work.

The figure of obese beneficiaries may be small, but their benefits are quite large, totalling nearly 10 million pounds a year. They are entitled to a weekly benefit of 89.90 pounds.

(Venkata Vemuri can be contacted at venkata.v@ians.in)