07/10/2005

Incapacity benefit ‘hot spots’ to receive support

Work and Pensions Secretary David Blunkett has announced funding to help some of the areas worst affected by dependence on incapacity benefits.

Communities in Glasgow, Cumbria, West Lancashire and the Tees Valley will benefit from rehabilitation and jobs support under the government’s Pathways to Work scheme.

Mr Blunkett said that over 160,000 would be helped by the new scheme. He said: “Nearly all people coming onto incapacity benefits want and expect to get back to work. Our job is to help them surmount the barriers they face. This is not just good for the individual, but for the local community and economy too, so that skills and potential do not go to waste.

“Gone are the days when people were left to fend for themselves, without a programme of rehabilitation and medical help. Pathways to Work is part of reforming the welfare state to build a ladder out of poverty that empowers the individual.”

The scheme assigns claimants to a personal adviser with whom they attend monthly work-focused interviews. The support, which is also available for those already claiming benefits, also provides referral to NHS rehabilitation programmes and access to training courses.

The Pathways to Work scheme is due to be introduced to a further nine areas from next April and an additional three in October 2006.

(KMcA/GB)








Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

30 October 2006
Campaign to crack down on benefit cheats launched
The government has launched a campaign which aims to crack down on benefit cheats. The 'No Ifs, No Buts' campaign stresses the message that there are no excuses for committing benefit fraud. It is estimated that almost £1 billion was lost last year through benefit fraud, compared to £2 billion in 2001.
17 February 2015
Plans Announced To Make Young People Work For Benefits
The Prime Minister has announced a proposal for 18 to 21-year-olds claiming benefits to do daily work experience. The proposed reform, known as Community Work Programme, would see young people not in work, education or training, required to complete daily work experience, alongside continuing to look for work in order to qualify for benefits.
10 October 2005
Blunkett announces welfare reform principles
Work and Pensions Secretary David Blunkett has urged thousands of people on incapacity benefit to return to work, as he launched his ‘principles of welfare reform’ on Monday. Mr Blunkett said that for many of the 2.
19 October 2004
GPs urged to help end 'sick note' culture
Doctors have today been urged to resist signing people off on long-term sick leave as it could seriously interfere with their attempts to get back to work. The latest figures on Incapacity Benefit (IB) have found that over the last two decades the number of people on the benefit had trebled.
10 May 2006
Consultants contracts 'do not benefit benefit patients'
New NHS contracts for senior hospital doctors in England have provided little benefit to patients, a new report has claimed. According to the King's Fund report, the new consultant contract, which was implemented in 2003, cost £90 million more to implement than was originally planned.