More than 8,600 people in Brighton and Hove were classed as economically inactive because they were too sick to work, according to government figures.
They account for 4 per cent of the workforce – or 1 in 25 – with Brighton and Hove among the parts of the country with the lowest levels of economic inactivity through sickness.
The figures were published by the Department for Work and Pensions today (Wednesday 19 March) as the government continued to make the case for welfare reform.
Ministers said that a growing number of people have become trapped on benefits since the coronavirus pandemic and the cost to taxpayers needs to be brought down.
But in the House of Commons on Monday (17 March) the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, Siân Berry, said that constituents were writing to her in terror about the proposed changes.
During questions about work and pensions, she said: “For weeks, the government’s active trailing of welfare cuts has generated genuine fear.
“Disabled people in Brighton Pavilion are writing to me in terror.
“Will the Secretary of State apologise for this and reassure the public that benefit changes will not take place this calendar year or without parliamentary votes in this house?”
Sir Stephen Timms, the Minister of State for Social Security and Disability, said: “First, I recognise that there has been a good deal of anxiety and I regret that.
“But there will not be long to wait. The proposals will soon become clear. The honourable lady will welcome a great deal of the changes that we want to make.”
The latest figures covered 200 parts of the United Kingdom including almost all “upper tier” councils in England such as county councils and unitaries like Brighton and Hove.
Only 25 had a lower percentage of working age people – 16 to 64-year-olds – who were economic inactivity through sickness.
While Brighton and Hove was 175th on the list, East Sussex ranked 129th, with 55.76 per cent, and West Sussex was 151st, with 4.98 per cent.
Labour force figures published separately suggested that in Brighton and Hove alone about 40,000 people in total were economically inactive. More than 5,000 were caring for someone else.
The highest level of economic activity through sickness in the UK was in Clackmannanshire, in Scotland, where the proportion was 17.4 per cent.
The highest level in England was in Blackpool – 16.9 per cent. In Wales, the highest figure was in Neath Port Talbot at 16.53 per cent. Across Northern Ireland, it was 10 per cent.
The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, wrote in The Times today: “We … have to be clear-eyed that the system is actively incentivising people towards higher incapacity benefits and away from work.
“This is not just unfair to taxpayers. It is also a bad long-term outcome for many of those people.
“The deal is simple. We need to give people the best possible circumstances to thrive at work. But those who can work should.”
This is a dodgy story to comment on, mostly because we all wonder when it’s OK to call in sick or not to work, but you also have to watch out for the shouting. .
Sometimes you go in anyway, because you need the money.
If you can call in sick and still get paid, well lucky you. (Not me, sadly.)
If I did that, then my regular employers would soon find someone else.
If I make the effort on my feeling-glum days, I generally find I feel better about myself afterwards, So that’s one plus we should acknowledge. .
But, for sure, that ls just me – and we should be able to talk about these things, and without someone trying to close the conversation down. Those paying high taxes will also resent financing those on benefits, if they aren’t told of the circumstances or of genuine need. This is the rabid stomping ground for Daily Mail writers and readers.
The sort of job you do is either rewarding emotionally, or a welcome challenge, or else it can be repetitive, mundane, and soul destroying. Some people have to carry on in a dull job because of the monthly pay cheque or weekly wage. As a self employed person, I get to pick and choose my jobs, but I’m still often saying yes to crap work when I have bills to pay.
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In Brighton and Hove we also have high overheads, starting with rent or the price of beer. If you have a standard salary job, say as a schoolteacher, then you’ll be a lot better off if you live in Leeds or in a cottage in Cumbria – because of the lesser outgoings.
Every day I come home from work and think I had got ahead, and then I find, like last week, my water bill has gone up by 53% for water I don’t actually use. I’ve just spent the winter without heating my flat.
I’ve never claimed a single benefit in my life, or not since the state paid for my education, and I wonder if that’s where I’ve gone wrong. The elephant in the room is that we all know people who have milked the system, and some never seem to work.
As it is, I can’t hang around here, because I have work stuff to plan for the morning.
Who is the most trapped, those in work or those on the dole or on disability benefits?
In truth we have all reached some weird point in history. . Something has to change. There is so much resentment in the world right now. But it’s not actually about boats crossing the Channel or people signing on.
The problem is, as much as 90% of people on the PIP should legitimately get it, there is a good 10% who should not. And that’s money the rest of us pay that should be spent on better things. The vibe I get from the news is legit claims have nothing to worry about, BS I’m to anxious to work claims will hit the bin, and good.