Labour urged to introduce legally enforced ‘duty to work’ clause for benefit claimants signed off sick

LABOUR must introduce a new legally enforced “duty to work” clause for benefit claimants signed off sick, a former cabinet minister says.

Just one in ten of workers signed off on incapacity benefits have to prove they are taking steps to find work, according to a major study of Britain’s ballooning benefit culture.

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The Pathways to Work Commission published tomorrow has studied economically inactive people in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

And it concludes it is “perverse” that so many economically inactive people of working age have no support despite many wanting work.

It was led by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, who will urge new Benefits boss Liz Kendall to legislate for a new “radical reform” of the system.

He will call for a “duty of engagement to be imposed on welfare recipients”.

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The probe studied out of work people in Barnsley since July 2023, when there were 4,000 job vacancies in the borough.

While there were only 4,030 jobseekers mandated by the Department for Work and Pensions to look for work, they found a further 6,000 economically inactive residents who wanted a job.

It warned they received little or no support to find work but nine in ten faced no conditionality and received higher payments than those actively seeking work.

Last night Mr Milburn said: “Britain has to expand our skilled workforce if we are to become more globally competitive. We have to double down on getting more people out of economic inactivity back into work.

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“That requires radical reform of the welfare system. It needs to help more people into jobs with services attuned to their needs.

“Equally if you are getting benefits and could work you should have to engage with those services. Government can help but people need to help themselves.”