RISHI Sunak will today take aim at the UK’s “sick note culture” as he unveils an overhaul of the benefits system.
The PM will announce that health and work professionals rather than busy GPs will tailor support to help people “parked on welfare” get back to work.
The PM will announce a review of the ‘fit note’ system after GPs issued 11million last yearGetty
Rishi Sunak wants to overhaul the UK’s ‘sick note culture’ and get people back to workThe Mega Agency
He aims to give Brits “easy and rapid” access to the specialists to help slash the long-term sickness figure which has hit a record 2.83million.
The PM will announce a review of the “fit note” system after GPs issued 11million last year — 94 per cent rating the recipient “not fit for work”.
He will say: “We don’t just need to change the sick note, we need to change the sick note culture so the default becomes what work you can do — not what you can’t.”
Welfare Secretary Mel Stride last week faced criticism for saying there was a risk the “normal ups and downs of human life” were labelled as medical conditions, holding people back from work.
Mr Sunak will say he welcomes progress on people openly talking about mental health issues and will not “dismiss or downplay” them.
The Prime Minister will add: “Just as it would be wrong to dismiss this growing trend, so it would be wrong merely to sit back and accept it because it is too hard, or too controversial, or for fear of causing offence.
“Doing so would let down many of the people our welfare system was designed to help.”
Mr Sunak will add that there is a “growing body of evidence that good work can actually improve mental and physical health”.
He will say: “We need to be more ambitious about helping people back to work and more honest about the risk of over-medicalising the everyday challenges and worries of life.”