The Department for Work and Pensions has been urged to stop letting benefit claims be made over the telephone and to offer treatment instead of cash payments for people with moderate anxiety and depression. Sir Jeremy Hunt, the former Chancellor of the Conservative Party, has called on the DWP and the Labour government to bring in the change to how claims are made.
Sir Jeremy calls for end to telephone benefit claims
Sir Jeremy said that the government should stop people applying for benefits by telephone. He argued that it is not right that in the UK, 1,000 people are being signed off every single day and told they do not have to work or even look for work. He described this as a “crying waste of talent.”
According to Sir Jeremy, the majority of those signed off are now off work due to anxiety and depression. He said that instead of putting people with these conditions on benefits, the government should be saying it will treat them. He added that when he was health secretary, every doctor he spoke to said people with anxiety and depression need social contact, but putting them on benefits excludes them from the world and probably makes their condition worse.
Welfare savings and treatment costs
Sir Jeremy said that if the welfare bill were reduced to 2019 levels, it would save more than £50 billion a year, which he described as a lot of money. He said increasing welfare spending is a problem that really started during the pandemic. “We’ve had this mushrooming since the pandemic,” the former chancellor added.
Sir Jeremy said: “I think you should say for moderate anxiety and depression we’re not going to park you on benefits, we’re going to give you treatment, which would be a fraction of the cost.” He argued that it is not compassionate to park someone with mental illness on benefits so they do not work for the rest of their lives, calling it the worst possible thing for their mental health and their future.
Reassurance on support for those in need
Sir Jeremy also reassured people, saying: “I am not arguing for one moment that we shouldn’t be helping people who need it.” His comments come as the DWP faces ongoing scrutiny over its handling of benefit claims for mental health conditions, with the former chancellor urging a shift toward treatment-based support rather than cash payments.
