Ex-benefits assessors have revealed flaws in the system in a Channel 4 documentary (Image: Getty)
Job Centre staff have revealed the shocking ways dishonest benefits
Former assessors spoke out for a Channel 4 documentary, claimants game the system by saying they have suicidal thoughts.
The Dispatches programme, ‘Britain’s Benefits Scandal’, also details reports that assessors can be rewarded for waving through benefits applicants without checking properly.
A nurse who used to work as a benefit claims assessor at the Department for Work and Pensions, identified only as Sarah, told the programme some claimants are dishonest about feeling suicidal, reports .
She said: “If at any point someone said they were suicidal every day, it’s straightaway in that high [category].
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Thye OBR warns Britain’s benefits bill could hit £100bn by 2030 on current trends (Image: Getty)
“So it’s down to the integrity of that person and, sadly, my opinion is not everyone that is claiming is quite telling the truth, which is sad but ultimately it’s going to happen.”
Sarah told the programme makers she came across online forums where dishonest claimants shared how they use certain ways to get their claims approved.
These included saying they have thoughts about suicide, which Sarah said “discredits those that are actually really in need”.
A man who assessed sickness benefit claims for the for a private contractor claimed the system is set up to reward assessors who wave through claims.
Michael Clouston said: “You do six cases a day and if you did any more than that you would get £80 per case. If the claimant met the highest category, then the assessment could be curtailed early which would allow them to fit in more cases per day.”
He claimed assessors could make considerable amounts of money waving through claims because they are assessed by phone and not in person.
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The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts overall spending on sickness and disability benefits will hit £100billion per year by 2030 on current trends.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz told Channel 4: “We have long said that the work capability assessment isn’t working. You know it’s not working for people who are in the system and it’s not working for the public finances.
“I think what happens at the moment is that the system divides you into those who can work and those who can’t. Now there are people [who], because of such severe issues, cannot work but for many people actually, their health condition fluctuates, their physical health or their mental health. And our benefits system has got to recognise this.”
Ms Kendall has also warned the benefits bill for sickness and disability is set to rise by £26billion by the end of the current parliament. Long-term sickness has been a major driver of joblessness since the pandemic, having risen from about two million in 2019.
The Government’s Get Britain Working Again plan, which was published on Tuesday, aims to get some of the 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness into the workplace.
It includes pledges to boost NHS staff levels in the 20 places in England with the highest joblessness levels and extra mental health support.
Liz Kendall says the benefits bill will rise £26bn by the end of the current parliament (Image: Getty)
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately accused Labour of dodging tough decisions and quizzed Ms Kendall on why she hadn’t revealed plans to crack down on sickness benefits.
Ms Whately said: “Where are the reforms to fit notes, which we had handed over all ready to go? Where is her plan for reforming the workplace capability assessment? She has banked the £3billion of savings from our plan, but failed to set out her own.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves suggested the Government would honour a commitment made by the to reform the work capability assessment, the test which deems whether someone with a health condition or disability is fit to work. The had claimed in office that changing the test would save £3billion. Downing Street indicated the plans would be set out separately in the spring so they are not rushed.
No.10 described the work capability assessment as “clearly a really complex area” which would “affect millions of people” if changed.
Britain’s Benefits Scandal airs on Channel 4 at 8pm on Monday.
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