Sunak announces disability benefit curbs to tackle ‘sicknote culture’

Rishi Sunak has announced fresh curbs on disability benefits, saying he wants to explore whether some cash payments to claimants suffering from mental health conditions could be replaced by treatment or access to services.

He said “something has gone wrong” since the pandemic to increase the number of economically inactive people who are long-term sick, especially with mental health conditions.

Confirming plans to tighten the work capability assessment to require more people with “less severe conditions” to seek some forms of employment.

On the review of Pip, Sunak said it may be right to pay one-off costs for adaptations but that the payments may not need to be ongoing.

The prime minister said the government would also look at whether more medical evidence about conditions should be provided, as some payments were made on the basis of “subjective and unverifiable claims”.

He said some people with mental health conditions may be better served by treatment and access to therapies rather than cash payments.