Osborne begins crackdown on incapacity benefit cheats with plans to treble assessments

By James Chapman
Last updated at 11:07 AM on 28th June 2010

• 2.6m on incapacity benefit will be forced to have medical assessments
• New figures reveal payouts of £1.8bn for stress and depression
• 1,000 claimaints got £5m for being 'too fat' to work
• £10m went to those incapacitated by headaches
  

Clamping down: Chancellor George Osborne says the issue of incapacity benefit can no longer be 'ducked'

George Osborne put incapacity benefit in the firing line last night after launching plans to treble the rate at which claimants are assessed to see if they are too sick to work.

The Chancellor hopes to weed out those who are cheating the taxpayer by pushing up the number of fitness tests to 30,000 a week.

Following an admission by the last government that one million of the 2.6million claiming incapacity benefit were actually fit to work, Mr Osborne. said the issue could no longer be 'ducked'.

Ministers had already begun tough measures to weed out cheats by testing 10,000 claimants a week.

More than half those already assessed are being taken off the higher-rate benefit because it was found they are capable of doing some work, according to The Guardian.

And, in future, it is expected that those who are are deemed able will be forced to find a job or risk having their benefit payments cut.

Meanwhile, latest figures show that some claim to be unfit because of headaches, indigestion and even blisters.

Last year, more than £5million of a total £12.5billion in incapacity benefit went to 1,060 who said they were too fat to go to work.

Mr Osborne aims to speed up plans to slash the welfare bill, which has ballooned by almost 50 per cent under Labour to £192billion.

Next week, ministers are expected to discuss ways to accelerate the process of delivering savings, as part of a Cabinet committee on public expenditure. 

TOO ILL TO WORK... BUT NOT TO GRAB A 'GATOR

Firm grip: Mr Crowson tackles a juvenile alligator

Martin Crowson told staff at the benefits office that a crippling knee injury meant he could walk no further than 50 yards - netting him £17,000 over three years.

But when officials saw the former soldier's holiday snaps, they realised they'd been conned.

The 53-year-old, pictured below, seemed far from incapable - and on his expensive family holidays, he did a lot more than lie by the pool.

In Florida, he wrestled an alligator and in Tunisia he rode on a camel.  But his pictures came to the attention of fraud investigators, who also found medals and trophies showing that Crowson had been visiting a gym for a jujitsu course - and gained a black belt.

His deception had begun to unravel when trading standards officers launched a crackdown on pirated DVDs and CDs, and he was filmed operating a market stall.

His home was raided by the Department of Work and Pensions and the photographs were discovered. He claimed the black belt was for theory, not combat, but when investigators went to the gym they found he was one of the best students. The married father-of-four was jailed for a year.

An investigator said: 'We all knew the game was up for him when we found the alligator picture.'

Benefits for the disabled have proved controversial because of the scope for fraud. The amount paid out has more than tripled since 'invalidity benefit' was introduced in the 1970s, leading to accusations that many recipients are not genuine.

Until 1971, the disabled were treated like anyone who was out of work. The Tories, under Edward Heath, introduced 'invalidity benefit', recognising many cannot work because of their disability.

But under Margaret Thatcher costs spiralled, as thousands of men lost their jobs in mining and manufacturing and signed on to invalidity rather than the dole.

Soon ministers began to look at ways to cut the bill.
In 1995, social security secretary Peter Lilley brought in 'incapacity benefit' -which was taxable and subject to tougher eligibility rules. Numbers claiming fell until 1998, when they began to rise under Labour.

Mr Osborne last night left the G20 summit in Toronto, Canada, where Barack Obama and other world leaders accepted that cutting budget deficits immediately is paramount.

The U.S. had insisted Britain and other European countries should boost domestic demand instead of cutting spending.

But the G20 summit concluded: 'Those countries with serious fiscal challenges need to accelerate the pace of consolidation.'

The U.S. President praised David Cameron for a 'necessary and courageous' emergency Budget given the perilous state of Britain's national finances, officials said.

Mr Osborne warned that as Britain begins to pay off an unprecedented £149billion budget deficit, it faces a choice between 25 per cent spending cuts in most Government departments or deeper reductions in the welfare bill.

'It's a real trade-off,' he said. 'It would exist whoever was in government. It's not a choice that can be ducked.

'Of course, we have to look across the piece at the welfare bill  -  and of course, we have got to look at individual benefits.

'Some of these benefits individually are very much larger than most Government departments.

'Housing benefit is one of the largest. In its own right, it would be treated as one of the largest government departments.

'Incapacity benefit and employment support allowance is a very large budget. Yes, we have got to look at all these things, make sure we do it in a way that protects those with genuine needs, those with disabilities, protects those who can't work  -  but also encourages those who can work into work.'

As part of Mr Osborne's crackdown, all the 2.6million claiming incapacity benefits will have a medical and psychological assessment.

Sources say they will be divided into two groups  -  those who are capable of some work, and the genuinely incapacitated.

Those in the so-called 'work activity' group will have conditions attached to handouts similar to those for people on unemployment benefit, including a requirement to train and go to interviews.

According to figures released under Freedom of Information laws, £10million was paid out last year to those who said they could not work because of headaches while nearly 1,000 claimants got £5million because they claimed they were too fat to work.

Another £1.8billion was paid out to men and women with stress, depression and anxiety. This is the biggest growth area for claims.

Others were paid incapacity benefit after saying they could not hold down a job because of morning sickness, broken bones, haemorrhoids and warts.

A total of 4,770 are out of work for a bad chest or throat, at a cost of £23.4million, and £300,000 was paid to 90 who say coughs stop them taking a job.

A further 530 claimed for indigestion, pocketing £2.9million in handouts-while ten got benefits for blisters.

Millions more were paid to those with addictions and sleep disorders. The figures also revealed fraud and error on a grand scale in the benefit system .

In last week's Budget, the Government set out plans to cut housing benefit. Those claiming disability living allowance, paid to those with permanent disabilities, are also facing retesting.

Mr Osborne's remarks yesterday are the first indication that incapacity benefit, and its successor, employment support allowance, are next on the list.

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