Former chancellor Sir Jeremy Hunt has called for benefit applications by phone to be scrapped as part of efforts to tackle the rising number of claimants since the pandemic.
Treating mental health instead of parking on benefits
Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Sir Jeremy said those with moderate anxiety and depression should receive treatment rather than being parked on benefits. He argued that when he was health secretary, doctors told him people with anxiety and depression need social contact, but putting them on benefits excludes them from the world and may worsen their condition.
“It is not very compassionate to park someone with mental illness on benefits so they don’t work for the rest of their lives, it is the worst possible thing you could do for their mental health and their future,” he said.
Welfare bill savings and post-pandemic growth
Sir Jeremy said reducing the welfare bill to 2019 levels would save more than £50 billion a year. He described the increase in welfare spending as a problem that started in the pandemic, noting benefits spending had been reduced before 2019. “We’ve had this mushrooming since the pandemic,” he added.
He also 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.”
Phone applications and economic impact
Sir Jeremy said “we should stop people applying by telephone” for benefits. He argued welfare reform is key to improving the economy, stating: “It cannot be right that in the UK we are signing off 1,000 people every single day and saying, ‘not only do you not have to work, but you don’t even have to look for work’. That is a crying waste of talent.”
He stressed he was “very proud” of the UK’s welfare safety net, adding: “I am not arguing for one moment that we shouldn’t be helping people who need it.”
