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Incapacity payment figures revealed (From The Northern Echo)
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Incapacity payment figures revealed
1:04am Monday 23rd June 2008
Comments (6)ALMOST half of people claiming incapacity benefit in a North-East community have been receiving payments for more than a decade, it was revealed yesterday.
A total of 42 per cent of claimants in the Easington parliamentary constituency, in County Durham, have been receiving payments for more than ten years - the highest figure in the country.
Conservative shadow Work and Pensions secretary Chris Grayling, who obtained the figures in Parliament, said: "Sometimes you have to wonder what the point of a Labour Government has been.
"Despite all the grandiose promises and the billions of pounds that have been spent, they've delivered virtually no improvement for the most vulnerable in our society.
"Something really has to change."
The statistics reveal 806,630 people - nearly a third of those claiming incapacity benefits - have done so for more than a decade.
Five of the worst scoring constituencies were in the North-West of England.
Mr Grayling's comments came two days after James Purnell, the Work and Pensions Secretary, visited the North-East and hailed the Government's record on getting disabled people back into work.
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Your Say YourNorth-East
anonymous, says...
8:36am Mon 23 Jun 08
brian groves, darlington says...
9:09am Mon 23 Jun 08
why doesnt the minister look back see when the bennifit was increased with inflation my loaf of bread costs the same as some one earning £100,000 a year
kenneth stubbs, newton aycliffe says...
12:56pm Mon 23 Jun 08
Nice turn of phrase - (customers).
Introduced will be a benefit called ESA (employment and support allowance) which will include work capability interviews assessed by a doctor to discover what type of work they are capable of.
Unfortunately it is almost inevitable that some genuine cases will suffer as its all about hitting targets once more.
Yet the same system is continually abused by people like the mad preacher that we cannot deport, to name one example.
Kenneth Stubbs
kenneth stubbs, newton aycliffe says...
1:06pm Mon 23 Jun 08
Nice choice of phrase - Customers.
EAS will include Work Capability Interviews where customers/applicants will be assessed by drs to discover what type of work they can do.
Unfortunately with the governments obsession with league tables and targets it appears like in most other areas of society, that there will be genuine cases who are placed in work they cannot sustain for medical reasons.
Whilst the system continues to be abused by people such as the mad preacher we cannot deport.
Nick Scott, says...
4:38pm Mon 23 Jun 08
Take away the excuses from these leeches who bleed the taxpayer dry. I find it hard to believe that 42% of all claimants in Easington are incapable of doing ANYTHING. Surely these chronically ill parasites a
can answer phones, work computers or do some other work to fit around their so-called illnesses. Immigration doesn't even register as a problem when we're supporting our own home-bred culture of scroungers. The people of Easington ought to be ashamed of themselves.
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bp1, darlington says...
8:00am Mon 23 Jun 08
ll.trades.should.be.
a.feature.of.any.cla
im.to.benefits..with
.real...!mind.nvq.ce
rtification.at.the.e
nd.