Kendall told ITV, external: “I think what the survey shows today is that despite all the myths, a lot of people who are currently on sickness or disability benefits want to work.”
When asked if people on benefits were “pretending they can’t work”, she added: “Many of them have either just lost jobs that they desperately miss, or really want to get back into to work once they’ve got their health condition under control.
“So I think that there are many more people who want to work. I have no doubt, as there always have been, there are people who shouldn’t be on those benefits who are taking the mickey and that is not good enough – we have to end that.”
The government says the number of young people aged 16 to 34 who do not work because of long-term sickness and have a mental health condition has reached 270,000.
This number increased by 60,000 (26%) in the last year, according to the DWP.
As of January, 9.3 million people aged 16 to 64 in the UK were economically inactive – a rise of 713,000 since the Covid pandemic.
Last year, the government spent £65bn on sickness benefits, external – a 25% increase from the year before the pandemic. That figure is forecast to increase to around £100bn before the next general election.
