Rishi Sunak targets 'mental health' sicknotes with £12bn benefit cut vow - that will limit claimants citing anxiety as a disability

Rishi Sunak is pledging to cut £12 billion from the welfare bill by limiting the ability of claimants to cite mental health conditions such as anxiety as a disability.

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, the Prime Minister said that he was determined to end the 'lifestyle choice' of not working.

Spending on benefits for people of working age with a disability or health condition is projected to rise from £69 billion to £90 billion by the end of the next Parliament. Mr Sunak said: 'Our welfare bill has massively increased since the pandemic. We need to make sure that we're supporting people into work because, fundamentally, it's good for them.

'We've got to get the right support to the people in the right way, such as providing people with mental health treatment support.'

He added: 'We need to make sure that the welfare system is a safety net and not a lifestyle choice... we need to be careful about over-medicalising the challenges of everyday life, and recognise that work can be incredibly positive for people's mental health'.

In other developments:

• A senior Labour figure has said the party will renegotiate Brexit to bring back Freedom of Movement. Fiona Urquhart, chair of Labour International, the group tasked with rallying expat Brits to vote for Labour in next month's Election, has also pledged to give EU-based Britons their own MP in Westminster;
• A Mail on Sunday poll put Labour on course for a majority of 416;
• Mr Sunak said he had 'been in touch' with Boris Johnson over the former PM's role in the campaign;
• A Reform party candidate who defected from the Tories has claimed that Mr Sunak made an error of judgment over the D-Day commemorations because his grandparents did not serve in the war;
• The treasurer of Michael Gove's former Surrey Heath seat resigned with a letter accusing the Cabinet minister of 'plotting, scheming and disloyalty' and 'catastrophic errors of judgment'.

Since the pandemic, the number of people inactive for health reasons has increased by 40 per cent from two million to 2.8 million. People are now three times more likely to be assessed as not fit for any work than they were a decade ago, with more than half of those being signed off with a mental health problem such as anxiety or depression.

The Tories would introduce a £700 million 'step-change in NHS mental health treatment', with more than 500,000 more people a year able to access talking therapies by 2030, and say they would 'tighten up' how the benefits system assesses someone's capability for work. This would include overhauling the 'fit note' process by moving the responsibility for issuing the notes away from GPs towards 'specialist work and health professionals'.

The party would also introduce tougher sanctions on people who are able to work but refuse to take up suitable jobs after a year on benefits, including removing their benefits entirely.

Mr Sunak said: 'Work is a source of dignity, purpose and hope and I want everyone to be able to overcome whatever barriers they might face to living independent, fulfilling lives. That's why we have announced a significant increase in mental health provision, as well as changes to ensure those who can work, do work.'