09 January 2023 , 22:30
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Thousands of sick or disabled people will be spared gruelling reassessments for their benefits under Labour, the party will announce on Tuesday.
Welfare chief Jonathan Ashworth will allow claimants to try paid work - and if it does not work out within a year, they can return to the exact benefits they were on, with no fresh health assessments.
People with the most serious health conditions no longer have to face reassessments for benefits under reforms in recent years. While ESA depends partly on employment status, those who claim PIP can also continue claiming it regardless of whether they’re in work.
But PIP guidance “leaves the door open” to people facing who take a job facing a fresh health assessment, by virtue of having taken that job.
The government’s social security watchdog recommended the year-long amnesty in November, saying there was a “compelling case” as disabled people were “fearful” about losing their payments.
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Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Jonathan Ashworth (Daily Mirror/Andy Stenning)Labour will also set new targets for Access to Work waiting times and give jobseekers ‘in principle’ decisions, allowing them to plan while they wait for cash.
There will be back-to-work support for over-50s, while GPs, housing associations and community groups will be able to direct people to employment support more easily, he will announce.
Mr Ashworth will give a speech on Tuesday spelling out more of his policies on employment and economic activity at the CJS think tank - which was co-founded by Tory Iain Duncan Smith.
The Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary will also promise to devolve employment support to local areas rather than having one national system.
He will say: “As well as growing the economy new reforms to help more people move into jobs is now urgent. No responsible Party seeking office can duck this challenge.
“The Tory alternative is to write people off.
“That approach means a monumental waste of human potential - and an economic cost too - when there are over a million vacancies in the economy.
“The truth is there are hundreds of thousands who would want to participate in employment if given the chance and right support.
“Helping people find appropriate and supportive work is good for them, good for society and good for the economy.
“Yet the tragedy is today only one in ten out of work disabled people or older workers receive any support.
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“That’s frankly a scandal.”