The Beeb are showing a Panorama programme tonight about sick note Britain. Basically there are over 2.6 million people in the UK claiming Incapacity Benefit at a cost of around £16 bn.
Many of these people could easily work - if opportunities were available. The real issue is that most of these people are concentrated in towns & regions where unemployment and under-employment are endemic.
There are now generations of people in places like Merthyr Tydfil who are on the sick. Doctors, faced with middle aged men with no job prospects, quickly sign them off as sick so they can get better benefits.
There is no culture of work in these de-industrialised areas. Until there are new job opportunities & new industry attracted to these areas, they will continue to be sink towns sucking in dole money and sucking the life out of their populations.
A sad state of affairs - The key issue is no longer the North/South divide, it is the pockets of unbelievable deprivation in places such as South Wales & the North-East. An almost intractable problem.
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