5 July 2006
Sir,
Are the plans in the long-awaited Welfare Reform Bill really anymore realistic than the noisy efforts that have come before? (Benefits in Kind, June 5). I don’t think so. We are all witnessing the Government setting themselves up for a fall with unworkable plans under the Welfare Reform Bill.
I very much welcome the good intentions behind the plans set out in the Bill, but it is highly unlikely that they will get people with mental health problems off Incapacity Benefit and back to work in their current form. The plans are at risk of pressurising people with mental health problems to attend work-focused health-related assessments and interviews when they may not be ready or able. Threatening to cut their benefits if they fail to show will only create additional problems for claimants.
If the Government does not make the effort to better understand the lives of people with mental health problems, their plans will be at risk of failing miserably.
Dr Andrew McCulloch
Chief Executive
The Mental Health Foundation
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