Benefits to be axed after a year on the dole to stop it becoming a 'lifestyle ... trends now
The jobless will have their benefits axed if they fail to find work within a year, Rishi Sunak said yesterday.
Unveiling the biggest shake-up of the welfare system for a generation, the Prime Minister said he was determined to prevent people staying on benefits as a 'lifestyle choice'.
Outlining a new 'moral mission' to get Britons back to work, the PM also said too many young people complaining of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression were being 'written off' and should be helped to look for a job.
More than 420,000 who are classed as sick or disabled will be asked to look for work for the first time.
Mr Sunak's comments triggered a furious backlash from disability charities. But he said it was 'fair' to expect people able to work to take a job, adding that going to work 'can actually improve mental and physical health'.
In a speech at the Centre for Social Justice think-tank in London, Mr Sunak (pictured) said 'something has gone wrong' since the pandemic, with too many young people 'parked on welfare' and producing a benefits bill that was 'financially unsustainable'
A job centre. The PM said there was 'no reason those people should not be in work, especially when we have almost one million job vacancies' (stock image)
The PM served notice to the long-term unemployed that they would not be allowed to linger for years on the dole. Official figures show that half a million able-bodied people have been out of work for six months, with more than a quarter of a million jobless for more than a year.
The PM said there was 'no reason those people should not be in work, especially when we have almost one million job vacancies'.
He said the Tory manifesto would pledge legislation that will mean people will have 'their claim closed and their benefits removed entirely' after 12 months on the dole if they are failing to comply with Jobcentre conditions, such as accepting available work.
Mr Sunak dismissed concerns the move could leave people destitute, saying that pushing people into work would leave them better off by an average of £7,000 a year. He added: 'There is an enormous amount of support available to these people, and no medical reason why they can't work, but we have half a million currently on benefits for a very long time.
'And I worry very
