Judith Collins MP
National Party Welfare Spokeswoman

Sickness And Invalids Numbers Head Skywards Again

The number of people collecting sickness and invalids benefits is on the rise again, only a month after the Social Development Minister crowed about a drop, says National Party Welfare spokeswoman Judith Collins.

"David Benson-Pope proudly proclaimed that sickness and invalids beneficiary numbers had fallen by 1,299 over the previous two months and he predicted the trend would continue.

"But surprise, surprise, latest figures show all the gains have been wiped out, and the number of sickness beneficiaries has risen by 1,804 in just one month, while 400 more people are receiving the Invalids Benefit.

The figures show:

Total Sickness -  48,587 at June 2007;   31,944 in June 2000
Total Invalid - 79,007;   54,241 in June 2000

"The number receiving the Invalids Benefit is now at an all-time high."

Mrs Collins says David Benson-Pope will probably dismiss the figures as a 'blip', but he would be foolish to do so, given Treasury's dire warnings.

She's referring to papers obtained under the Official Information Act which show 'Treasury has concerns about the value for money of the additional spending on services for Sickness Benefit and Invalid Benefit recipients'.

"Not only that, there is disquiet among Treasury officials that the Ministry of Social Development isn't forecasting any reduction in the growth of the number of people on both benefits as a result of these proposals.

"They add that previous initiatives, such as the Sickness and Invalid Benefit strategy and Jobs Jolt, have had limited success in reducing beneficiary numbers.

"The embattled Minister has been ignoring the warning bells for too long, and he will no doubt again turn a blind eye to the latest damning criticism from Treasury."

ENDS

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