Scotland’s Citizens Advice Bureau has issued a warning that people risk falling through the cracks into poverty and food insecurity after the Prime Minister announced plans to tackle ‘sick note culture’.

Earlier this week, Rishi Sunak revealed plans to reform the welfare system in the UK, saying it was a ‘moral mission', and suggested stripping GPs of powers to provide fit notes for work. 

During his speech in London he repeatedly stressed that the system, as it stands, is letting people down by not being focused enough on the work they might be able to do. He added that hundreds of thousands of benefit recipients will be expected to work under the planned reform.

Now, one of Citizen Advice Scotland’s (CAS) officers is warning that the ‘so-called sick note rhetoric' is a tired trope, doesn’t match the reality, and risks stigmatizing people with health conditions.

READ MORE: Rishi Sunak announces plans to tackle 'sick note culture'

Social Justice policy officer for CAS, Erica Young said that while supporting people into work is the right thing to do, the Prime Minister is not focusing on the fundamental issues causing ill health in the UK.

She said: “Hard thinking is required about how we build a social safety net that not only protects people from falling through the cracks but gives them a platform of security and opportunity that allows them to flourish. Instead, we are seeing a return to the tired old tropes around ‘sick note culture’.

“This rhetoric does not match the reality. Analysis of CAB client data shows that people unable to work are more at risk of food insecurity and risks to income.

“It is right to be ambitious about supporting people into work. Wide-ranging incentives are an important part of achieving this, welfare restriction by contrast fails to tackle the root causes of rising ill health, the most important of which is health inequalities, encompassing poor housing conditions, access to services, and low income.

“These are difficult questions that require thoughtful answers. We all deserve better than tired tropes about sick notes.”

Mr Sunak’s speech went on to claim that since 2011, the number of people doing a work capability assessment who were deemed unfit to work has more than tripled, adding that it was ‘wrong’.

Erica Young added: “Even so, many people with invisible and fluctuating states of well-being, which is characteristic of mental health conditions, can find it impossible to access benefits.  Meanwhile, it is an indisputable fact that living with health conditions often leads to higher living costs. Research we conducted last year estimated that more than 40,000 households in Scotland with someone living with a long-term condition had sacrificed a cooked meal to run medical equipment.

“Those experiencing mental ill health may need to use taxis or incur the cost of a car to maintain their independence.”

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The Herald:

Citizen Advice Scotland has released further client data and case studies relating to the theme of people being unable to work.

The data suggested people unable to work are more at risk of food insecurity during the cost-of-living crisis. The charity showed that people unable to work make up 21 per cent of all their clients.

They said the same people make up 31 per cent of food insecurity clients, 32 per cent of clients seeking crisis support, and 36 per cent of people seeking advice around a risk to income.

Meanwhile, 14 per cent of people who needed additional advice alongside food insecurity concerns needed help with disability-related social security benefits.

Case studies revealed by CAS included people’s bills doubling and the sacrifices they’re making to put food on the table.

A spokesperson for CAS said: “In recent cases from across the CAB network, a woman living with fibromyalgia has reported being too anxious to turn on the heating and instead spends the day in bed with a hot water bottle following their direct debit increasing from £130 per month to £304 per month.

“Elsewhere, a widowed mother of a disabled child with a sensory condition has been unable to use the special equipment in the home which helps her daughter sleep and relax because of higher energy bills, meaning the child hasn’t been able to attend school. The rising cost of bills means the client is having to make choices between her energy bills and other necessities like food and clothes."