Merthyr jobless want to work, says study

People on sickness benefit in the valleys actually want to work, the study claims

People claiming sickness benefits in Merthyr and the south Wales valleys need more support, says a study.

University of Glamorgan research found a "tailored" approach would help more claimants into work.

Professor Dave Adamson, who led the research, said most people wanted to work but were prevented by the current system.

It follows Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith's call for the town's jobless to "get on a bus" to find work.

In October Mr Smith sparked fierce debate when he told people in the south Wales town they had become static and should seek work in Cardiff.

As well as taking £18bn out of the welfare budget over the next four years, he is also bringing in a universal benefit which, he says, will ensure that people will be better off in work than on benefit.

The latest research was commissioned by Merthyr MP Dai Havard, who said he wanted to better understand the benefits system and how it could be improved to help those who had been claiming long-term back into work.

Merthyr has hit the headlines in previous years after statistics showed one in five people were on the sick.

It was quickly dubbed the "sickness capital of Britain", a mantle it has struggled to shake off since.

Specialist package

Mr Havard said incapacity benefit claims had decreased by one third over the last decade, but he admitted there are still relatively high numbers of claimants in Merthyr and the upper valleys area.

The research centred on interviews with benefit claimants, support agencies, employers and employment agencies and healthcare professionals.

It found that a specialist package of measures should be put together for each claimant, assessing their skills and their real or perceived barriers to work.

Iain Duncan Smith said Merthyr unemployed should seek work in Cardiff, some 25 miles (40km) away

Prof Adamson said: "We found that a one-size-fits-all approach to helping incapacity benefit claimants is simply not working. A more tailored approach is needed. Most people want to work, but the current system isn't working for them.

"Agencies need to consider claimants' physical and mental health, their basic skills, confidence, work-readiness, access to transport, and also access to places of work."

Mr Havard said: "Many talk about those unemployed in Merthyr Tydfil and our valleys. This research has talked to them, and they raise important questions.

"A 'workfare' style programme, without appropriate work being available and accessible, is really a policy to cheapen the value of labour of those in work, and penalise those without work.

"How will devolved administrations respond to plans designed and agreed by a cabinet that doesn't control all the aspects of support and provision? Each workless individual has to make an individual journey, but they can't do this in isolation."

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: "The current welfare system has trapped generations of people in certain parts of Wales on incapacity benefits, giving them no real incentive to engage with the labour market.

"We're fixing that by reforming the benefits sytem, ensuring work will always pay, and by reassessing everyone on incapacity benefits - many of whom we know want to work.

"Those who are found capable will get the help they need to overcome their personal barriers through our new work programme, which was born out of the need for a more flexible and tailored approach to supporting people back into work."