‘Waiting for NHS care and lack of suitable jobs among parents’ barriers to work’

Not getting the treatment they need from the NHS is the top barrier for almost a quarter of parents currently on welfare support who think they could return to employment in future, according to new charity research.

Other obstacles include a lack of suitable or flexible jobs and a fear of losing benefits, a survey suggested.

Action for Children said their research contradicted previous comments around a prevailing so-called “sick note culture” with less than one in 10 (8%) of claimants surveyed reporting stress or anxiety to be their primary health condition.

For almost three in 10 (29%) of parents their main health condition was to do with mental health, the charity’s survey of 1,130 UK parents claiming incapacity benefits in August showed.

The charity said it estimates there are some 804,000 parents receiving employment and support allowance (ESA) or universal credit (UC).

The research comes as it was reported Chancellor Rachel Reeves will seek to make around £3 billion of cuts to welfare over the next four years by restricting access to sickness benefits.

It is expected she will commit to the previous Conservative government’s plans to save the sum by reforming work capability rules.

Under those proposals, welfare eligibility would have been tightened so that around 400,000 more people who are signed off long-term would be assessed as needing to prepare for employment by 2028/29, reducing the benefits bill by an estimated £3 billion.

It is understood Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall will decide how the system will be changed in order to achieve the savings.

The Government has also launched a consultation on the future of the NHS, promising to put patients and staff at the heart of its forthcoming 10-year health plan.

Action for Children said for parents who “may never be well enough to work”, they must be “supported to live in security and dignity”.

For those who can return to work, improvements in the NHS, more flexibility from employers and reforms within the Department for Work and Pensions will be key, the charity said.

Of those surveyed, almost 4 in 10 (38%) said their health or disability rules out paid work completely while some cited difficulty balancing ill health or disability with childcare.

But 42% said they felt they could return to paid work in the future.

For this group, current barriers they faced included a lack of remote jobs (20%) and a fear of losing benefits if they try to do some paid work (20%).

Almost a quarter (23%) cited not getting the treatment they need from the NHS as a key barrier, while more than a third (34%) said they are too unwell to work or work more currently.

Among all parents on incapacity benefits, a third said shorter NHS waiting lists could help them to return to work in future while 36% said investment in mental health services would make a difference to them.

Just over a quarter (26%) said more flexible jobs needed to be available for disabled people and 23% called for more specialist advisers in jobcentres, with parents frequently saying they were unhappy about their interactions with the department and the quality of support on offer.

Action for Children’s chief executive, Paul Carberry, said: “Parents relying on these benefits routinely face real insecurity, juggling bills and debts while their children miss out on things most would regard as necessities.

“Our findings show many of these parents may never be well enough to work and it’s vital they are supported to live in security and dignity.

“It’s also clear that while there’s a significant number of parents who want to get back into work in future, this will require an enormous effort by the NHS, a reformed DWP and from employers to give them the flexibility and support they need.”

“We want to see the government chart a new course at next week’s Budget, one based on positive engagement and recognition of the challenges families face and the support they need to overcome them.”

Meanwhile separate research from education charity Teach First suggests 60% of school leaders in the most disadvantaged areas said they are having to dip into the school budget to buy additional food for hungry pupils, 68% said they are using some to buy school uniforms for pupils in need and almost half (46%) to buy sanitary items.

The survey of more than 7,000 teachers has prompted Teach First to urge the chancellor to increase school funding and weight it towards schools serving poorer communities in an effort to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.

A Government spokesperson said: “We are fixing the foundations of our country by getting our economy growing again by getting Britain working again.

“More people will be supported into health and into work through new work, health and skills plans, while we overhaul Jobcentres, make sure every young person is either earning or learning, and cut NHS waiting lists.

“To drive down poverty in every part of the country and support low-income families, we have extended the Household Support Fund by £421 million, and are reviewing universal credit.”