DWP secretary says some on benefits 'taking the mickey'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

The Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall, has said some people claiming benefits are "taking the mickey", but added that there are more who "want to work".

The Labour MP's comments come as a DWP report found 49% of health and disability benefits claimants reported feeling they would never be able to work or return to work again.

66% of those also said they felt their health was likely to get worse in the future. Other findings in the report found that 27% felt they might be able to work in future but only if their health improved, increasing to 44% of recipients whose main health condition was related to mental health.

Ms Kendall told ITV: “I think what the survey shows today is that despite all the myths, a lot of people who are currently on sickness or disability benefits want to work.” Questioned on whether people on benefits are "pretending they can’t work" she added: "Many of them have either just lost jobs that they desperately miss, or really want to get back into to work once they’ve got their health condition under control. "So I think that there are many more people who want to work.