Member

Although this debate focuses on the two SIs, it provides an opportunity for me to reflect on the wider welfare and pensions landscape. I hope the Committee will forgive me for doing that, because we face the serious issues of inactivity and dependency on our welfare system, with taxpayers currently spending £65 billion a year on incapacity and disability benefits—a figure expected to rise to £100 billion by 2029 unless the Government undertake clear, serious and immediate reform. We have also seen an alarming rise in musculo- skeletal and mental health issues, with people opting for sickness benefits whose financial support far exceeds what they could earn from work. The system is failing to incentivise work and, as a result, we are seeing a growing number of individuals on long-term sickness benefits. We have read a lot about that in the press.