The government has annouced today that it is going to weed out the scroungers in our society. Incapacity benefit claimants will today start being reassessed for their ability to work - part of the first phase of the Government's welfare reform programme.

The move comes as new figures showed that almost £135bn had been spent over the past 10 years keeping two million people "on the sick".

Claimants in Burnley and Aberdeen will be the first across the country to undergo the new test to see if they are fit for work.

They will be given fresh medical evaluations to establish whether they should still be on it.

The aim is to "migrate" a number of claimants from incapacity benefit on to jobseekers' allowance, income support or back into work.

The re-assessment is designed to end the one-size-fits-all approach to those with health conditions and disabilities.

The "shocking" figures of the Department for Work and Pensions' annual expenditure on benefits underlined the urgent financial need to deal with those on incapacity benefit.

It's nothing short of a scandal that so many people simply enjoy a lifetime on generous benefits such as D.L.A. and Mobility costing the taxpayer almost £135bn.


Over half of all benefit claimants have a "so called" mental health problem. The Government has to toughen up on benefit claimants.