Rishi Sunak Unveils Plan to Strip GPs of Power to Sign People Off Work

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced plans to overhaul the UK's benefits system, aiming to end the sick note culture" and help more people return to work. As part of the reforms, Sunak plans to strip GPs of their power to sign people off work, suggesting that specialist work and health professionals should be responsible for issuing fit notes instead.

Sunak believes that over-medicalization of common anxieties is driving a rise in the number of people off work with mental health problems. He wants to introduce a "new welfare settlement" to tackle the "unsustainable" rise in benefit spending and the record 2.8 million people off work with long-term sickness, up from 2.1 million before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister will argue that the focus should shift to what work people might be able to do, rather than unnecessarily writing them off as sick. He will say there is a "growing body of evidence that good work can actually improve mental and physical health", and that the government needs to be "more ambitious" about helping people back to work and "more honest" about the risk of over-medicalizing the everyday challenges of life.

Why this matters: The proposed reforms aim to address the soaring benefits bill and help more people return to employment. The changes could have significant implications for the UK's welfare system and the role of GPs in assessing people's ability to work.

The government says a significant number of working-age people have become inactive due to long-term sickness, often driven by mental health conditions. Sunak will call for a "more ambitious" approach to supporting people back to work, arguing that good work can improve mental and physical health.

The Royal College of GPs has said they are supportive of a consultation to understand who is best placed to issue fit notes, but the health and wellbeing of patients must remain the "principal concern". Campaigners have accused the government of "attacking" people who are too sick to work, blaming the NHS backlog for the high number of people out of work due to long-term sickness.

The government will publish a call for evidence on the way forward, with some pilots already underway to test experts other than GPs signing off sick notes. Sunak's speech on welfare reform comes as the Conservatives face mounting pressure to turn around their party's fortunes, with support reaching a new record low.

Key Takeaways

• PM Sunak plans to end "sick note" culture, shift power from GPs to specialists.
• Aims to tackle rise in long-term sickness benefits, now at 2.8M from 2.1M pre-COVID.
• Believes over-medicalization of common anxieties drives mental health-related absences.
• Argues good work can improve mental/physical health, calls for "more ambitious" approach.
• Govt to publish call for evidence, pilots underway to test experts signing off sick notes.