LEADER

Addicted to idleness

The bloated state of our welfare system has long been a national disgrace.

Even as unemployment tumbled under the Conservatives, the number claiming incapacity benefit – "going on the sick" – crept steadily upwards. Despite pledge after pledge, most notoriously to "think the unthinkable", Labour has failed to address the problem, with the result that there are now 2.7 million people paid to stay out of work because of poor health.

The resulting toll is heavy indeed. As Frank Field, the man appointed to solve the problem in 1997 who then swiftly resigned in dismay, has pointed out, if you have been on incapacity benefit for two years, you are more likely to be removed from the rolls by death or retirement than by actually finding a job.

Of course, many claimants are genuinely unable to work, and must be supported. But many are essentially healthy, of the same order of invalid as the husband who clutches his bad knee every time there are shelves to be put up. The experience of America, where "Workfare" programmes have cut welfare claimants by 60 per cent in a decade, proves that tough measures can work without tipping thousands into impoverishment.

To see what is wrong with our current system, look at how it copes with addiction. As we report today, the number of alcoholics and drug addicts on incapacity benefit has nearly doubled since Labour came to power, to a total of almost 100,000. Some will be people whose health has been destroyed by their addictions. But others will be people who have admitted to, and are battling to conquer, those demons.

One of the most important ways of doing this, as those who have attended Alcoholics Anonymous will confirm, is through activity – in particular the structure and discipline that employment demands. In such cases, being treated as incapacitated will only increase the chances of a relapse.

The truth is that welfare dependency, like addiction, destroys people's self-respect, their initiative and ultimately their lives. Both need to be attacked, rather than indulged.