End of the sick note? GPs should be barred from signing young people off work in bid to curb youth jobs crisis, Government review says
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Young people are to be barred from going on long-term sickness benefits based on a note from their family doctor.
Alan Milburn's long-awaited review of the youth jobs crisis will warn the traditional 'fit note' system is failing a generation of young people and condemning many to a life on benefits.
The study, which is set to be published next week, will call for a shake-up to require the under-25s to discuss their problems with new 'community work and health teams', who will draw up plans to help support them back into work instead of simply signing them off as unfit.
The fit note system has been controversial for years, with critics warning that GPs have little incentive to tell their patients they should go back to work or get a job. Official figures show that 93 per cent of the millions of notes issued by GP practices last year were marked 'not fit for work'.
The last Tory government's plans to reform the system were quietly abandoned by Labour last year.
But they now look set to be revived, with ministers expected to back Mr Milburn's findings, which could eventually be extended to cover older workers.
Mr Milburn told the Daily Mail: 'A fit note plunges too many young people into the benefits system when it should be about keeping them in work.
'GPs are expected to make too a quick judgement that can inadvertently halt someone's entire working future.
Jobhunting: Young people will be told they can longer be signed off sick by their GP
Unfit for purpose: Alan Milburn will say the fit note system is 'trapping' youngsters on benefits
'A temporary health problem should never become a permanent roadblock for a young person.'
Under the current system, people can be signed off work if they obtain a note from their GP saying they are unfit.
Under the new proposals, they will be required to attend assessment by teams comprised of occupational therapists, work coaches, mental health experts and jobs advisers.
They will then be issued with personalised 'return to work' plans instead of simply being signed off as unfit.
Sir Charlie Mayfield's review of long-term inactivity last year identified the fit note system as a 'barrier rather than a bridge' between workers and their employers.
Mr Milburn's study is expected to conclude that the system is 'trapping' youngsters out of work and education instead of helping them stay in it.
He will warn that it has become a gateway into the welfare system, with some young people being written off before their working lives have even begun.
Rishi Sunak announced similar plans before the 2024 election, saying it was time to end Britain's 'sick note culture'.
The British Medical Association accused Mr Sunak of 'pushing hostile rhetoric' and said increased NHS waiting lists were the cause of a huge rise in the number of sick notes issued. But one survey of healthcare professionals found that just nine per cent think the system is giving young people the support they need.
Labour quietly abandoned the proposals last year, with a minister telling the House of Lords there were 'no current plans to reform the fit note'.
However, a pilot scheme in four areas has continued and will now form the basis for reviving the reforms.
Kemi Badenoch on Tuesday indicated the Conservatives will not oppose all of Mr Milburn's proposals. But she warned they were likely to involve substantial upfront costs at a time when the benefits bill is running out of control.
The Tory leader said the former Labour cabinet minister's overall approach 'is to spend yet more money on subsidised work placements and ineffective government schemes'.
READ MORE: Britain is at risk of turning into 'a welfare state with a country attached', Kemi warns
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