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    Watch again as Rishi Sunak calls for end to ‘sick note culture’ in welfare reform speech

    For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsWatch again as Rishi Sunak called for an end to “sick note culture” in his welfare reform speech today (19 April).The prime minister used his speech to warn against “over-medicalising the everyday challenges and worries of life”.As Britain emerges from the coronavirus pandemic into a resulting cost of living crisis, with NHS waiting lists hitting record highs, the number of working days lost to sickness or injury has risen to a new record highs.In a speech on Friday morning, Mr Sunak echod his chancellor Jeremy Hunt in insisting that the focus must shift to what work people might be able to do, amid government concerns some are being unnecessarily written off as sick and “parked on welfare”. More

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    Nicola Sturgeon breaks silence after husband Peter Murrell charged over SNP finances

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFormer Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has broken her silence hours after her husband was charged in connection with embezzlement of SNP funds. Police Scotland confirmed on Thursday evening that Peter Murrell, the party’s former chief executive for 22 years, had been arrested and charged over the investigation.The 59-year-old was previously arrested as a suspect last year, before being released without charge. On Thursday, he resigned his membership of the SNP, which has been urged to cooperate with the police investigation.Mr Murrell’s charge is part of a probe known as Operation Branchform into the spending of more than £600,000 in donations for campaigning for Scottish independence.On Friday, Ms Sturgeon spoke to reporters outside her home in Uddingston near Glasgow. Asked about the situation as she got into her car, she said: “It is incredibly difficult, but that is not the main issue here.“I can’t say any more, I’m not going to say anymore”Nicola Sturgeon speaks to reporters outside her home near Glasgow after her husband was charged by police More

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    Sunak vows to end ‘sick note culture’ as he says number of economically inactive young people is a ‘tragedy’

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has vowed to end what he called a “sick note culture” with a new “moral mission” to reform the welfare system, as he warned the number of economically inactive young people in Britain was a “tragedy”.But he was forced to deny the plans – which include removing benefits entirely from fit people who refuse to work after 12 months – were just about cost cutting. The prime minister insisted his reforms were the compassionate choice as he faced accusations of “hostile rhetoric” and a “full-on assault on disabled people”. Since Covid the number of people out of work due to long-term sickness has risen significantly, reaching 2.8 million people in February.In a speech on Friday morning, Mr Sunak talked of the risk of “over-medicalising the everyday challenges and worries of life” as he railed against people being “parked on welfare”. The current system is also “economically unsustainable”, he warned, with more spent on supporting working-age people with illness or disability than on schools, transport or policing. Setting out his plans for reform he suggested that some people with mental health conditions who receive Personal Independence Payments (PIP) could be offered treatment instead of cash.But charities slammed the proposal pointing out that 1.8 million people are currently waiting for mental health treatment on the NHS. The prime minister also unveiled plans that could strip GPs of the right to write fit notes, handing them over to other medical professionals. A post-election fraud Bill would also connect the Department for Work and Pensions to HMRC ”so that we treat benefit fraud like tax fraud, with new powers to make seizures and arrest” and a new civil penalty, he said. The charity Scope said calls were “pouring into” their helpline from concerned disabled people following the speech, which it said felt “like a full-on assault”.Mr Sunak earlier insisted he was not downplaying or dismissing illness, but instead calling for a “more ambitious” approach to helping people back to work.“We should see it as a sign of progress that people can talk openly about mental health conditions in a way that only a few years ago would’ve been unthinkable, and I will never dismiss or downplay the illnesses people have,” he said.“But just as it would be wrong to dismiss this growing trend, so it would be wrong merely to sit back and accept it because it’s too hard; or too controversial; or for fear of causing offence. Doing so, would let down many of the people our welfare system was designed to help.”Warning that “something has gone wrong”, Mr Sunak said 850,000 more people were out of work due to long-term sickness since the pandemic. The change had “wiped out a decade’s worth of progress in which the rate had fallen every single year”. Half of those individuals had depression or anxiety, he said, without stating that these are reported to be secondary conditions in most cases.“Most worryingly of all the biggest proportional increase in economic inactivity due to long term sickness came from young people. Those in the prime of their life just starting out on work and family, instead parked on welfare,” said the prime minister. He added: “There is nothing compassionate about leaving a generation of young people to sit alone in the dark before a flickering screen watching as their dreams slip further from reach every passing day.” His review of the fit note system could see specialist work and health professionals charged with responsibility for issuing them instead of GPs.Recent NHS data showed almost 11 million fit notes were issued last year, many of which were repeat fit notes “issued without any advice, resulting in a missed opportunity to help people get the appropriate support they may need to remain in work”, according to the government.“We don’t just need to change the sick note, we need to change the sick note culture so the default becomes what work you can do – not what you can’t,” he said, pointing to figures showing that 94 per cent of the 11 million fit notes signed off by GPs denoted people as not fit to work.“Building on the pilots we’ve already started we’re going to design a new system where people have easy and rapid access to specialised work and health support to help them back to work from the very first Fit Note conversation,” said Mr Sunak. “We’re also going to test shifting the responsibility for assessment from GPs and giving it to specialist work and health professionals who have the dedicated time to provide an objective assessment of someone’s ability to work and the tailored support they need to do so.”Mr Sunak suggested greater medical evidence could be required to substantiate a claim for personal independence payments (PIP), which are designed to help claimants deal with the extra costs of living with a long term disability, and said some people with mental health conditions may be offered talking therapies or respite care rather than cash transfers.And he detailed plans for new legislation to prevent treat benefits “fraudsters” in the same way as tax fraud to stop them exploiting “the natural compassion and generosity of the British people”.Since 2020, the number of people out of work due to long-term sickness has risen significantly, reaching a record high of 2.8 million people as of February 2024, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics.A large proportion of those report suffering from depression, bad nerves or anxiety, although most of those report these as secondary conditions rather than the main one keeping them out of work.Labour accused the government of lacking “concrete answers” as the party pledged it would drive down NHS waiting lists.Alison McGovern, Labour’s acting shadow work and pensions secretary, added: “Rather than a proper plan to get Britain working, all we heard today were sweeping questions and reheated proposals without any concrete answers.”Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey described the speech as “desperate” at the time when millions are unable to access NHS hospitals, GPs or mental health support.He said: “Rishi Sunak is attempting to blame the British people for his own government’s failures on the economy and the NHS and it simply won’t wash.”Richard Kramer, chief executive at charity Sense, said: “The government’s ongoing onslaught on disabled people is hard to watch, with the prime minister today taking aim at people who are long-term sick in a cruel speech demonising people with ‘sick notes’.“This rhetoric is unbelievably damaging and unhelpful, presenting disabled people as ‘shirkers’ who don’t want to work. But this isn’t the case – while employment isn’t right for everyone, many disabled people do want to work.”Warning that stigma, unfair recruiting practices and a lack of specialist assistive technology in job centres – are stopping people from finding work are among the barriers to jobseekers with complex disabilities finding work, he said: “We’d urge the government to tackle these issues and offer better support as a priority, instead of focusing their time on scapegoating disabled and sick people.”Additional reporting by PA More

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    Rishi Sunak calls for ‘calm heads’ as Israel launches attack on Iran

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has called for “calm heads to prevail” as Britain has urged de-escalation following Israel’s retaliatory attack on Iran – with explosions heard near a major military airbase.While foreign secretary David Cameron met with his G7 counterparts in Italy to discuss easing tensions in the Middle East on Friday, Tehran was forced to activate its air defence system above the city of Isfahan, which is also home to sites associated with Iran’s nuclear programme. Asked about the emerging reports on Sky News, a government minister said the UK accepts Israel’s “absolute right to defend itself” – but insisted Britain was “very firmly engaged in counselling de-escalation and moderation at this particular moment”.Smoke billows in the air as Israel strikes Iran on Friday More

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    Sunak dons red apron and gets to work cutting keys on Timpsons visit as he pledges to end ‘sick note culture’

    Rishi Sunak donned a red apron and goggles as he got to work cutting keys on a visit to Timpsons following his pledge to end the UK’s “sick note culture”.The prime minister today (19 April) announced a new “moral mission” to reform the welfare system, as he warned the number of economically inactive young people in Britain was a “tragedy”.But he was forced to deny his plans lacked compassion and were about saving money, as he faced accusations of “hostile rhetoric” and a “full-on assault on disabled people”. More

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    Voices: Do you back Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban? Join The Independent Debate

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailBritain is moving to prohibit tobacco sales to those born after 2009 in a bid to create a smoke-free generation – but do you think Rishi Sunak’s controversial smoking ban is a good idea?The Tobacco and Vapes Bill passed its first Commons vote with a majority of 316 this week. Labour support helped the bill overcome opposition led by Liz Truss. But notable figures in the Tory party, such as Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick, and Suella Braverman voted against it. Ms Truss denounced her successor’s plan as a “virtue-signalling piece of legislation about protecting adults from themselves in the future”.Health Secretary Victoria Atkins acknowledged these concerns, but countered: “Nicotine robs people of their freedom to choose. The vast majority of smokers start when they are young, and three-quarters say that if they could turn back the clock they would not have started,” she added.Former health secretary Lord Clarke, however, warned the move risked being difficult to enforce.“You will get to a stage where if you are 42 years of age, you will be able to buy them but someone aged 41 will not be allowed to,” he told The Telegraph. “Does that mean you will have to produce your birth certificate? It may prove very difficult to enforce. Future generations will have to see whether it works or not.”In the end, 57 Tory MPs defied Rishi Sunak’s call. Support for the bill came from various parties, with 178 Conservatives, 160 Labour MPs, and others voting in favor. We want to know what you think. Are Sunak’s plans to create a smoke-free generation the best way to stamp out smoking? Or should people be free to choose to smoke if they want to?Share your thoughts by adding them in the comments – we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.All you have to do is sign up and register your details – then you can then take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Join the conversation with other Independent readers below. More

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    Ministers will be told to use AI to screen migrants for threats, adviser says

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailMinisters will be recommended to use live AI facial recognition to screen migrants arriving in the UK for threats, the Government’s anti-terror law adviser has said.Jonathan Hall KC, the UK’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, has said he will recommend the Government introduces the technology at migrant processing facilities in Kent when he presents his annual report this year.The move would allow border officers to screen those crossing in small boats against a database of terror suspects.In an interview with LBC, Mr Hall also warned that Manston, the migrant processing centre where those on small boat are detained after arrival in the UK, had at one point become “so overwhelmed that people had to be released before all the checks had been done”.The reviewer told the broadcaster he visited Western Jet Foil in Dover last year, the initial processing site for migrants, as well as the Manston camp.In my report, I’m going to say that, use live facial recognition at Western Jet Foil, so when people get off the boat, they can be screenedJonathan Hall KC“At the time I was there, it was lots of sort of tents and more permanent structures,” he said.“The tricky thing with that is that a lot of people can suddenly arrive on one day, and if lots arrive on one day, how are counterterrorism police going to have the opportunity to screen them? And this is the really difficult bit.“They can’t be kept, quite rightly, in inhumane conditions, which means that if you’re jamming everyone into a tent, they can stay only there for a day.”But with migrants being moved out, this meant there was not the opportunity to screen them, Mr Hall said.He added: “It’s going to be published in a few weeks, but in my report, I’m going to say that, use live facial recognition at Western Jet Foil, so when people get off the boat, they can be screened, and if they’ve got a watch list of people coming in, they will know there and then that they’re dealing with someone who is on a watch list.”Mr Hall said this would allow migrants to be checked against a “database of images of people who are suspicious, who are potential terrorists”.The situation off the Dover coast was “really complex” and evolving, he said, with border staff unable to anticipate the surges of people crossing the Channel.“At one stage, they were so overwhelmed that people had to be released before all the checks had been done,” he said.This meant they were released “without the full amount of checks”, Mr Hall told LBC, adding border officers had to strike a balance between screening and ensuring arrivals were not kept in “potentially inhumane conditions”.More than 6,200 people have crossed the English Channel since the start of the year, higher than in the same period in both 2023 and 2022.Rishi Sunak has made “stopping the boats” one of his key leadership pledges as Prime Minister.The Government hopes to deter people from making the journey with its plan to deport some arrivals to Rwanda but the Bill underpinning this is currently stuck in parliamentary deadlock between the House of Commons and House of Lords. More

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    Liz Truss accused of using ‘fabricated’ Rothschild quote in new memoir

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLiz Truss has been accused of using a “fabricated” quote from Mayer Amschel Rothschild in her bombshell new memoir.The Board of Deputies of British Jews said a “fabricated” quote, attributed to the German-Jewish banker and founder of the Rothschild banking dynasty, had been used by the former prime minister in her recently published book Ten Years to Save the West.The body said it had written to her publisher Biteback Publishing, which it said has consequently been forced to apologise and promised to remove the quote for the e-book and any future print editions.The former prime minister’s memoir ‘Ten Years to Save the West’ was released on Tuesday More