Oldham’s £33m cost of welfare dependents

MORE than £33 million is paid out each year to residents in Oldham claiming incapacity benefit.

Government figures have shown there are 11,720 claimants across the Oldham with an annual bill of £33.43 million.

There are 6,240 claimants in the parliamentary constituency of Oldham West and Royton claiming £17.19 million a year and a further £16.2 million is paid out to 5,480 claimants in Oldham East and Saddleworth.

The Conservatives have accused Labour of failing to tackle Britain’s sicknote culture with more claimants than in 1997 and the incapacity benefit bill costing more than £20 million a day.

Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Chris Grayling, said: “The cost of Labour’s failure to tackle welfare dependency is truly shocking. Many people on incapacity benefit want to return to work but instead Labour has abandoned them.”

The Tories have promised to cut the number of incapacity benefit claimants in Britain by 200,000 by reassessing all claimants coupled with individualised back to work support for those assessed as able to prepare to return to work.

But Chairman of the powerful Commons Work and Pensions Committee Labour MP Terry Rooney said: “That is rich considering the number of people on incapacity benefit trebled under the Tories.

“It used to go up by 100,000 and the first time in 20 years it is falling.”