"TOUGH!" - Julia Hartley-Brewer HITS OUT At Unemployed People Claiming Benefits Amid Welfare Reforms

Leading mental health and poverty charities and unions have strongly criticised Rishi Sunak’s planned welfare reforms as “deeply damaging” and an “irresponsible war of words”. The Prime Minister announced a series of major changes to the system on Friday and warned against “over-medicalising the everyday challenges and worries of life”. Among the proposed changes was a consultation on a “more objective and rigorous approach” in the benefits system, and having so-called specialist work and health professionals charged with responsibility for issuing fit notes instead of GPs in a bid to end the “sick note culture”. Reacting to the reforms, Dr Sarah Hughes, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, said: “We are deeply disappointed that the Prime Minister’s speech today continues a trend in recent rhetoric which conjures up the image of a ‘mental health culture’ that has ‘gone too far’. This is harmful, inaccurate and contrary to the reality for people up and down the country. “To imply that it is easy both to be signed-off work and then to access benefits is deeply damaging. “It is insulting to the 1.9 million people on a waiting list to get mental health support, and to the GPs whose expert judgment is being called into question.” Julia Hartley-Brewer is joined by Sophia Worringer from the Centre For Social Justice to discuss. Click here for more from TalkTV https://talk.tv If you need any help visit: https://talk.tv/helplines