Extra support for ill people to stay in work 'could save £1.1bn'

Providing more support for people in ill health to stay in work could save the government more than £1bn, according to a report warning ministers against cutting benefits.

- Richard Partington

As the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, looks for savings before the 26 March spring statement, the cross-sector Commission for Healthier Working Lives has called for a new approach to supporting the 8 million people in Britain with a work-limiting health condition.

It came as a separate analysis by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) published today found that the number of days lost to work-related ill health has rocketed by a third since 2010 to 34m days - costing the UK economy more than £400m a week.

The trade union body said this stressed the importance of the government's employment rights bill - which returns to parliament this week - improving the quality of work. Paul Nowak, the TUC's general secretary, said: "We need to turn the corner on Britain's low-rights, low-pay economic model that has been tested to destruction over the last 14 years. Giving working people more control and predictability over their lives will help create a happier, healthier and more robust workforce."