BRITAIN now spends more on sickness than on defence, a report has revealed.
Ministers have been warned that they must rein in the £65billion bill for health-related handouts — costing more than all the £57billion going to the military.
But the figures could change if 400,000 jobless Brits went back to work, which the Lords Economic Affairs select committee says would save £10billion.
Its chair, Lord George Bridges, said: “The health benefits system is financially unsustainable.
“It wastes human potential and does not work for anybody.
“Given the huge pressure on the nation’s finances, tackling this must be a top priority for the Government.”
The peers’ probe recommends tightening the work capability assessment to stop people wriggling out of a job.
The current approach was said to “incentivise” people to look for welfare instead of work.
Some 3.7million working-age Brits are now on sickness benefits — with 1.2million more having claimed since 2020.
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