Workshy map of Britain revealed: Thousands of incapacity benefit claimants found to be capable of working

Birmingham has most claimants capable of work - 5,180

In Glasgow, 3,950 of 15,720 who received incapacity benefit were deemed fit

Revealed after government introduced tough new test for those 'on the sick'



This map of Britain reveals the 'workshy' spots around the country where people claiming incapacity benefit claimants are actually fit enough to work.

The Government introduced tough new health tests for those who claimed to be too unwell to get back into employment two years ago.



Since then some 203,000, 30 per cent, out of 700,000 receiving the old Incapacity Benefit were declared fit to find work .







The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said Birmingham had the biggest number of claimants capable of work. Of 14,640 claimants, 5,180 were fit.



THE TOP 20 'WORKSHY' AREAS

Birmingham 5,180

Glasgow City 3,950

Liverpool 3,280

Manchester 3,030

County Durham 2,970

Leeds 2,570

Bradford 2,430

Sheffield 2,180

Stoke-on-Trent 1,900

Wakefield 1,880

Kirklees 1,830

Sandwell 1,810

Cardiff 1,800

Bristol, City of 1,760

Nottingham 1,740

Wigan 1,690

Rhondda, 1,670

Wirral 1,620

Doncaster 1,610

Coventry 1,580

In Glasgow, 3,950 of the 15,720 who received incapacity benefit were found to be well enough to work.



And in both Liverpool and Manchester more than 3,000 are no longer eligible for the benefit.

Mark Hoban, Minister for Employment, said they will now get long term help from Jobcentre Plus and the Work Programme to find work.

He said: 'The old system condemned far too many people to a life on sickness benefits with little help to move back to work.



'This is a huge waste, but now people who can work will be given the long term help they need to find a job which is right for them, while those who need unconditional support will get it.'

Incapacity Benefit has been replaced by Employment and Support Allowance as part of an overhaul of the welfare state spearheaded by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith.

Under the old system people were allowed to claim incapacity for a variety of ailments such as acne or obesity.



Hundreds of thousands are still waiting to be assessed by the system.

T he Government has said the new programme will support those who are genuinely unfit to work .



It comes after it was revealed one million people who are fit to work have been claiming out-of-work benefits for three of the last four years.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said that more than four out of ten work-related benefits are claimed by the long-term unemployed.

A third of those claiming incapacity benefit claimants are fit enough to work, it has today been revealed. It comes after an overhaul of the welfare state introduce by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith

Ministers have come under fire from Labour for capping total benefits at £26,000 a year per household and forcing those on Incapacity Benefit and its replacement Employment Support Allowance to undergo health tests to assess their readiness for work.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: 'It’s tragic to see the Work and Pensions Secretary once again peddling myths about benefits in order to provide cover for more austerity and his own failure to tackle rising unemployment.



'The fact is that the majority of the million benefit claimants that he believes are ‘fit to work’ have either been declared not-yet fit-to-work by his own department, or are lone parents with children below school age, who will struggle to find work given the high cost of childcare.

