Britain To Throw One Million Off Social Security Disability Benefits

From Reuters:

The government is to change the way disability is assessed in the hope of removing thousands of people from long-term incapacity benefit, Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain said on Monday.

A new test to be introduced from October will check people's abilities rather than disabilities, he said.

"The old test has been reliant on a physical incapacity. The new one is going to test people as to what they can do," Hain told the BBC. ...

Around 2.7 million people claim the benefit for not being able to work at an annual cost of 12.5 billion pounds.

The number on the benefit has trebled since 1979 and the government wants to reduce those claiming by one million people. ...

Hain said the changes were designed to help people, not to punish them.