The Conservative party in Britain believes it can get as many as one in five people claiming incapacity benefits into work again as part of an overhaul of the welfare system if it wins power next year.
The Conservatives, well ahead of Labour in opinion polls with an election less than nine months away, are starting to flesh out how they might govern Britain at their annual party conference in Manchester this week.
"We will apply a test to all claimants who are currently on incapacity benefit to find out who can work and we will make sure that all those who can work do work," Conservative schools policy chief Michael Gove told BBC television today.
"All the estimates so far suggest that as many as one in five of those who are on incapacity benefit at the moment can work."
The Conservatives say they will be able to fund the initiative for Britain's 2.6 million people claiming sick payments from the state by paying work providers with the money saved from getting people back into work.
The Conservatives will also reduce the time it takes to get young unemployed people who have been claiming benefits signed up to a training and work placement scheme to six months.
"Providers will be paid by results, with fees depending on getting people into sustainable jobs - getting people into work for a year or even longer," the party said in a statement.
Unemployment, particularly among the young, has soared during the recession with analysts expecting as many as one in 10 people to be out of work by election time.
Reuters