‘Britain needs you’: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt begs people who have retired early or have been off sick since Covid to return to work to help the UK economy amid epidemic of inactivity

• The Chancellor made a pitch to millions of retirees and Brits on long-term sick
• Disability claims up 70% since pandemic, estimated cost to hit £8.2bn by 2027
• Jeremy Hunt: ‘If companies can’t employ the staff they need, they can’t grow’

Jeremy Hunt begged pensioners and the long-term sick to return to work today to help Britain’s beleaguered economy. 

The Chancellor made a pitch to millions of people who have taken early retirement or have been off work on long-term sick leave since the Covid pandemic to return to work to fill massive skills gaps.

The UK has some of its lowest unemployment figures in half a century, but employment has also fallen, with a spike in people being classified as ‘inactive’.

Disability claims are up 70 per cent since the pandemic, with estimates that the annual cost will rise to £8.2billion by 2027. 

Speaking in central London today Mr Hunt said a fifth of working age adults are economically inactive and around five million people do not want to work.

‘If companies can’t employ the staff they need, they can’t grow,’ he said at an event hosted by Bloomberg.

‘So to those who retired early after the pandemic, or haven’t found the right role after furlough, I say Britain needs you. And we will look at the conditions necessary to make work worth your while.’ 

The Chancellor made a pitch to millions of people who have taken early retirement or have been off work on long-term sick leave since the Covid pandemic to return to work to fill massive skills gaps.

The UK has some of its lowest unemployment figures in half a century, but employment has also fallen, with a spike in people being classified as ‘inactive’. 

He added that it was time for ‘a fundamental programme of reforms to support people with long-term conditions or mental illness to overcome the barriers and prejudices that prevent them from working’.

‘We will never harness the full potential of our country unless we unlock it for each and every one of our citizens,’ he said.

Earlier this month it was revealed people could get tax breaks for going back to work in plans being considered to cut the number of inactive Britons.

Those returning to jobs might also be able to keep their disability benefits in order to avoid ‘incentivising’ them to stay off work.

The ideas are being floated as part of a major overhaul of the system amid concern that millions of people have opted out of the labour market since the pandemic.

According to The Times, the Treasury is looking at increased tax allowances for those who go back to work. 

Senior ministers are even thought to be pushing to make returning over-50s entirely exempt from income tax for up to a year.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is said to be anxious that economic growth could be held back this year if the government cannot solve the inactivity puzzle, which has been contributing to worker shortages across industries.

In his speech today Mr Hunt faced down Tory backbenchers demanding radical tax reductions today as he pledged to transform ‘British genius and hard work’ into long-term prosperity.

The Chancellor signalled his determination to bring down sky-high inflation despite clamour for rate cuts to boost growth.

Setting out a plan for growth, the Chancellor hit out at the ‘declinism’ peddled by Labour and say this country is well placed to exploit ‘the growth sectors which will define this century’.

He will insisted that downbeat projections from gloomy forecasters ‘do not reflect the whole picture’ and argue that the economy is standing up well against global rivals.

But after an introduction written for him by AI software, he took aim at his Tory critics.

In a speech at Bloomberg’s London HQ, Mr Hunt said: ‘My party understands better than others the importance of low taxes in creating incentives and fostering the animal spirits that spur economic growth.

‘Another Conservative insight is that risk-taking by individuals and businesses can only happen when governments provide economic and financial stability.

‘So the best tax cut right now is a cut in inflation.’

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