THE BIGGEST change in incapacity benefits since they were created has been unveiled.
It will affect more than 18,000 people in Kirklees.
The Government says the change will see greater financial security given to the most severely sick and disabled and more money going to claimants who take part in a work- focused activity.
The changes, announced by Work and Pensions Secretary Alan Johnson, build on the Pathways To Work scheme, which recognised that nine out of 10 claimants of the benefit wanted to work again.
He said: "A million people on incapacity benefits want to work. We must end the stifling of ambition caused by assuming that all people with health conditions and disabilities are condemned not to work."
There are more than 18,000 claimants of the benefit in Kirklees. They form nearly 8% of the total in Yorkshire and Humberside. The number of working-age claimants in Kirklees is the fifth highest in Yorkshire and Humber.
The key elements of the change are:
* The name incapacity benefit will be scrapped, so people are not classed as incapable
* People will be put on Job Seeker's Allowance rates until medical assessments have been completed for the new reformed benefits over the next 12 weeks
* Two new benefits, Rehabilitation Support Allowance and Disability and Sickness Allowance will differentiate between severe and more manageable conditions
* The Rehabilitation Support Allowance will provide people with more manageable conditions, a basic benefit at JSA levels (about £55) and extra for going to work-focused interviews.
