A former Tory minister said people who claim sickness benefits because of "bad nerves" and should be at work instead.
Former Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities minister and Redditch MP Rachel Maclean made the comment following the Budget.
Pointing out that she has "two degrees" in psychology, Maclean said "both depression and anxiety are clinically recognised conditions" while "bad nerves is not."
It comes as the Office for National Statistics said the number of people who are economically inactive because of long-term sickness rose to 2.5 million in 2023.
Rachel Maclean made the comments following the Budget
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Maclean said: "There’s no data or information on how this concept of bad nerves is defined, assessed, treated, understood or prevented, as a separate condition from depression or anxiety.
"This is because there can’t be. Having bad nerves is a totally meaningless phrase. Nobody knows what it is, so how can people decide if they’re unfit to work if they have it?
"I just don’t believe, frankly, that bad nerves is a reason to be on sickness benefits."
Out of the 2.5 million reported by the ONS, more than 1.3 million reported that they had depression, bad nerves or anxiety, though more than a million also said that this was not the main reason for their benefits claim. This is up from 908,000 people reporting the same conditions in 2013.
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Former Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities minister and Redditch MP Rachel Maclean
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According to a letter sent to Maclean in January, the Labour Force Survey is planning to drop the term "bad nerves" from its questionnaire.
In future, the survey will ask people if they experience "depression or anxiety."
Maclean had previously criticised the "bad nerves" term, saying that it sounded like "something out of a Good Housewife manual."
Maclean also said criticism of welfare cuts from the opposition was "total fake outrage" adding that: "The true failure is to let people languish on benefits and not expect any better from them."
A Government spokesperson said: "We are committed to giving those who are fit to work the support they need to secure a job and reap the health and financial benefits that offers.
"Our changes to the Work Capability Assessment will more than halve the net inflow of people on incapacity benefits, reducing the number by over 370,000.
"Our £2.5billion Back to Work Plan will help one million people find and stay in work through tailored support, including those with long-term health conditions and disabilities.
"Mental health funding is at record levels, reaching £16billion last year."
