Obese People Could Lose Benefits Says Council

Readers, this is shocking and almost unbelievable. It is one of those policies that  could almost be put under the ‘whatever next’ category. Yet, coming as it does from a Tory-run council, Westminster, it is almost not surprising.

According to today’s Guardian, obese or other ‘unhealthy’ people could be monitored to check whether they are exercising. If they fail to exercise, they risk having their benefits cut.

Westminster council are reportedly due to publish the proposals today, along with a local government thinktank, the Local Government Information Unit.

According to this article from the Financial Times, some local authorities have introduced schemes allowing GPs to prescribe physical activities at their swimming pools, gyms, and similar leisure facilities.

The Guardian says new technologies, such as ‘smart cards’ could be used to track benefit claimants’ use of leisure facilities. This would allow local authorities to cut housing and council tax benefit payments for those who refuse to carry out exercise prescribed by their GP.

The report says “Where an exercise package is prescribed to a resident, housing and council tax benefit payments could be varied to reward or incentivise residents.”

There is one major thing wrong with this proposal. It could affect wheelchair users who are claiming benefits. This may also affect the families or family carers of such people, as it would reduce household income.

Wheelchair users sit for long periods of time through absolutely no fault of their own. This would, naturally, be likely to make them obese. They may be completely unable to take even a single footstep. Exercise of the sort suggested by these proposals would, for any such benefit claimants, be completely impossible, through absolutely no fault of their own.

Before such proposals are seriously considered by any council, they need to be made aware of this. They would need to seriously consider making wheelchair users exempt from any such proposals, and to clarify this for the public.