Could obese people have their benefit cuts if they fail to exercise as ordered by their doctor?
New proposals to use the benefit system to encourage obese claimants to get fit have been published in a report by a Tory-run council and a think tank.Officials could monitor claimants through their use of smartcards to access leisure centres - opening the door to potentially docking benefits from those refusing to exercise as prescribed by their doctor.
Westminster city council and the Local Government Information Unit think-tank have published the report, which is titled A Dose of Localism: The Role of Councils in Public Health.
The report comes ahead of town halls becoming responsible for public health services in April amid rising demands for services and spending cuts. Obesity alone costs the NHS £5.1 billion a year.
It said: “Relocalisation of council tax benefit and housing benefit combined with new technologies provide an opportunity for councils to embed financial incentives for behaviours that promote public health.
“The increasing use of smart cards for access to leisure facilities, for instance, provides councils with a significant amount of data on usage patterns.
“Where an exercise package is prescribed to a resident, housing and council tax benefit payments could be varied to reward or incentivise residents.”
Philippa Roe, leader of Westminster city council, said: “This report contains exactly the sort of bright, forward-thinking and radical ideas that need to be looked at.”
She added the potential improvements to the nation’s health and to the public purse could be “significant”, but claimed it could only work if the government clarified the situation around the funding formula for public health.
