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Sky News’ Sophy Ridge had a chat with Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, yesterday evening.

This is on the back of a government announcing new plans to reduce welfare spending through various measures – including directly taking money out of people’s bank accounts and suspending their driving licences.

Ms Kendall says this is important as she wants to get back £1.5bn through the measures.

Sophy asks if the minister is prepared to make the “much more difficult decisions” to get welfare spending down – which includes reducing the number of people out of work.

Ms Kendall says the UK is the only country in the G7 whose employment hasn’t gone back to pre-pandemic levels.

She adds that being in work is about “improving people’s living standards”, “dignity”, “self-respect”, and “good work”.

The minister says: “There’s clear evidence now that it’s good for your mental and physical health.

“And as a woman and a feminist – work is about equality and independence. 

“So we do believe in work and that we need to transform the system to get more people into better paid jobs in every part of the country.”

Are mental health issues just everyday stresses?

Ms Kendall is then asked by Sophy about the increasing number of people who have been signed off work with mental illnesses.

She says there are “a lot of complicated things going on here”.

The minister welcomes the reduction in stigma around mental health issues, and some “serious challenges” around the issue were exacerbated during the pandemic and by social media.

However, Ms Kendall says “there are stresses and strains in everyday life – and that is just life”.

She says she went on a visit to a supermarket where the management said there was a mixture of people with genuine health problems, and then some people needing to understand that “this is the world of work”.