DUNDEE HAS one of the highest proportions of working age adults on incapacity benefits in Scotland, and campaigners say a third are claiming for mental health problems.

The figures were revealed by the Department of Work and Pensions after this week’s announcement that the government is to introduce tougher tests to get people back to work.

The figures show that almost 12% of Dundee’s 89,100 working age adults are claiming either incapacity benefit or severe disability allowance.

This is the fifth highest figure out of Scotland’s 32 local authority areas and by far the highest figure on the east coast.

By contrast, just under 8% of potential workers in Fife and a fraction over 7% in Angus claim incapacity.

Meanwhile, just over 6% in Perth and Kinross claim incapacity benefits—one of the lowest proportions in Scotland.

Areas with the highest proportion of claimants can by found in the former industrial Clyde Valley settlements in Glasgow City (14.4%) and Inverclyde (13.3%).

Dundee East SNP MP Stewart Hosie, whose maiden speech in 2005 called for “sensitivity and genuine support” for people coming off incapacity benefit, said demographics, labour market conditions and the downturn of core industries had contributed to Dundee’s high level of claimants.

“It is no coincidence that more than half of incapacity benefit claimants are out of work immediately before they start claiming benefit,” he said.

“It is a sad fact that, in the past, governments have used incapacity benefit as a way of hiding unemployment. It is no good hounding people on benefit to look for work if no suitable work exists.

“The government must look at the wider issues and take steps to increase investment in areas like ours to create more worthwhile jobs and to persuade employers to make the adjustments necessary to employ disabled and sick people.”

Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain has pledged to put an end to “sick note Britain” by introducing a new work capability assessment to test mental as well as physical capabilities and develop new skills.

Mr Hosie said that the new scheme is “a step in the right direction” and welcomed the prospect of a more tailored approach to developing skills.

Dundee West Labour MP Jim McGovern said the Dundee figures were a matter for concern but claims his party’s scheme will directly address this situation.

He said, “The new test is more robust, accurate and fairer. The world of work has changed.

“Manual labour has declined and a person’s ability to perform physical and manual work constitutes a large part of the current test.

“This level of physical capability is just not needed to perform jobs in new workplace environments, for example call centres.”