There is no doubt that the way benefits are paid to those out of work is in need of some kind of overhaul – many who rely on the welfare state say they do not have enough to live off, while some people who go out to work every day see people on benefits more well-off than they are.

To tackle this, the Government brought in Work Capability Assessments, run by Atos Healthcare, to determine whether those people currently in receipt of benefits because they were not healthy enough to hold down a job really were incapable of working.

Atos has come in for a lot of criticism since it began running the assessments, and as a result, Bradford Council has ordered its own investigation into how Work Capability Assessments affect the Bradford district and its citizens.

It does seem as if some of the criteria used by Atos need looking at again – one issue was raised by a local councillor concerning a man in his ward who has MS, an illness which means he is incapacitated on some days, but a little fitter on others. The Atos test is whether a person is fit for work “on the majority of days”, but in cases where health fluctuates, it is difficult to properly quantify.

It seems the Government might be on the right track with its desire to streamline the way in which benefits are applied for and granted, but equally there are obviously some issues with how the current system is delivered.

Perhaps the Bradford Council study might go some way to helping fine-tune this system to everyone’s satisfaction.