The number of ill and unemployed females is at 1.54 million — a 48 per cent rise since 2019, and the highest level since records began in 1993.

1

Economic inactivity due to musculoskeletal problems increased by 126,000, according to TUC analysis of Office for National Statistics data.

The number with conditions such as cancer shot up by 19,000, while mental illness took 69,000 out of employment.

Trade Unions Congress General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “We need a proper plan for dealing with the sharp rise in long-term sickness – not cynical gimmicks.

“The government should be laser-focused on improving access to treatment and preventing people from becoming too sick to work in the first place.”

Last month Rishi Sunak set out his “moral mission” to overhaul the benefits system to get more people back into work.

The PM salled for an end of the “sick note culture” and said focus must shift to what work people might be able to do.

He insisted the changes – including benefits being stopped if someone does not comply with conditions set by a work coach and a pledge to “tighten” the work capability assessment (WCA) – are not solely about cutting costs.

Mr Sunak added that there will be a consultation on proposed changes to a “more objective and rigorous approach” in the benefits system.