Merthyr Tydfil has become synonymous with deprivation and disadvantage as high levels of ‘economic inactivity’ and the related reliance on Incapacity Benefit have earned it the epithets of ‘sick note capital’ of Britain and ‘benefit scrounger hotspot’: this report, by Victoria Winckler, looks at the challenges faced by people who are economically inactive in Merthyr Tydfil because of ill health. This report looks at the prospects for helping people into work in the area.