The IMC gives you a bit more help in a marginal "go/no-go" situation but it is not a "mini-IR" and should not be treated as such.
It's this bit that troubles me.
The IMC rating is not designed to help you fly marginal VFR better. The training involves simulating flying in cloud, flying from beacon to beacon without visual reference, and flying instrument approaches. It doesn't take the hills away, it doesn't give you better X-ray vision and it doesn't make navaids suddenly appear where none were previously situated.
If the conditions are "marginal" for visual flight, all the
more reason to plan and execute a proper IFR flight to reduce the risk. Plan the whole thing at a safe cruising altitude without the presumption that you'll be able to see out of the window. That's what instrument rated pilots do, and that's what IMC-rated pilots should be encouraged to do.
An instrument qualification is not a
get-out-of-trouble rating -- it needs to be a
don't-get-into-trouble-in-the-first-place rating. The CAA in its Safety Sense leaflets seems to have seized upon the idea that the IMC-rating is not intended to allow you to plan and execute an IFR flight but can be stuffed in your pocket like a get-out-of-jail-free card to be played when things go pear-shaped. IMHO that is more likely to get somebody killed.