ESA sickness benefit cuts being considered | BBC News | 2 July 2015

July 2, 2015


From BBC News, 2 July 2015. Story by Michael Buchanan, Social Affairs Correspondent.

Plans to scrap part of the UK's main sickness benefit are being considered, a leaked Whitehall paper suggests.

It describes the Employment and Support Allowance as a “passive” benefit which does not “incentivise” people to find a job, and proposes abolishing the work-related activity group (WRAG) category.

If scrapped, weekly payments would drop nearly £30 from £102.15, bringing it in line with Jobseeker's Allowance.

The Department for Work and Pensions said it did not comment on leaks.

The government is seeking to save £12bn from its welfare bill.

It is expected next week's Budget will unveil only some of its proposed cuts, with others to be announced in the autumn spending review.

The paper seen by BBC News was written by the Department for Work and Pensions before the general election in May.

It is marked “not government policy”, but the BBC understands the proposals are still under consideration.

About two million people in the UK receive the Employment and Support Allowance, in some form.

It is paid out to disabled or sick people who are unable to work or need help getting back to work.

Currently, people undergo a fit-for-work test to decide how their illness or disability affects their ability to work.

If eligible for the benefit, they are placed in either the WRAG category, and must prepare for employment, or a support group category and are not expected to work.

Those who do not meet the criteria may be given Jobseeker's Allowance of up to £73.10 a week instead.

The paper also proposes renaming the assessment tests “employment capability assessments”, rather than work capability assessments, in order to focus attention on job-seeking, not benefit-seeking.

It says removing the £30 top-up for WRAG claimants would give people less reason to worry that they were getting the “wrong” outcome from their assessment.

The tests would identify claimants' strengths, rather than focus on what they could not do, and would be carried out much sooner in the application process, the paper says.

Under the plans, the government could save hundreds of millions of pounds by the end of the decade, the paper says.

Ministers are also understood to be considering changes to the support group category of the Employment and Support Allowance, with a possible announcement in the 8 July Budget.

A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions said: “This is speculation based on documents leaked before the election. We do not comment on leaked documents.”


HOW MUCH IS EMPLOYMENT AND SUPPORT ALLOWANCE?


Work-related activity group: Up to £102.15 a week

Support group: Up to £109.30 a week

And Jobseeker's Allowance?

Aged 18 to 24: Up to £57.90 a week

Aged 25 or over: Up to £73.10 a week

3 thoughts on “ESA sickness benefit cuts being considered | BBC News | 2 July 2015”

  1. This proposal would be a tragedy for those who battle on in work despite their ME, many will be pushed into the ‘Severe’ range, if not treated with caution and rest in the early stages.
    My ME was made considerably worse by going back to work after each relapse.
    Am now in the Support group ESA and permanently disabled.
    The Institute Of Medicine didn’t propose to rename our disease SEID Systemic Exertional Intolerance Disease without good clinical reason.

  2. “It describes the Employment and Support Allowance as a “passive” benefit which does not “incentivise” people to find a job,”

    Wrong, wrong, wrong and highly insulting. I feel like hitting my head against a wall with the utter frustration at the dangerous and patronising attitudes at the DWP these days. Do they bloody well think people get ill on purpose, for fun ?

    Like dell, above, I struggled on trying to work, and exercise, undiagnosed despite increasing ill-health and muscle weakness. This was 30 years ago ! and I have been permanently disabled ever since. If the DWP do carry out this appalling, further attack upon the very means of existence of sick and disabled people, I daren’t think how many more people will end up permanently crippled.

  3. I think that the system is getting ridiculous. Why not just call it EJSA and pay everyne whse not working the pittance that is benefit. In fact why not go back to the olden days and make the kids work to keep the parents ill or unemployed so that the government can give nothing away?
    It’s totally ludicrous. You have to fight to get ESA anyway and go through a barrage of tests that they then say prove absolutely nothing then you are told that the amount you get is not relative to your needs. I know. I was paying £50.00 every two months for vitamins etc and £8.20 per month for painkillers. How could someone on benefits afford the £50.00 which is not covered under the NHS?. Much better they give people a living wage or do they think that those who can afford to live on their money (and this is getting fewer and fewer) will subsidise the system that is the welfare state. Government GET A GRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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