Govt penalises thousands on ESA

More than 11,000 benefit sanctions were imposed on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants between June last year and the end of May.

With a quarter (2,790) of the 11,530 sanctioned claims being repeat offences, it means a total of 3% of eligible claims were cut.

The average cut in benefit was £19.25 per week out of a possible maximum of £26.75.

ESA claimants face their benefits being cut for a variety of reasons, often connected with attending work focused interviews once they have been placed into the work-related activity group.

At present just 7% of claimants are placed in the support group, where they are not expected to undertake any work activity, while 17% are put into the work-related activity group.

These penalties most commonly affect the work-related activity component of the ESA weekly benefit payment.

Statistics from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) show that of the 11,530 sanctions imposed 1st June 2010 and 31st May 2011:

• 6,160 (53%) had a 50% reduction in their work-related activity component applied,
• 5,370 (47%) had a 100% reduction in their work-related activity component applied.

They also revealed that mental and behavioural disorder claimants were most likely to be penalised (3.5% of those claiming) while those suffering diseases of the circulatory or respiratory system (2.3%) were least likely to be punished.