Quote:
Originally Posted by denphone
Its sadly been happening for quite a while as it was Labour who first introduced ESA and the Conservatives once elected followed on from them.
When claimants are assessed its nothing more then a tick box exercise where normal human common sense goes out of the window and replaced with ruthless callousness.
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It was initially a tax free payment called Invalidity Benefit. In 1993 the Thatcher Government changed it to a less generous, taxable and harder to get payment called Incapacity Benefit.
When Blair came into power in 1997, they introduced ESA and said that this would focus on what the sick & disabled can do as opposed to what they can't do.
In 2010, when Cameron became PM, he made the most savage cuts to sickness/disability benefits ever known in the past. Some people had their ESA stopped immediately, others kept it for up to a year and some have had their payments slashed by 1/3. This is the first time ever that an extra amount to help cope with the extra costs of sickness/disability has not been made to many people. Even the first incarnation of social security had provision for this in the form of 'outdoor relief' (as opposed to indoor relief- the workhouse).
In addition, Cameron introduced a 'stricter benefits regime' (including extra and more prolonged benefit sanctions) and made massive cuts to the budget for ESA, which is why we keep seeing these cases where people have been found dead after starving, this 64 year old gentleman having to leave his hospital bed etc.
May has said that she intends to look at stopping the needless repetition of tests for ESA & will look into simplifying renewal claims for PIP for the most severely disabled.