Welfare reform

The Work and Pensions Secretary has vowed that employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants appealing their ineligibility decision will not have their benefit payments stopped.

The number of women claiming sickness benefits is rising much faster than for men according to analysis of Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) statistics by Legal & General.

Fewer appeals against Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) decisions are being found in the claimants favour, according to government statistics.

Fewer claimants are being found eligible for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) despite government claims that the benefits system is providing greater protection for disabled people.

Cancer patients already severely struggling with financial difficulties because of their illness could be hit with "catastrophic" effects if welfare reform proceeds, MacMillan Cancer Support has warned.

More than half of SME employers fear the cost impact of the government's health and welfare reforms, according to Jelf Group.

Disability charities are horrified at government plans to cut employment and support allowance (ESA) during appeals.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is reportedly pushing for GPs to be required to encourage patients with long term medical conditions to go back to work.

The Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC) has produced a ‘myth buster' factsheet issuing a stark warning for potential future claimants about the realities of the impending welfare reforms.

Just one quarter of people in employment prior to successfully claiming Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) had returned to work 18 months later, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has found.