The answer i received from sign the petition against pip cuts....................

[sylvi]

The Government has responded to the petition you signed – “Reverse the ESA disability benefit cut”.

Government responded:

We are committed to providing the right support to those with health conditions and disabilities. This change only affects new claims from April 2017 and no current claimants will be cash losers.

In the Summer Budget 2015, we announced that, from April 2017, new Employment Support Allowance (ESA) claimants who are placed in the work-related activity group (WRAG) will receive the same rate of benefit as those claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA).

This change only affects new claims made after that date and there will be no cash losers among those who are already in receipt of ESA. This reform affects those with limited capability for work. Those with the most severe work-limiting health conditions and disabilities, who are placed in the Support Group, will be completely unaffected by these changes.

The reason for implementing this reform is clear. The current system fails to provide the right support to help those with health conditions and disabilities towards and into work, and acts to trap people on welfare. We are committed to ensuring that people have the best support possible, and that is what these changes are about.

The recent record employment levels have benefitted many but have yet to reach those on ESA. It is important to remember that whilst 1 in 5 JSA claimants move off benefit every month, only 1 in 100 of ESA WRAG claimants does so. Those with health conditions and disabilities deserve better than this.

In addition to providing financial security for individuals, work often has a profound effect on people’s life chances and it is right that this Government does everything it can to provide better support to get people into work. More than three-fifths (61 per cent) of those in the ESA WRAG say they want to work – and there is a large body of evidence showing that work is generally good for physical and mental wellbeing.

This change enables us to recycle money into providing practical support that will make a significant difference to the life chances of those in the WRAG. This new funding will be worth £60 million in 2017/18 rising to £100 million in 2020/21 and will support those with limited capability for work to move towards and into suitable employment.

As set out in the Budget 2016, the nature of this support is being influenced by a Taskforce of disability charities, employers, think tanks, provider representatives and local authorities. Furthermore, we are providing a further £15 million for the Jobcentre Plus Flexible Support Fund in 2017-18 to help claimants who have limited capability for work with the extra costs that can be involved in moving closer to the labour market and into work.

These changes are part of a wider reform to help support more disabled people and those with health conditions work and to remain in work. Over the coming year we will build the progress we have made in partnership with disabled people, their representatives, and healthcare professionals, using their insights to understand how the welfare system can work better with the health and social care systems.

Our reforms are aimed at improving the quality of life of those in greatest need. Again, it is worth noting that we spend around £50 billion every year on benefits to support people with disabilities or health conditions, which represents over 6 per cent of all Government spending. We are proud of that commitment and we are determined to ensure that those most in need continue to receive the support they require.

Department of Work and Pensions

Click this link to view the response online:

petition.parliament.uk/peti...

This petition has over 100,000 signatures. The Petitions Committee will consider it for a debate. They can also gather further evidence and press the government for action.

The Committee is made up of 11 MPs, from political parties in government and in opposition. It is entirely independent of the Government. Find out more about the Committee: petition.parliament.uk/help...

Thanks,

The Petitions team

UK Government and Parliament

[flow4]

Pfft. This makes me really cross. The reason only 1 in 100 ESA WRAG claimants moves off benefits and into work each month is BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO SICK OR DISABLED TO WORK!!! If they were fit for work, they would in fact not qualify for ESA and would have been put on Job Seekers Allowance.

The distinction between ESA and JSA used to be clear-cut: if you were fit for work and unemployed, you claimed JSA; if you were NOT fit for work, you claimed ESA. Then they invented this ESA WRAG group, which was defined more blurrily as "Not fit for work now, but should become fit for work in the future". Assessors are not doctors, and are not qulified to judge if/when someone's health or disability might get better, but still do, and are pressured to put people in the WRAG group wherever possible... Predictably, this created problems. The first result was that many people dropped out of the benefits system altogether, because the JSA office told them they were not fit for work so could not claim JSA, but then the ESA assessors told them they had to go in the work-related activity group and prepare for work... ESA has been a badly-designed benefit right from the start, and now claimants - who are all vulnerable sick and disabled people who have been judged not fit for work - are being punished because the government wants to force sick and disabled people to work and is frustrated to find that some of them - shock horror! - are actually too sick and disabled to be able to.

Rant over!

[popsmith1874 in reply to flow4]

Politicians tell that many lies that they don't know when their telling the truth, hypocrites the lot of them

[oldtimer in reply to flow4]

There seems to have been an assumption by civil servants and ministers that many people with long term illnesses would be able to work. The results achieved by the private firms working for the government in returning people to work have been rather disappointing and particularly for those firms working on a results payment basis! 

I have been doing Health and Well-being courses, some of which are for these groups of people. Yes, a few people do become confident enough to apply for jobs, but several have quite correctly commented that they are not employable. One lady with a stroke that affected her writing and ability to use a computer, her speech and her walking, with long term lung disease and frequent infections, found it quite difficult to attend the course although enthusiastic to do so. She managed two out of six sessions. She was having to get someone else to do her on-line job applications to qualify for benefit payments - but she said "I wouldn't give me a job!"  Another had poorly controlled epilepsy and lived in a village with his sister, with a bus that ran twice a week - market day to the nearby town and on Saturdays. 

I am very keen that everyone should live their lives to the best of their ability, but the blanket approach "everyone is capable of work" makes life very difficult and unpleasant for a minority.

[sylvi in reply to oldtimer]

I couldn't agree more with what your saying,i would love to work,but even if i applied for work no one would employ me with all i have wrong with me. WHo are they going to choose at an interview

 me or someone younger and healthier.xxx

[Author878 in reply to oldtimer]

Definitely agree with u the government dont understand mental health what so ever especially epilepsy. It's stupid.

[Author878 in reply to flow4]

They're pieces of trash all together I'm going blind I need eye grafts and they say no wear contacts I said a they fall out b I got epilepsy wtf. stopped my pip I suffer with pcos pms on the severe spectrum I have insomnia I have anxiety, depression, fatigue and they want me to work. I said if you want ppl to work give them stuff they wanna do don't just chuck me in a waitressing job where I'd injure myself and a load of others theresa may is worse than Cameron, trump and Blair all together she's a monster