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| Employment and Support Allowance: Re-tests axed for chronically ill claimants | Employment and Support Allowance: Re-tests axed for chronically ill claimants |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Tens of thousands of people claiming the main benefit for long-term sickness will no longer face repeated medical assessments to keep their payments. | Tens of thousands of people claiming the main benefit for long-term sickness will no longer face repeated medical assessments to keep their payments. |
| Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green said it was "pointless" to retest recipients of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) with severe conditions and no prospect of getting better. | Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green said it was "pointless" to retest recipients of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) with severe conditions and no prospect of getting better. |
| More than two million people receive ESA, which is worth up to £109 a week. | More than two million people receive ESA, which is worth up to £109 a week. |
| The change has been welcomed by campaign groups. | |
| The reform will be unveiled at the four-day Conservative Party conference, which begins in Birmingham on Sunday. | The reform will be unveiled at the four-day Conservative Party conference, which begins in Birmingham on Sunday. |
| Michelle Mitchell, head of the MS Society, described it as a "victory for common sense". | |
| She added: "Frequent reassessments for people with progressive conditions like MS are too often a waste of time and money; they can leave people with uncertainty and fear of having their support taken away." | |
| 'Unnecessary stress' | 'Unnecessary stress' |
| Applicants for ESA have to undergo a work capability assessment to find out if they are eligible and they are re-tested to ensure their condition has not changed. Some are retested every three months and others up to two years later. | |
| Illnesses such as severe Huntingdon's, autism or a congenital heart condition are among those that are likely to qualify for continuous payments without reassessment. The criteria will be drawn up with health professionals. | Illnesses such as severe Huntingdon's, autism or a congenital heart condition are among those that are likely to qualify for continuous payments without reassessment. The criteria will be drawn up with health professionals. |
| Mr Green said a "key part" of making sure those who are unable to work receive "full and proper support" includes "sweeping away any unnecessary stress and bureaucracy". | Mr Green said a "key part" of making sure those who are unable to work receive "full and proper support" includes "sweeping away any unnecessary stress and bureaucracy". |
| 'I find assessments frustrating and annoying' | |
| Andrew Grantham has claimed ESA for seven years and told the BBC having to be reassessed was frustrating and annoying. | Andrew Grantham has claimed ESA for seven years and told the BBC having to be reassessed was frustrating and annoying. |
| "I've had MS since 2006... it's chronic, fluctuating and the only guaranteed thing about it is that it will get worse. | "I've had MS since 2006... it's chronic, fluctuating and the only guaranteed thing about it is that it will get worse. |
| "I've had three assessments and I will have one next year. The first time I was found fit for work and I had to go to a tribunal. | "I've had three assessments and I will have one next year. The first time I was found fit for work and I had to go to a tribunal. |
| "The other two assessments I had some really good medical evidence from my dedicated nurse and I was found not fit for work. | "The other two assessments I had some really good medical evidence from my dedicated nurse and I was found not fit for work. |
| "These assessments are stressful for people because they don't know which way it is going to go. There is also a chance that you lose your financial security and you are told that you are fit for work and you have to look for work." | "These assessments are stressful for people because they don't know which way it is going to go. There is also a chance that you lose your financial security and you are told that you are fit for work and you have to look for work." |
| Mr Green told the BBC: "Having looked at the whole system there is some activity we do that is just pointless. | Mr Green told the BBC: "Having looked at the whole system there is some activity we do that is just pointless. |
| "If you have got a condition that has made you unfit for work and which can only stay the same or get worse, I think it is just pointless... to just bring someone back again. | "If you have got a condition that has made you unfit for work and which can only stay the same or get worse, I think it is just pointless... to just bring someone back again. |
| "It's the severity of the condition that matters, because indeed there are some people with MS... that can work, but we know that it's a degenerative disease so there will come a point when it may well be that they can't work. | "It's the severity of the condition that matters, because indeed there are some people with MS... that can work, but we know that it's a degenerative disease so there will come a point when it may well be that they can't work. |
| "After that it seems to me that retesting and reassessing them doesn't do them any good - it might induce anxiety and stress in them - and it is also not doing the system any good because it is pointless." | "After that it seems to me that retesting and reassessing them doesn't do them any good - it might induce anxiety and stress in them - and it is also not doing the system any good because it is pointless." |
| Currently, those in the "work-related activity group" - deemed unable to work at the moment but capable of making some effort to find employment - receive up to £102.15 a week in ESA payments. | |
| Those in the "support group" - deemed unable to work and not obliged to do anything to improve their chances of finding work - receive up to £109.30 a week. | |
| 'Fear of employment' | 'Fear of employment' |
| However, ministers remain committed to a cut to be introduced next April in the amount of money that some new recipients of ESA will receive, BBC social affairs correspondent Michael Buchanan says. | |
| From April 2017, payments will fall to £73 for new claimants in the "work-related activity" category as ministers argue that too few people in the category are moving into work. | From April 2017, payments will fall to £73 for new claimants in the "work-related activity" category as ministers argue that too few people in the category are moving into work. |
| Keran Bunker, a current ESA claimant who is on the autistic spectrum and has ADHD, told the BBC that the change would make people "fear trying to find employment". | Keran Bunker, a current ESA claimant who is on the autistic spectrum and has ADHD, told the BBC that the change would make people "fear trying to find employment". |
| Mr Bunker said he would fear losing out if he took a job which he later might lose because of health issues, returning to the lower level of benefit. | Mr Bunker said he would fear losing out if he took a job which he later might lose because of health issues, returning to the lower level of benefit. |
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