Govt penalises thousands on ESA

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. ...