DWP is unfit for purpose and should be axed, says thinktank : Welfare Weekly

Public trust in the DWP’s ability to protect the poorest and most vulnerable people in society has become so damaged that it is no longer fit for purpose and should be axed, a leading thinktank has suggested.

In a new report, supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Demos says welfare reforms first introduced by the Tory-Libdem coalition and then continued by the Tory government have “caused more harm than good”, and demonstrate a “lack of compassion” that has become synonymous with the DWP and the welfare system.

The thinktank states: “The Conservative government and its predecessors promised transformation, yet their changes have amounted to little more than palliative tweaks.

“Universal credit and the replacement of incapacity benefit with ESA caused more harm than good.

 

Source: DWP is unfit for purpose and should be axed, says thinktank : Welfare Weekly

Record disability benefit appeal success rates show this ‘cruel’ system is ‘unfit for purpose’ : Welfare Weekly

Record numbers of sick and disabled people are winning appeals against cruel decisions to reduce or axe their vital disability benefits, official figures show.

Figures released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) reveal that a record 72% of negative Personal Indepence Payment (PIP) decisions are overturned in favour of claimants on appeal.

The same percentage (72%) of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) are also successfully overturned at appeal stage, with critics and opponents of the disability benefit assessment system labelling the two benefits as “not fit for purpose”.

MoJ figures show 20,133 people who appealed a decision to change or deny their PIP between July and September 2018, of which 14,581 won their case at tribunal.

Meanwhile, 13,508 people appealed a decision to change or deny their ESA payments, of which 9,684 also won their case on appeal.

 

Source: Record disability benefit appeal success rates show this ‘cruel’ system is ‘unfit for purpose’ : Welfare Weekly