Commenting on the publication today of the report Welfare that Works: Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Simon Barrow, co-director of the Christian think-thank Ekklesia, said:
“We welcome this latest research and report from the Spartacus network, with whom we are pleased to be able to collaborate once more.
“It demonstrates, again, that the changes in benefits and support the government has introduced are not working for disabled and sick people. They need substantial reform in the short-run and overhaul in the medium- to long-term.
“The reality is that hundreds of thousands of people are being mistreated by an ESA/WCA system which seems designed to claw back money rather than to ensure that those who need support get it in a timely, efficient and humane way.
“We will be urging church leaders and others to continue to press for serious change, for an independent cumulative impact assessment of welfare reform, and for a new deal for disabled and sick people.”
* NEW REPORT – Welfare that Works: Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) – http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/19670
* Sue Marsh, ‘How the government misled us over Employment and Support Allowance’: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/19669