Catherine Hale

Briefing to John McDonnell MP, Margaret Greenwood MP and Marsha de Cordova MP on my research into disabled people's experiences of conditionality and sanctions With the introduction of ESA, disabled people in the “Work-Related Activity Group” (WRAG) were supposed to receive “personalised support” to move towards work. But research among 500 ESA WRAG claimants strongly indicates that there was nothing supportive about DWP and its contractors’ interaction with disabled people.  The design and operation of so-called “back to work” programmes blamed disabled people for their exclusion from the workplace and set us up for failure and punishment. It involved disability denial and routine breaches of DWP’s duties under the Equality Act. Not only did Jobcentre Plus and Work Programme interventions fail to address the real, structural barriers to work that disabled people face, but they resulted in deterioration in all aspects of health, social inclusion and wellbeing and were a

In 2014 I had my benefits, my main source of income, stopped for almost 3 months. I was a single parent and I was receiving disability benefits because I was assessed as unfit for work due to chronic illness. What happened to me is known as a sanction. I want to tell you about the impact it had on me, not just because it was one of the most stressful and distressing times of my life, (worse than divorce), but because my case is shockingly commonplace and could be on the increase with the introduction of Universal Credit. The reason I was sanctioned is that I couldn’t physically do the activities I was being forced to do. My chronic illness causes severe exhaustion and very poor stamina. But throughout 2013 and 2014 I kept receiving letters compelling me to attend employability workshops for 18 hours a week, which involved an hour’s journey, including a ¾ mile walk, each way, three days a week. Each letter threatened that my benefits could be cut if I didn’t comply. I’m not a natur