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Mind research suggests benefit system increases damage to those with mental health problems (24 May 2017)

Date: 24/05/2017
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Mind research suggests benefit system increases damage to those with mental health problems

Mental health charity Mind has said that people with mental health problems are made “more unwell” by the benefits system.

The charity says that, in particular, the process of being sanctioned – having financial support cut or stopped altogether – is exacerbating people’s mental health problems.

A total of 2,814 people with mental health problems responded to a Mind online survey carried out between 25 January and 7 February 2017.

Researchers found that 47% of respondents were receiving Employment and Support Allowance, with 38% in the Support Group and 9% in the Work Related Activity Group.

A total of 4% were receiving Jobseekers’ Allowance – 28% were working and 19% were not in work or claiming benefits.

The survey revealed that 300 claimants said that they had been sanctioned, and a further 317 had been threatened with a sanction – nine in ten (90%) of those who had received out-of-work benefits and had been sanctioned said that this experience had negatively affected their mental health.

Even the threat of having support reduced or stopped was found to be sufficient to cause deterioration in someone’s mental health – with 89% of those threatened with sanctions saying this had exacerbated their mental health issue.

A total of three in five (60%) people with mental health problems who had been sanctioned said that the punitive measure had made them less likely to get a job – with a further 23% saying that sanctions had made no difference to how likely they were to obtain employment. An additional 16% said that they did not know or did not respond to this question.

Mind says that, although people receiving the out-of-work disability benefit Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) have been through a fit-for-work test and been found unable to work, those placed in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) are still required to do certain things in order to receive this financial support – if they fail to do these, they can be sanctioned.

As part of a six-point manifesto, Mind is calling on the next government to overhaul the benefits and back-to-work system, so that it focuses on support, rather than sanctions.

Chief Executive of Mind, Paul Farmer, said:

“These statistics provide further evidence to show how the benefits system is not just failing people with mental health problems – but actively working against them.

“We’ve long been calling for a stop to punitive measures such as sanctions, which only serve to push people with mental health problems even further into poverty and further from their hope of finding work.

“Treating people with suspicion and stopping their financial support when they’re unable to do the things that are asked of them is cruel and ineffective.

“Instead, we want to see more voluntary, tailored support, which works with people to identify their unique skills, ambitions and barriers to getting and staying in work.”


Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is the UK’s largest provider of Legal Aid mental health services and can advise mental health patients on a wide range of issues – including access to NHS mental health services and detention under the Mental Health Act.

Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors regularly visit NHS hospitals to advise on mental health law – and are available across England and Wales at short notice for hospital and police station appointments.

In some cases, Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors may be able to advise the nearest relative or carer of a mental health patient on a range of issues, including initiating treatment reviews where appropriate.

For expert legal advice on mental health law, call the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 020 3114 1124.

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