Sickness and disability claims rise
2nd September 2010
A sharp rise in people seeking benefits for sickness and disability has led to calls for homeowners to ensure they buy appropriate life insurance cover so their mortgage payments are safe if they can no longer work.
Citizens Advice says enquiries about employment and support allowance (ESA) have soared by 77% in the second quarter of 2010, compared with the same period last year.
In three months, 45,257 people contacted Citizens Advice about the benefit and the agency says it is braced for another sharp increase in the autumn.
Gillian Guy, chief executive at Citizens Advice, said: "Since ESA was introduced in October 2008 Citizens Advice has been monitoring its impact.
"We have previously published reports expressing our concern about poor knowledge of ESA rules among Jobcentre Plus and DWP medical staff, inadequate administration systems and the crude nature of the work capability assessment.
"This autumn, claimants on the old incapacity benefit will switch to ESA. With so many flaws in the current system we predict the number of people who come to us for advice on this benefit will only continue to increase."
Citizens Advice also saw a 17% increase in people wanting advice on the carers allowance, and an 11% rise in those asking about disability living allowance.
Overall, the total number of benefit problems that people contacted the charity for help with rose by 6% to 517,956.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
- Unemployment hits 17 year high
- Five ways to make some extra cash this Christmas
- How they made their millions.....and lost it
- Five ways to tell if you hate Christmas
- 5 excuses given for calling in sick
- 5 online tools to boost your personal finances
- How to save money as inflation rises
- Rising unemployment leads many to consider benefits of income protection
- Five of the most expensive schools in the UK
- TUC predicts female jobless rise
- Mortgage warning to bank customers
- RAF workers face redundancy threat
- Cuts 'leave more women unemployed'
- TJ Hughes staff hit by job cuts
- NI confirms jobs for NOTW staff
- News Archive
