Mental health sanctions UK

DWP stopping benefits of 100 people with mental health problems everyday

The fact that this system punishes people for the symptoms of their illness is a clear and worrying sign that it is fundamentally flawed."

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is stopping the benefits of people with mental health problems at a rate of over 100 a day, new data has shown.

A freedom of information (FOI) request by the Methodist Church revealed that benefit claimants judged as unfit to work due to mental health problems are more likely to be hit with sanctions than those suffering from other conditions.

In March 2014 - the last month for which data is available - approximately 4,500 people with mental health problems in receipt of employment and support allowance (ESA) were sanctioned.

According to the DWP’s data, the most common reason for being sanctioned is that a person has been late or not turned up for a Work Programme appointment.

Paul Morrison, public issues policy adviser for the Methodist Church, said: "We believe that the number of people with mental health problems who have their benefit stopped due to being sanctioned is in fact a great deal higher than 100 a day. Not included in these figures are people who receive ESA due to a physical illness, but who have a higher risk of mental health difficulties.

"Sanctioning someone with a mental health problem for being late for a meeting is like sanctioning someone with a broken leg for limping.