ESA to stop for missing an appointment

Polly Toynbee, in a Guardian article about the Work Programme, has a worrying aside in relation to ESA claimants.

However, Duncan Smith’s revenge on ESA claimants is nigh: a jobcentre informer tells me new rules in the autumn will tell staff to cut all benefit from any ESA claimant missing an appointment. Since they are all sick or mentally ill, there is a 30% no-show rate: “Given the high level of vulnerability and chaos in their lives, this will be a disaster for many.” It will leave them utterly destitute.

For the whole article (well worth a read), see Anna’s charity was bid candy for the Work Programme. Now it’s bankrupt