Earlier this year, the Welfare Reform and Work Bill was passed, which will cut support for people in the Work-Related Activity Group of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) by £30 a week. Now, there are calls for the Government to reverse that cut, with a backbench debate due to take place in parliament. Macmillan is seriously concerned about the impact of the planned cut on people with cancer, and wants the Government to reconsider these plans.
Lynn, 55, from Edinburgh, received the Work-Related Activity element of ESA after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010.
'When I was ill, I had to give up work for a year. I couldn’t work – the chemotherapy knocked me for six and I just wanted to sleep all day. It was horrendous. I couldn’t pay my mortgage, my council tax. I thought I was going to lose the house. Then I got Employment Support Allowance. If they cut the ESA, that would just be absolutely horrendous. I would hate to have had that done to me. Without it, we would have been homeless.'
We talk to people affected by cancer every day through our Macmillan Support Line, benefits advisors, nurses and information services. Because of this, we know that money worries at an already difficult time can feel almost impossible to deal with. From filling up the car with fuel for regular trips to hospital, to a cut in pay because you’re too ill to work, the cost can be a real shock.
Four out of five people with cancer are, on average, £570 a month worse off because of their diagnosis. Every year 400,000 people with cancer across the UK struggle to pay the bills.
Many people with cancer who are too ill to work apply for Employment and Support Allowance, which provides support to help them deal with the financial shock of a cancer diagnosis. Those who are undergoing most types of chemotherapy and radiotherapy are usually placed in the Support Group of Employment and Support Allowance. But following treatment, thousands of people affected by cancer are placed in the Work-Related Activity Group. These people aren’t well enough to work, and the payments they receive are recognition of this. These payments are hugely important in helping people to deal with the financial shock of a cancer diagnosis. Reducing support for people with cancer who are too ill to work can affect their mental health and ability to recover well from cancer. This means they’re likely to need support for longer. So the cut to ESA, rather than saving money, could actually increase costs in other parts of the system, including the NHS and the overall welfare bill.
The Government recently published a Green paper on Work, Health and Disability. We’ve welcomed this consultation, but we’re concerned that the cut to ESA could seriously undermine the Government’s stated ambition to support people to return to work when they’re able. We hope the Government will reconsider their plans, and continue to help people to recover from the financial shock of a cancer diagnosis by providing support when they’re too ill to work.
