Is it any surprise that a report found that the Tories’ Department of Work and Pensions’ sanctions regime is cruel, heartless and puts people under unbearable stress? Those who spoke to the committee told of how the work capability assessments had increased their stress levels, caused them anxiety and had negatively impacted on their mental health.
There have been several failings with the process highlighted in the report. It has been plagued with poor accessibility, inaccurate data, unnecessary delays and communication problems. All of this has a hugely negative impact on those facing the assessments. As the report says, the accounts describe “a system that is still not adequately supporting often vulnerable people”.
Too many of these vulnerable people are forced to take part in face-to-face assessments, despite there being widespread agreement they are unnecessarily stressful and are poorly suited to measuring the impact of some health conditions.
