Mentally ill hit by benefits red tape trauma
Report urges reforms as lives left ruined by stress
LIVES ARE being ruined by an overly-complicated benefits system which is causing extreme distress for people with mental health problems, a charity has warned.
The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute said people’s mental health conditions are being worsened as they try to navigate bureaucratic procedures when claiming welfare payments.
The Benefits Assault Course report said urgent reforms are needed to prevent people from missing out on vital financial support. It said 47 per cent of working age people receiving out-of-work benefits in England have common mental health problems like depression and anxiety.
Helen Undy, chief executive of Money and Mental Health, said: “Accessing the benefits system can be a difficult task for anyone, but if you’re struggling with your mental health it can feel almost impossible.
“The obstacles that people with mental health problems face at every stage of the system not only cause unnecessary distress, they’re also resulting in people missing out on crucial support they are entitled to, or falling out of the system entirely.
“This urgently needs to change as it’s ruining lives.”
A survey of more than 450 benefits claimants with mental health issues found that more than 94 per cent suffered anxiety as result of engaging with the benefits system.
Four in five said they struggled to gather information and medical evidence when applying for benefits. And 93 per cent said their mental health deteriorated in anticipation of attending a benefits medical assessment. Only 19 per cent felt their benefits assessor understood mental health problems. Four in five were unhappy with benefits decisions by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) but many did not feel able to challenge it because of their mental health.
The report said a requirement to look for jobs and attend assessments while claiming Universal Credit could be an “impossible task” for the mentally ill.
People in that position should be protected against having their benefits cut off in the same way as victims of domestic abuse and people receiving treatment for drug or alcohol dependency.
A DWP spokesman said: “Universal Credit is a force for good, and where challenges remain we will continue to make improvements. We are committed to supporting the most vulnerable claimants and our new partnership with Citizens Advice will provide further tailored help.”
IT IS a measure of the confusion and flaws besetting the benefits system that what should be a support mechanism for the most vulnerable too often adds to their difficulties.
Such is the case with today’s findings by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute that those with mental problems are suffering unnecessary distress because of the bureaucracy and red tape involved in claiming benefits.
This is an unacceptable state of affairs, not least because of the number of people on benefits who suffer some form of mental health issue.
The institute points out that 47 per cent of claimants have a common condition such as depression or anxiety.
It cannot be right to leave almost half of all claimants in the position of trying to navigate a system that throws up obstacles to their understanding or ability to cope.
As the institute points out, the result is not only distress – which is bad enough – but the prospect of people missing out on support which they both need and are entitled to.
The recent history of the benefits system as a whole is, to say the least, regrettable. The botched introduction of universal credit, which left some claimants penniless and facing destitution remains a stain on the Government’s record and it is far from certain the problems in the system are anywhere near being fixed.
Added to this, the difficulties the system as a whole is throwing up for those with mental health problems suggests that the time has come for a sensible and thorough review of the way benefits work and the procedures for claiming them.
It surely cannot be beyond the Government’s ability to come up with a clear and straightforward system for claiming benefits that can be understood by all, and provides help when it is needed.