Channel 4 News reports on the “rocketing” numbers of appeals for employment and support allowance (ESA) being heard by the Tribunal Service, which have quadrupled in two years, “from 68,000 in 2009 to a projected 240,000 by the end of this financial year.” The cost to the taxpayer: “£80m and rising”.
“Channel 4 News contacted 30 advice centres across Britain and every single one said they had clients on their second or even third appeal. Jude Hawes is the welfare benefits manager at Stoke CAB.
“She says every day they’re dealing with clients appealing against ESA decisions, many of them for a second time. “I’ve worked in welfare benefits since 1983 and… we’ve never had one benefit one sort of appeal that just dominates the landscape like this.””
You can still catch the broadcast on Channel 4’s Watch Again service here.