MANDATORY RECONSIDERATION AND EMPLOYMENT AND SUPPORT ALLOWANCE

That this House views with concern the plans to introduce a period of mandatory reconsideration as an intermediate stage for claimants of employment and support allowance (ESA) who wish to appeal the decision not to award this benefit; notes with even greater concern that the assessment rate of this benefit will not be paid during this period and that no time limit has been set for the reconsideration process; calls on the Government to guarantee that any attempt to claim other benefits, particularly jobseeker's allowance (JSA), during the reconsideration will not influence the result of the reconsideration or a subsequent appeal; urges the Government to provide clarity about whether an ESA claimant who successfully appeals following mandatory reconsideration will have their reinstated ESA backdated to cover the full reconsideration period; believes that seriously ill or disabled people are effectively being financially penalised for disagreeing with a decision made by the Department for Work and Pensions and that people who may not be entitled to either JSA or ESA will face intense hardship; and further calls on the Government to reassess its proposals in such a way as to ensure that claimants are not left in an ever-worsening spiral into poverty.