CANCER patients face the possibility of losing their homes if proposed cuts to a disability benefit go ahead, according to research.
About £30 a week is to be trimmed from the Work Related Activity element of the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), which affects those who are ill or disabled but may be capable of work at some time in the future.
The cuts brought in by the UK ministers would come into affect through changes enacted from the proposed Welfare Reform and Work Bill.
Leading cancer charity Macmillan has commissioned a survey of 1,000 people living with cancer across Great Britain.
It found that one in ten of those polled would be unable, or would struggle, to pay their rent or mortgage if they lost £30 a week.
And the risk of being made homeless is even higher for those currently in receipt of ESA, which included 78 people in the survey.
Some 36 per cent of this group said they would be unable or would struggle to pay their rent or mortgage if the benefit was cut.
Latest UK Government figures show at least 3,200 people with cancer currently receive the Work Related Activity element of ESA, a benefit of £102.15 a week.
Macmillan said this is a benefit that many people with cancer will be in receipt of at some point during their lives, so cuts to this will also have a wider impact.
Existing Macmillan research shows that living with cancer can be extremely expensive and many people already face financial strain after their diagnosis.
Most will incur extra costs, such as transport and heating, as a result of treatment at the same time as being unable to continue working.
Janice Preston, head of Macmillan in Scotland, said: “We know cancer has a huge financial impact and this research shows that any cuts to benefits could have devastating results.
“We hope the Westminster Government will rethink their proposals to make cuts to Employment and Support Allowance.
“Anyone with cancer who has been affected by financial problems should get in touch with our benefits advice services so we can make sure they are getting all the support they are entitled to.”
Meanwhile, Dr Fran Woodard, Executive Director of Policy and Impact at Macmillan Cancer Support said: "The devastating impact that changes to Employment and Support Allowance will have on the lives of people with cancer is clear.
"It’s truly distressing to think that people with cancer could be forced out of their homes or fear a knock on the door from bailiffs at a time when they should be focused on recovering.
"Macmillan, along with a number of other health charities, has been calling on the Government to remove their proposed cuts to Employment and Support Allowance from the Welfare Reform and Work Bill since they were announced in July. They have so far refused to listen to us.
"As the Bill moves to its final stages, the Government can no longer ignore the reality of what they’re doing. They desperately need to rethink these proposals."
A UK Government spokesman said the vast majority of people with cancer will continue to receive additional top up payments. A spokesman added: "Nobody claiming ESA is required to get a job."
"People currently claiming Employment and Support Allowance will not see their benefit change as a result of this reform.
"The Government has made over £1bn available to prevent and tackle homelessness, and support vulnerable households since 2010."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel