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Hello,My name is Katharine and I want to thank you for signing Citizens Advice’s petition. It's incredible to see it reaching 6,600 signatures.
Like Gary (who launched the petition with Citizens Advice), I have also experienced first-hand having my benefits cut while the Department for Work & Pensions gave a second opinion on my Employment & Support Allowance (ESA) claim.
My ESA benefit was stopped for four weeks while DWP reconsidered their decision to find me fit for work. I had no savings and was living hand to mouth, so I was told to apply for Job Seekers Allowance (JSA). However when I called my Jobcentre they said that they would not accept me onto JSA as both them and my GP said I was “not Fit for Work”.
I WANT to work. I have a lot to offer. But forcing me to spend a month living without any financial support didn’t help me to find a job – instead it left me vulnerable and frustrated.
Anyone can become sick or disabled and be forced to give up work. If this happened to you, you'd expect the government to support you.
If you are as outraged by this as I am then please help put pressure on the government to change this unfair policy by asking your MP to support our campaign to make ESA fit for work.
It is really easy to do. Just click on the following link and enter your postcode: https://www.writetothem.com/
This will let you type a message to tell your local MP why you want them to support the Fit for Work campaign. Below are some bullet points about the campaign. You could select just the points that concern you, or re-write them to convince your MP to support the campaign.
• Last year Citizens Advice helped people with almost half a million problems with their ESA claims, more than any other issue
• 145 people have already shared their stories of ESA problems on the Citizens Advice blog (http://bit.ly/1fANAGN)
• Over 6,000 people have already signed ESA claimant Gary’s petition for claimants to be paid ESA while their claims are reconsidered
Citizens Advice are asking that:
1. the Department of Work and Pensions listens more to evidence from the health and social care professionals who know the claimant best and that this evidence should be provided free of charge
2. the companies running the work capability assessments (WCA) are held accountable for poor quality assessments or bad customer service
3. the DWP continues to pay people ESA while a second opinion is given on their application.
It would also be really helpful if you could encourage your MP to sign the petition themselves at www.change.org/fitforwork and let them know they can find out more about the campaign at www.citizensadvice.org.uk/fitforwork.
Thank you once again for supporting sick and disabled people on this important issue. You can read my full story here: https://blogs.citizensadvice.org.uk/...harines-story/
Best wishes,
Katharine
This message was sent by Citizens Advice using the Change.org system.
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