Tories Plan To Make Mental Health ESA Claimants Prove They Are Really Depressed

Critics have expressed horror at Tory plans to make benefit claimants prove they suffer from anxiety or depression, or risk having their payments cut. Current rules mean that people cannot be forced into treatment, like psychological therapy, as a condition of receiving their sickness benefits. But the Telegraph reported high-level discussion at the Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions are currently ongoing to require hundreds of thousands of people to undergo treatment, if they are declared unfit for work due to mental health problems. Government statistics show 46% of people receiving £101 a week Employment and Support Allowance have mental health issues, meaning that new rules could apply to 260,000 people.