State punishments have been dished out to hundreds of disabled people across Cumbria who were deemed to have failed to complete 'work related activities' in the last five years.

Figures obtained by CN Group reveal 771 people registered with a disability across the county have been issued with a benefits sanction by the government since December 2012.

It means residents on employment support allowance - those officially deemed too ill to work - have been left without money for food or bills for an average of 28 days at a time.

The practice, which has affected 70,000 across the country in the last five years, has been condemned by campaigners and a number of Cumbria's MPs this week who claimed the sanctions were cruel, unfair and preyed upon the most vulnerable people in the community.

Disabled rights champion Margaret Burrows, MBE, who runs the Barrow and District Disability Association, said the sanctions were driving people to the foodbank.


"I'm surprised the figures are not higher," she said.

"We have dealt with lots of cases and often, even with our experience, it takes a long time to get them resolved.

"We had one lady with breast cancer who was in hospital when she was supposed to have an appointment.

"She informed them but they didn't put it on the system so she was sanctioned.

"It took us five months to get it back and she had to go to the foodbank. It was awful, and very unfair."

Vulnerable people in Carlisle have been hit the hardest by ESA sanctions since 2012, the research shows, where 204 disabled people had their benefit withheld by the Department for Work and Pensions as a punishment. Next in line is Allerdale where 202 disabled people lost their benefit over the period, while 171 people were affected in Barrow.

In Copeland there were 100 people sanctioned, South Lakeland, which includes Ulverston, saw 63 people hit, while in Eden the figure was 34.

Nationwide, there were 2.4 million people on employment and support allowance in February this year - 51,000 less than the previous year.

Of these, 17 per cent are in the 'work related activity' group.

Cumbria is now in the process of making the switch from specific benefits to the controversial Universal Credit system.

John Woodcock, Barrow and Furness MP, said: "I’ve always defended the existence of the possibility of sanctions if people genuinely don’t meet reasonable expectations but what is being done to vulnerable people by this government is not reasonable.


“The rules are being applied harshly and arbitrarily by staff who seem under pressure to find people to punish rather than helping them succeed."

And in South Lakeland, Westmorland and Londsale MP Tim Farron described the system as 'shameful'.

His scathing comment came after chronically ill Kendal resident John Heaton, who has a degenerative brain disorder, was told to apply for jobseeker's allowance after he was sanctioned for missing an assessment that he had not been informed about.

Mr Farron said: "Sanctioning people with disabilities is simply cruel.

“They provide no incentive for people to work and penalise those who are physically unable to.

“Sanctioning happens as a result of decisions made by ministers in London who understand nothing of the lives of people living in desperate need, but are only too happy to make those lives worse.”

Carlisle's MP John Stevenson said that while certain cases have come to light that are unfair it was important to consider the reasons behind the sanctions when it came to discussion of the figures.

"It's very difficult to comment properly because we don't know the reasons why," he said.

"Job centres and the benefit agencies must act in a compassionate way and ensure that those who have difficulties, disabilities or personal issues are dealt with in a very sensitive and appropriate manner.

"Nevertheless there must be an expectation that people should, wherever possible, comply with the reasonable requests of the job centre."

Commenting on the example of the lady who missed her appointment because she was in hospital Mr Stevenson said: "I would completely sympathise with the woman. That is ridiculous.

"If somebody was in a job you would expect the employer to be reasonable and do the right thing and we should have the same expectation of the job centre to act compassionately, reasonably and sensibly.

"By the same token we must also expect people who are receiving benefits to comply with the reasonable requests of the job centre."

Sue Hayman, MP for Workington, said one resident on ESA had been sanctioned for failing to turn up to an interview at the job centre because she was attending her father's funeral.


Another, Mrs Hayman explained, was sanctioned because the job centre employee mistakenly recorded the claimant as arriving late for an appointment, when it was the centre itself that was running late that day.

Mrs Hayman, who worked closely with the Citizens' Advice Bureau on the issue, added: "This was something people came to us with regularly.

"There was even an occasion when a constituent informed them she couldn't go to the job centre because it was her father's funeral, but she got a sanction anyway.

"These were things that really, as far as I'm concerned, shouldn't have even happened.

"The stress and pressure this puts on people who are already unwell is huge. It shouldn't happen."

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ESA sanctions in Cumbria - The figures in full

- Carlisle: 204

- Allerdale: 202

- Barrow: 171

- Copeland: 100

- South Lakeland: 63

- Eden: 34

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What is ESA?

Employment support allowance. It is a benefit for people judged officially to be too ill for work.

How does it work?


Claimants of ESA were split into two groups by the Department of Work and Pensions.

The support group is for people thought to be unable to work and the work related activity group is for people considered to have the capacity to work in the future.

Only those placed in the second group can be sanctioned.

How do you get a sanction?

People in the work related activity group can be asked to attend work preparation interviews at their local job centre or to complete work related activities such as workshops and planned sessions on CV building.

Anyone who fails to attend or who is late can be sanctioned.

What happens if you get a sanction?

You lose your ESA benefit for a set period of time, often a month.

The decision can be appealed but this takes time.