Ministers have spent almost £40m in an “appalling” attempt to use ‘fit for work’ tests to stop sick and disabled people receiving the financial help to which they are entitled. Freedom of Information requests by The Independent have revealed how taxpayers’ money has been spent on futile legal battles to prevent vulnerable people receiving help. 

The vast majority of appeals were lost by the Government last year, making the expense appear unnecessary.

Early indications now show the problem is becoming worse in 2017, with a 77 per cent rise in money spent trying to stop people from getting Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) payments. Critics claim the situation has arisen because fitness to work assessments are deeply flawed, leading to incorrect decisions which need to be fought. 

Labour MP Frank Field, who worked as David Cameron’s poverty tsar, said: “What’s appalling is that the [government] is prepared to spend £39m of taxpayers’ money against people who are desperately fighting off destitution.” The proportion of cases where judges found that claimants were too ill to work also increased. In the first three months of last year judges decided in favour of claimants in 58 per cent of cases. That figure rose to 70 per cent in the same period this year, suggesting the government is denying payments to more people who are genuinely unfit to work. Chair of the Commons Work and Pensions Committee Mr Field added: “We clearly need a new compact between the [Government] and claimants, otherwise this injustice will continue to act as a recruiting agent for food banks.” Currently assessments are contracted out to private firms Atos and Capita, which do not require employees performing the assessments to have relevant expertise in specific disabilities.