My Letter To Iain Duncan Smith

Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

Dear Mr. Duncan Smith,

You have stated that you resigned from cabinet over George Osborne's disability cuts, among other reasons. Bank of England's Governor Mark Carney is now warning that life will "get difficult" for the most vulnerable people in Britain as inflation rises in the coming months due to the sharp depreciation of sterling in the wake of the Brexit vote.

The Department for Work and Pensions says that it is scraping retesting for people with severe, lifelong conditions at the same time that there has been a sharp drop in Support Group awards and a sharp increase in people placed in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG). Charities report that 45% of people who put in a claim for Employment Support Allowance (ESA), and had Parkinson’s, Cystic Fibrosis, Multiple Sclerosis, or Rheumatoid Arthritis, were placed in the WRAG. 

Unless rescinded, from April 2017, anyone put in the work-related activity group (WRAG) of employment and support allowance (ESA) will receive the same benefit rate as jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), a loss of £30 a week. They will surely struggle to survive.

I would be most grateful if you would advise Work and Pensions secretary, Damian Green, and Chancellor Philip Hammond *not* to proceed with Osborne's life-threatening ESA WRAG cuts. A public statement against these pernicious cuts would also be appreciated.

Thanking you in advance for your assistance.

Samuel Miller