The new state benefit ESA for those previously claiming Incapacity Benefit (IB), or Income Support on the grounds of illness, starts on Oct 27th.

Be extremely careful if you have a previous claim to IB within the last two years, the maximum linking period between IB claims is 104 weeks, you may be claiming IB again depending on circumstances.

But surely ESA will be best as it is there to enable me to get off state benefits and back to work? Well that depends if you are happier with stricter medical criteria making it more likely that you will 'pass' the new ESA test, the Work Capability Assessment, and get told that you now need to claim Jobseekers Allowance instead, at a lower rate of course!

All the main three parties seem to want to thrash the poor-sick saying they are better off in work and long term claims should be dealt with under a stricter regime. This ignores the fact that the IB claimants themselves have paid for their benefit through their own national insurance contributions! Plus on many occasions the claimant's own doctor fervently disagrees that work is appropriate, especially in cases of mental ill health. Another problem the politicians fail to address is that some employers still will not take on employees with ill health or even disability issues, contrary to the law, as well as a background of rising unemployment and falling REAL jobs.

Think very carefully at the next election, the rich making scapegoats of the poorest in society is not the basis of a civilised society.