Matt Lancashire: Those too ill to work must not be branded as cheats

But the jobs must exist in the first place, and they must be appropriate for that individual. And it is also a fact of life that there are some people who are just not fit to work, and they must not be forgotten.

A decent benefits system should have two objectives. It should encourage those who are able to work, and help them to find appropriate employment. But at the same time it should offer help to those who – for whatever reason – are not. Both objectives are equally important.

This week we published a report on the failings of the employment and support allowance (ESA) – in many ways the totem of the whole welfare reform agenda. Introduced 18 months ago to replace Incapacity Benefit, the ESA is the payment you must apply for if you are too sick or disabled to work.

Our report, Unfit for Purpose, exposes the ESA as a catalogue of failed bureaucracy, insensitive assessments and completely inappropriate decisions. People suffering from horrendous conditions such as cancer, Parkinson's disease and severe mental illnesses are being told they are fit enough to get a job and will have their benefit withdrawn if they don't get one.

The people who are the victims of the ESA are not cheats. They are just people who have been unlucky enough to suffer an illness which has rendered them unable to work.

There appears to be some momentum behind our call for an urgent review of the ESA.

In the spirit of engagement, we at CAS will make this positive offer to the new coalition government. We will welcome changes to the benefits system – provided they are based on treating people with dignity and fairness. The ESA certainly fails to do this, and it must be reviewed before it does any more damage.

We need reforms that help and support people, not reforms based on crude cost-cutting and victimising the vulnerable.

Matt Lancashire is a policy officer with Citizens Advice Scotland