CEREDIGION Citizens Advice Bureau has revealed the heartbreaking stories of local disabled people judged “fit for work” by the Department for Work and Pensions.

The disclosure comes after the county’s advice charity announced in August that 20 per cent of the problems they dealt with between 2014 and 2015 related to Employment and Support Allowance — the benefit paid to individuals too ill or disabled to work.

It was reported in the Cambrian News last week that 63 per cent of decisions by the DWP last year where disabled people were judged “fit for work” following a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) were overturned following an appeal at Aberystwyth tribunal.

On the condition of anonymity for their clients, CAB Ceredigion provided the Cambrian News with a sample of cases for which an ESA “fit for work” decision had been overturned in order to illustrate the difficulties faced by disabled people.

A CAB Ceredigion spokesperson said: “DWP guidelines aim to assess clients at 13 weeks after the initial claim.

“We saw clients who were still on the assessment rate two years later or more.

“Despite pressure from Citizens Advice, the DWP has restated their opposition to paying claimants any rate of ESA during the ‘mandatory reconsideration’ period.A DWP spokesperson said: “The vast majority of benefits are processed on time with improvements being made year-on-year.“The Work Capability Assessment is designed to look at what someone can do with the right support - rather than just writing people off on sickness benefits as happened in the past. It is important that people supply sufficient evidence – including medical evidence – when making a claim, as it could affect their benefit entitlement.”

See this week’s south editions for the full story, in shops on Wednesday