A Welfare Benefit Specialist Adviser’s point of view of the current crisis of the benefit system

Becky Polain (not pictured above) has worked since leaving college, solely in benefits, over twelve years for the DSS/DWP and over nine years for a local charity, HARC, that specialises in welfare benefit advice and representation in one of the poorest and most deprived areas of the country. She has witnessed the systematic destruction of a support system, designed to help those that need it most, to create a widespread situation of poverty, ill-health and despair. She shares her thoughts below.