‘Made to feel like a scrounger’: chef waiting for hip operation fears losing £84-a-week benefit

People with mobility issues will be asked to work from home or lose benefits. Christine Espley is anxious how she could cope

Christine Espley, a self-employed 61-year-old chef and caterer from Cirencester, has been unable to work since the summer because of extreme mobility issues. She has been waiting 47 weeks for a hip operation and fears she may lose her small benefit income because of planned changes to the welfare system.

People with mobility and mental health problems will be asked to work from home or lose benefits as part of what a UK government minister described this week as doing “their duty”. The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, doubled down on the controversial policy in his autumn statement on Wednesday, claiming that the government’s so-called back-to-work plan would help nearly 700,000 people with health conditions find work.