Living on benefits is a constant struggle. Opportunities are thin on the ground and your field of vision is drastically limited. “It isn’t an existence,” says Phil Wayland. “I barely leave the house.”
The 42-year-old has been claiming benefits since 2010, when he was signed off from work due to drug dependency and associated mental health struggles.
He lives in Essex with his mother, who is 79. “If I was on my own and didn’t have her, I would be screwed, to put it bluntly,” he says.
“When you’re on welfare, it is always a battle. The government is using the tactic of hardship to promote behavioural change and force you into work. They make life intolerable. People are not living a life on benefits.”
Wayland is one of four people who took
