A Derby mum says she was left without food after her benefit payments were cut.   

Alesia Robinson, of Alvaston, said she was in a desperate situation after being denied Universal Credit.  

The 36-year-old - who has arthritis, partial hearing and learning difficulties – said she was left with hardly any money, food or electricity.

She said: “My money stopped at the start of the month and my electricity was cut off.

"I have nothing. I have no food in my fridge or in my cupboards.

"My dogs only have half a tub of food. I haven't eaten since yesterday. I’ve only got dog biscuits.”

Alesia Robinson, pictured here with her daughter, Aaliyah, 14, is struggling to get by

Ms Robinson said she was asked to attend a reassessment last month to determine whether she was still eligible for Employment Support Allowance.

The welfare payment has now been replaced by Universal Credit in a bid from the Government to simplify working-age benefits and incentivise paid work.

It merges six benefits and puts them into one monthly payment which is sent directly into claimants' bank accounts.

Ms Robinson was asked a series of questions to determine whether she was still entitled to the £252 payment that she had previously been receiving every two weeks.

However Ms Robinson, who is wheelchair-bound and lives alone as her two children aged 12 and 14 are in foster care, received a letter on May 1 saying she failed to score the 15 points through her evaluation that she needed to be declared unfit to work.


She received her last payment of just under £100 on May 7 but told she would no longer be receiving cash after that.

Aside from a £200-a-month Personal Independence Payment - the old Disability Living Allowance, which has not been rolled into Universal Credit - the mother-of-two said she now has no source of income.

She said: "It's horrible. It's my son's 13th birthday next week and I can't even get him a birthday present.

"At the moment I have nothing in my house, no electricity, I'm going through a difficult time.

"I want to name and shame, they have stopped my money completely.

"I really do not know why I haven't scored 15 points."

Ms Robinson said her disabilities had made it difficult for her to apply for Universal Credit.

"They know I struggled to talk, my family have to explain it all to me. I find it hard to understand these things. It's not fair for someone like myself.

"The person asked me questions but I couldn't understand and I couldn't hear properly. She was talking really quietly.”

Ms Robinson previously worked as a cleaner before she says she was forced to leave her job after contracting arthritis in her wrist and knee.

She said: "I can't work. I have arthritis in two places in two places and a lot of swelling and it's really painful.

"The arthritis affects me going out in public in case I fall and crack my head open.

"I got £40 emergency money from the council.

"I'm not fit to work. I have been left to struggle on my own, it's not fair for my family to help me when they have work."

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said Ms Robinson has been working with a job centre to help her make a claim for Jobseeker's Allowance.

She has also been liaising with the local council to secure her extra emergency support.

The spokesman said: "We want to ensure that people with health conditions get the right level of support, which is why we carry out these assessments to determine entitlement to ESA.

"There is a free and independent appeals process where claimants can provide any further documentation if they disagree with the decision made.

"Ms Robinson is being fully supported by the local jobcentre, to receive an urgent payment and make a claim for Jobseeker's Allowance, while the decision about her ESA claim is being reviewed."