Regarding unclaimed old-age and incapacity income support, most studies calculate so-called hidden or unreported poverty.
ESA replaced incapacity benefit, income support and severe disablement allowance for new claimants from October 2008.
At present nearly 50,000 people who claim incapacity benefit, income support or jobseekers' allowance have "drug abuse" as their primary diagnosis as to why they cannot work.
The chancellor's move to include all working-age benefits in his crackdown instead of just out-of-work benefits – that is income support, incapacity benefits, employment support allowance and jobseeker's allowance – could see many people in employment losing out.
Under the changes, housing benefit, income support, incapacity benefit and dozens of other payments will be swept away in a major reform programme intended to break the culture of welfare dependency by making work pay.
ESA was brought in to replace incapacity benefit and supports people who are unable to work because of ill health or disability.
It was greeted by comments confusing incapacity benefit (now employment support allowance) with DLA, and a general "nail the benefits cheats" attitude.
The government inherited the controversial work capability assessment from Labour, who contracted the private IT firm Atos to carry out the tests determining eligibility for the new incapacity benefit, employment and support allowance, in 2008.
This is partly because there are far fewer jobs to put people into, and partly because the conveyor belt of people moving off incapacity benefit (employment and support allowance) and into the work programme has virtually ground to a halt.
Wood gave strong evidence to the BBC to suggest that the methods used to assess whether individuals are eligible for the new incapacity benefit – employment and support allowance (ESA) – were "unfair" and "skewed against the claimant".
