The story of the real life I, Daniel Blake

Undated Film Still Handout from I, Daniel Blake. Pictured: Dave Johns as Daniel Blake. See PA Feature FILM Loach. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/eOne. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FILM Loach.

It's the moment when a mother, so hungry from living off fruit for days so that she can feed her two children, turns her back to the foodbank volunteers and desperately eats a tin of tomatoes.

It's a moment that leaves you with little doubt about the message Ken Loach's recent film about the British welfare system is trying to convey.

The film, released in October, follows the story of Daniel Blake, a carpenter living in the north who, despite having a heart attack, is deemed fit for work by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Its detractors have criticised the film for exaggerating the situation facing welfare claimants and of being unrealistic and misleading...

We were given a rare opportunity to shadow appeal representatives from Equal Lives, a charity which supports people with disabilities in Norfolk, to see what the appeal process is really like.

Daniel Wood was appealing the decision to deny him Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

It is provided by the DWP

so that the most disabled in

society have an income to give them

independence, regardless of whether they are employed.

This means that someone who is working, if deemed particularly disabled, can receive the payment to help alleviate some of the financial effects of their disability.

Although the benefit Mr Wood was appealing is different from that in the film, the appeal process is the same.

I first met Mr Wood on the morning of his appeal, at the tribunal building where he was being briefed by his appeal representative, James, who did not wish to give his surname.

James is clear that he would never tell a client 'You're going to win this' – as Daniel Blake's representative tells him.

For Mr Wood's appeal, there were three judges on the appeal panel, Judge Jon Rosser, Jessica Corby and Dr Victoria Stanley.

Judge Rosser began the proceedings by addressing Mr Wood, saying: 'We're just here to find out as much as we can about you.'

Mr Wood's testimony went into detail about his mental health problems and how they affected him day to day right down to his childhood and the profound effect family problems had on his life.

The panel asked him a number of questions, some wide-ranging, about his mental health and his family, some more specific, about whether he ever went to the shop to buy himself food or drink. The panel used their questioning to try to understand the extent of Mr Wood's disability and how it affected his daily life.

The appeal was adjourned and we returned to the waiting room to await the result. Twenty minutes later we were called back in and told Mr Wood's appeal had been rejected – he could not claim PIP.

Afterwards, describing his experience of the system, Mr Wood said: 'They invite you to an assessment, you go in there and you feel like everything you're doing is wrong.'

'It's hard when it's mental health. To prove how it affects me day to day is very difficult but it can be just as disabling. It's upsetting because you feel like you're not being believed.'

James said the new criteria for PIP claimants has done more to recognise the situation of those with mental health problems. He said: 'I understand why the changes are being made.'

James and Mr Wood were left to discuss the few options left to them in an attempt to shape how Mr Wood's story ends.

The welfare system

From Child Tax Credit to Bereavement Allowance there are a huge number of different benefits.

In 2013 Ian Duncan Smith announced major changes to the welfare system which included the introduction of Universal Credit, a single monthly payment that is currently replacing six separate benefits.

Unemployed people must meet certain requirements in order to receive welfare support, including jobseeker's allowance, employment and support allowance, universal credit, and income support.

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is a benefit for people who are unable to work due to illness or disability and are off work for more than six months or are self-employed.

Jobseeker's Allowance is for those of working age, with no other means of income who are looking for work.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) helps with the extra costs caused by long-term ill-health or a disability if you're aged 16 to 64.

Universal Credit is due to replace jobseeker's allowance, employment and support allowance, income support, child tax credit, working tax credit and housing benefit.