ATOS

[oddtablet]

Government have now said that consultation, to be launched in late June, follows 'significant feedback' from disabled people and their organisations.

 

Now there is a surprise

 

The obscene amount of money being thrown at Atos / Capita for assessments etc is disgraceful. The accuracy of these assessments are very poor.

[daveh]

I suspect that daveh is not in touch with the reality of how the welfare reforms are hurting honest disabled and /or sick folk in Shetland.

 

You should understand that the welfare budget grew to totally unmanageable levels under Labour and that cuts needed to be made. If you can't accept this fact then you have the option to vote for Labour again in 2015 who, undoubtedly will spend again with not a care as to how much it racks up in debt.

 

Don't bother throwing stats at me as I could throw the alternatives back at you and say that your figures are wrong and that you are ignorant also.

[daveh]

I suspect that daveh is not in touch with the reality of how the welfare reforms are hurting honest disabled and /or sick folk in Shetland.

 

You should understand that the welfare budget grew to totally unmanageable levels under Labour and that cuts needed to be made. If you can't accept this fact then you have the option to vote for Labour again in 2015 who, undoubtedly will spend again with not a care as to how much it racks up in debt.

 

Don't bother throwing stats at me as I could throw the alternatives back at you and say that your figures are wrong and that you are ignorant also.

[shetlandpeat]

That post just shows that the only important thing is money, not folk.

 

No one is arguing against savings, just the typical way it is being conducted.

 

For instance, how many social housing units in Shetland being under occupied compared to those claiming and under occupied?

If, if we were to believe the"in it together" sh1te, then surely every under occupied social unit should attract a levy, even if it is been sub-let.

 

Easy option to take from those who have less. Creating a law knowing full well it will invoke hardship with some is quite wrong

 

What we are not given is the figure for over occupancy, then we could get a balanced view and be able to track the policies success or failure, more importantly, no indication of levels of folk living in cramp conditions.

[go.oot.by.dog]

Good post oddtablet and i think daveh forgets he is an English Tory who is in Scotland now where there is not much love lost for his beloved political party.

 

Every reply from the wannabe troll is of the same nature in that it was the bad boys (labour) who did it and then ran away and it is not the fault of the Tories... Who have been in power for over 3 years now, yet apparently are not to blame for anything that is going wrong.

 

He is a man with similar qualities of his Tory party as neither of them have any morals, as he has clearly thrown his toys out of the pram and acting like a little child and not a man who is in retirement, by starting a thread asking the moderators to delete this very thread as it has gone on to long yet when nothing was done he decides to start spamming it.... who is the idiot now daveh?

 

A thread where i am posting all the relevant stories regarding Atos but also the cuts in Welfare Reform for everyone to read but mainly to try and help and inform the less able by posting any websites where they can get help or information as well as trying to highlight the inhumane treatment of the most vulnerable by Atos and ultimately the Government.

 

But if you daveh feel the need to spam my thread and make it harder for these people to see that information you carry on old chap if it makes you sleep better at night.

 

I do firmly believe that his intention is to turn this thread into one of bickering with the hope that the moderators will close it down so please do not let that happen.

 

On the plus side every day that goes by takes you the "plane spotting troll" one closer to your beloved Maggie

[go.oot.by.dog]

A guide to completing the ESA 50 form -

 

http://ilegal.org.uk/thread/7049/mlinteractive-guide-completion-esa-50

 

Posted this link before but well worth keeping an eye on it as constantly updated with useful information from the DR who used to work for Atos -

 

http://worktestwhistleblower.blogspot.co.uk/

 

A few guides for various benefits can be found here also -

 

http://www.hertsdirect.org/services/advben/bnftsadvc/bacpdf/illanddis/

[go.oot.by.dog]

Diary: Revealed – the misery of the government's welfare assessments

 

Leaked email depicts system under strain

Monday 17 June 2013 23.00 BST

A tough job doing Iain Duncan Smith's bidding as he strives to scalp the welfare bill. Calls for tough love in spades from the health professionals employed by private contractor Atos, the ones who say yea or nay to those who seek state assistance. So if the strain is showing, that's no surprise. And strain there is, as we see from a leaked email from one of the medical experts employed by Atos to sort the strivers from the skivers. He was exhorted to put in that little bit more effort. His reply is now prized by all those under the cosh. "Our task is becoming ever more complex and ever more futile as we bend over backwards to satisfy the demands of a government that wants and needs cuts to the welfare budget," he tells the company. He wants to do his job professionally. Atos, he claims, "wants us to do a job they can defend within an unrealistic time frame". It's thankless, he tells them. "I have to justify my very existence to people at Atos who neither know me, nor support me, nor care. Meanwhile my workload increases and my remuneration decreases as each year goes by." It is, he says, "without doubt the most incompetent, inefficient and uncaring organisation with which I have ever been involved". The company doesn't comment on leaks, it says, having the "proper processes" to deal with such things. But it is clear the tide of misery affects everyone. Except, perhaps the secretary of state.

 

Full article here -

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jun/17/hugh-muir-dairy-welfare-assessments?CMP=twt_fd

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He wants to try being on the receiving end of it and then he would really have something to moan about.......

[go.oot.by.dog]

Think there may be a bit about Atos on Watchdog tonight at 8.00pm BBC1

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b02zj9yv

[daveh]

In response to the idiotic ramblings of go.oot.by.dog, He seems to have his head up his backside about the mess created by his beloved Labour party over their 13 years of total mismanagement.

He seems to be on a crusade about the necessary public expenditure cuts that have been introduced due to the fact that Labour were spending money as if it was going out of fashion. My children and grandchildren will still be picking up the tab for Labour's financial follies.

I am not "spamming" your thread but am merely posting some copied and pasted articles explaining the reason behind the government's policy. I am entirely within my rights to do so and you aren't going to persuade me to do otherwise.

We are all getting older (including go.oot.by.dog) and, thanks to the efforts of this government, we will be cared for better in hospital now, when needed, than we would have been under Labour.

As for Maggie, what a tremendous PM she was. !

[go.oot.by.dog]

Work Programme: Three-quarters still unemployed

 

Three-quarters of long-term unemployed people who have been referred to the government’s £5 billion Work Programme have failed to find jobs, figures have disclosed.

By Tim Ross, Political Correspondent

6:00AM BST 20 Jun 2013

 

Two-thirds of those who have been on the programme for at least a year are still without work, according to results from employers’ organisations taking part in the scheme.

 

The results were especially bad for disabled and long-term sick adults who have been receiving employment and support allowance (ESA), 90 per cent of whom remained out of work.

 

Full article here can be read here in the Torygraph -

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10131035/Work-Programme-three-quarters-still-unemployed.html

 

Yet again it is the sick and disabled who are being let down disproportionally by the ConDems

[daveh]

^^

Do you think that the coalition invented unemployment, then?

 

Actually, you should rejoice loudly that about 1.25m private sector jobs have been created in the past 3 years. In Labour's time, they created 100s of 1000's of unnecessary public sector non-jobs in order to get them off the unemployment stats and keep their union paymasters sweet.

[go.oot.by.dog]

The perils of being a “vulnerable†benefit claimant

 

June 19 2013 By Jane Young a a campaigner and consultant who is involved with "We are Spartacus" who support disabled people and people with chronic health conditions in their campaigning on welfare reform and their individual struggle to claim disability-related benefits.

 

Today, the Commons Public Accounts Committee published its report into some of the activities of JobCentre Plus (JCP), managed by the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP). Despite being snowed under with other work, I’ve read some of the report with interest, since I know very well that sick & disabled people who are dependent on benefits are often treated very badly indeed by the system that’s supposed to support them.

 

As an aside, I dislike the word “vulnerableâ€, as it tends to be used in relation to most or all sick & disabled people, and there’s no automatic reason why people have to be considered vulnerable just because they happen to be disabled. However, I do think most sick or disabled people who are dependent on benefits are made vulnerable by the benefits system itself, which is steadily becoming less supportive and more punitive. Indeed, in a meeting I attended yesterday, we were reflecting that we really don’t believe punishing people and making their lives more and more stressful is going to “change their behaviourâ€, which in DWP-speak means “make them get a jobâ€. Quite the reverse; the more punitive the measures taken against sick & disabled people and the more hardship they suffer, the more stressed they will become and the more their health will worsen. It’s not rocket science! If DWP doesn’t understand that, it’s because they don’t want to.

 

Full article here -

 

http://janeyoung.me.uk/2013/06/19/the-perils-of-being-a-vulnerable-benefit-claimant/

[daveh]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-22652179

 

Talent show mum Amanda Webber jailed for benefit fraud.

Amanda Webber had a grand piano and a dance studio in one of her homes, the court was told.

Amanda Webber, 43, claimed five of her children had disabilities and medical conditions affecting their mobility.

 

But Brighton Crown Court heard the children were active and took part in drama and dance. Some even auditioned for ITV's Britain's Got Talent show.

 

Webber was told she was guilty of one of the biggest single benefit fraud overpayments ever recorded.

 

Judge Anthony Niblett said Webber and her family at one point had an income of more than £10,000 a month.

 

At the sentencing hearing, he said: "This is an income which the vast majority of your hard-working, honest fellow citizens can only dream of.

 

"These benefits included private education and every material advantage for them, including a grand piano and a dance studio in your last home, so as to encourage the undoubted talents of some of your children."

 

Webber received £353,000 in benefits over a 12-year period from 1998.

 

“You have chosen to have eight children and to live your life as you have but you are not entitled to do so†said Judge Anthony Niblett.

 

She made benefits claims on the basis five of her eight children had various disabilities and conditions which affected their mobility and care needs, the court was told.

 

At the time of her arrest, Webber was living in a seven-bedroom house in Sussex.

 

The prosecution said the children led active lives, taking part in PE classes and activities including music, drama and dance, without any difficulties.

 

As well as auditioning for ITV's Britain's Got Talent show, some of her children performed in professional productions on TV and on stage.

 

They included Les Miserables, The Wizard of Oz and Billy Elliot, Webber's trial heard.

 

During the trial, prosecutor, Andrew Evans said the children's stage roles were "inconsistent" with the care and mobility issues Webber had described.

 

On her benefits claim forms, she said some of her children had problems with their speech and language, physical and learning disabilities and behavioural issues.

 

The court was told the schools had no records of any such learning difficulties or mobility issues.

 

Some of the children travelled to performing arts school in London by train and underground during the rush hour, the jury heard.

 

DVDs found at Webber's home showed her children taking part in ballroom dancing. One child, who was said to have a fear of water, was filmed swimming.

 

On Thursday, Webber was found guilty of 23 out of 24 charges she faced, including fraud, obtaining a money transfer by deception and obtaining property by deception.

 

She was cleared of one count of making a false representation.

 

The false payments related to disability living allowance, carer's allowance, tax credits and housing and council tax benefit.

 

Prosecutor Andrew Evans said the Crown would be looking to start confiscation proceedings against Webber to recover some of the money.

 

Judge Niblett said: "You have chosen to have eight children and to live your life as you have, but you are not entitled to do so at the expense of your fellow citizens who work hard and struggle on modest incomes."

[daveh]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-22802102

 

Derry couple jailed for £144k benefit fraud.

 

A Londonderry man and the mother of their six children have been jailed for a £144,000 benefits fraud over a 20-year period starting in 1990.

 

Michael Cecil Harkin, 50, and Donna McCool, 46, both of Circular Road in the city, were jailed for eight and four months respectively.

 

They admitted a combined total of 11 income support, jobseeker's allowance and housing benefits frauds.

 

McCool's total fraud amounted to £76,800 and Harkin's totalled £67,300.

 

A prosecution barrister told the court that both defendants made false declarations about their marital status in order to unlawfully claim the benefits.

 

Sentencing the couple at Londonderry Magistrates Court, Judge Grant said no-one should be unaware of the damage their offending had caused to society.

 

"At this stage in history it is quite clear every penny of government money is needed," he said.

 

"The money taxpayers pay is used to pay for benefits to those who are rightly entitled to them. It is used to pay for hospitals, for schools and for a full range of reasons.

 

"When you steal this money you are not just stealing from an unidentified body, you are stealing it from your neighbours and from other members of society."

 

After the sentences were handed down, Harkin shouted obscenities at Judge Grant, who then told him he was in contempt of court.

 

Harkin was taken into custody and a short time later a court clerk announced that his eight-month jail sentence had been postponed and that he would be resentenced in Belfast on Friday.

[daveh]

http://benefitfraud.blogspot.co.uk/

 

19 Jun 2013 Prison for housing benefit fraud

A fraudster who falsely claimed £50,000 in housing and council tax benefits and income support has been given an eight-month prison sentence.

Raymond Daniels was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court last week, after pleading guilty to two counts of dishonesty against the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

 

The 56-year-old had been in receipt of housing benefit on the basis that he was not working.

 

However, the crook aroused the suspicions of council officers when he applied for a parking permit for a lorry.

 

Following a joint investigation by the council and the DWP, undeclared bank accounts were discovered which contained in excess of £40,000.

 

Even though the accounts were in his name, Daniels refused to admit that the money was his, and midway through a taped interview he demanded that the recorder be turned off and left the interview room throwing his rent book at the investigators.

 

In sentencing Judge Johnson stated the fraud was a continued serious act of dishonesty. Daniels’ lawyer explained that his client was remorseful and felt shameful about his actions.

 

The housing benefit overpayment amounted to £23,696.94, council tax to £4,414.21 and income support to £23,193.70, covering the period August 2007 to September 2011.

 

Councillor Warwick Lightfoot, cabinet member for finance, said:

It is outrageous Mr Daniels felt that he could steal tens of thousands of pounds from the taxpayer. This prison sentence sends out a clear message to those who are trying to defraud the taxpayer and make it harder for those in genuine need. I congratulate our council officers for their vigilance and can tell residents that we will work with colleagues in local and central government to prevent abuses of the system.