ATOS

[daveh]

What happens if they don't. are they lesser than a worker. you said your a pensioner you do realise your group is next for the cuts.

"...they don't"

Who are "they"?

 

Yes - I am a pensioner and am paying the price for Labour's wrecking the economy. The base interest rate has been stuck at 0.5%, to boost the economy, for years and this has allowed mortgagees to get the best interest rate deals ever. However, my wife and I saved prudently for our retirement and hoped to boost our pension income by using the interest to supplement our fairly meagre pension income. Whilst the rates are at rock bottom levels for borrowers, we and millions of other prudent pensioners are having to eat into our capital to survive. If rates ever start to creep up again, benefitting us gradually, there would be an outcry from those in debt. There are far more savers than borrowers but we have to accept it.

 

Our state pensions are not a welfare payment but are returns for our contributions during our working lives. The Chancellor has said that state pensions will not be affected by welfare cuts and quite rightly so.

 

I have complete faith in George Osborne's ability to turn the economy around, from the mess he inherited. He has done a brilliant job to date. On the other hand, I truly fear for this country's future if Ed Balls were ever to get any involvement again.

[JustMe]

A friend of mine recently lost his job. Text message from the firm saying "we have ceased trading--do not come in tomorrow". Yes I am sure he will be entitled to redundancy money and perhaps pay in lieu of notice but meanwhile he has to live and support his family. Job was poorly paid and he was paid weekly so no backup funds to cover against sudden loss of work. I do hope the government's new plans take account of people like my friend. Or maybe the next government will change the rules.

 

Hopefully, he will be proactive and successful in finding another job quickly.

Proactive yes.......finding a job no. In fact with the kids getting older he is sort of racing with his wife who wants to go back to work but sadly proper jobs are hard to find. Odd shifts in a supermarket yes but no sign of anything full time.

[daveh]

^^

If he is proactive then he should be provided with every assistance out there to enable him to be gainfully employed again.

 

I was made redundant, with minimal redundancy pay, just before my 47th birthday. It left me petrified that I would never find another job again even though I was a qualified accountant. This was in the days before the internet took off so applying for jobs was that much more difficult than it is now. I updated my CV and registered with 8 different agencies (I was based in London at the time). I wrote well over 150 letters to various firms and organisations and got replies from only 10% of them. I toured London and the outer suburbs and bought local newspapers to look for job adverts that I could apply for. Bearing in mind my qualification, I was so determined to work anywhere, for my own peace of mind and dignity, that I actually took the initial steps to become a postman. Pride and peace of mind was all important to me.

It was after 3 months of sheer desperation, that I eventually secured an accountancy role but the job I took was worth some 35% less salary than I was earning previously. The fact that I was out of work and needed a job meant that my bargaining power was very low. I never made up that percentage drop in my subsequent jobs as any prospective new employer looks at what you were eraning in your current job.

I wrote that to show that I fully sympathise with those out there looking for work.

 

Incidentally, to anyone who thinks that Ian Duncan Smith is a totally uncaring person, please take a few minutes out to read this article about his background:

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2304833/Iain-Duncan-Smith-My-days-breadline-disgraceful-BBC-wife-love-sustains-me.html

[Distortio]

to anyone who thinks that Ian Duncan Smith is a totally uncaring person, please take a few minutes out to read this article about his background:

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2304833/Iain-Duncan-Smith-My-days-breadline-disgraceful-BBC-wife-love-sustains-me.html

 

i would go further.

 

but then, does it really warrant a response? after all...

The daily mail, eh?

Why stop there?

Why not quote from mein kampf and paul dacre's anus also?

[daveh]

^^

 

You should keep an open mind and read the article.

[Distortio]

like you did with the guardian article i posted, yeah?

[Distortio]

ok, i read that, it was pretty hilarious actually. but only because i'd already read about the false claims...

 

oh, and this is a gem:

‘The honest truth is that I lived illegally with Betsy (Elizabeth "Betsy" Fremantle, daughter of the 5th Baron Cottesloe) in the bedsit, trying to pretend I was not there. I didn’t have any money, which is why I tried to avoid the landlady,’ recalls Duncan Smith.

Inevitably, he was rumbled by the formidable Mrs Fair, who spotted him creeping into the house.

He was allowed to stay after agreeing to do jobs, from wiring plugs to changing light bulbs, and general maintenance.

clearly with skills like these he was destined for great things.

 

 

so anyway, that was tory party mouthpiece, the daily mail's take on iain duncan smith's profile. so since you like to keep an open mind would you care to read some reports from other sources for balance?

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/12_december/19/newsnight_ids_cv.shtml IDS lies about his qualifications.

 

http://politicalscrapbook.net/2013/04/claim-ids-lived-on-breadline-was-after-he-married-into-aristocracy/ and lies about being on the breadline.

 

http://www.newstatesman.com/2013/05/great-crapsy-why-iain-duncan-smith-isnt-all-he-seems try to ignore the terrible great crapsby pun, quite a revealing article.

 

http://tompride.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/iain-duncan-smith-bullied-aide-to-tears-over-his-expenses-claims-for-underwear/ IDS bullying an aide to tears for questioning his expenses claim for underwear, haircuts(!) etc.

 

yeah, nice guy.

 

NSFW

[go.oot.by.dog]

^^^^^^

 

Good to see you back Distortio

[go.oot.by.dog]

ESA appeals more than double – and decisions in the claimant’s favour are increasing

 

The number of appeals against decisions made after Atos work capability assessments has rocketed, with an increase in tribunal decisions in favour of the claimant – according to official government figures.

 

The government’s Tribunals Statistics Quarterly for January 1 to March 31 this year records a 33 per cent increase in the number of appeals (“receipts†in the language of the document), compared with the same period in 2012 – that’s a rise of almost one-third to 255,084.

 

It states: “The increase in the overall number of receipts was mainly due to the 37 per cent increase in the number of appeals received in social security (note: not “welfareâ€) and child support in 2012/13, compared to the same period in 2011/12.

 

“This was driven by appeals in relation to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), which more than doubled over between Q4 2011/12 and Q4 2012/13 and accounted for 70 per cent of all SSCS receipts in Q4 2012/13.

 

The report states that “of the 130,517 social security and child support cases disposed of in January to March 2013; 63 per cent were for ESA; 16 per cent for Disability Living Allowance and 10 per cent for JSAâ€.

 

The tribunal service found in favour of the “customer†(the benefit claimant) in 43 per cent of ESA cases (up from 38 per cent previously – it comes out at around 35,357 of 82,226 cases) – and also, notably, in 41 per cent of Disability Living Allowance cases (8,562 of 20,882 cases).

 

Incapacity Benefit cases decreased by 92 per cent because the benefit has been replaced by ESA.

 

So nearly half of appeals against ESA and DLA decisions are successful – an increase on previous totals. This should serve as a slap in the face to ministers at the Department for Work and Pensions, especially Employment Minister Mark Hoban, who said in February that criticism of the Atos-run assessment system for ESA was “scaremongeringâ€.

 

Speaking after the Commons Work and Pensions committee criticised the system, he said: “Rather than scaremongering and driving down the reputation of the WCA, critics might like to acknowledge the fact that independent reviews have found no fundamental reforms are needed to the current process because of changes we’re making.â€

 

If that was true, then why – at the time he said those words – was the number of successful appeals against this process increasing?

 

The committee had stated that “the decision-making process for new Employment Support Allowance applications and Incapacity Benefit reassessments all too often leads to the wrong decisions and is failing far too many peopleâ€. This blog judged that claim to be accurate at the time and this is now borne out by the figures.

 

In January he said: “Some of the worry experienced by claimants is as a result of adverse media coverage, and it risks being fuelled by incorrect anecdotal information, and indeed total myth.â€

 

Will he come back to the House of Commons now, and admit that this media coverage was accurate, that the anecdotal information is now supported by his own department’s statistics, and that the only total myth is the narrative he and his fellow ministers – including Iain (Something) Smith, the Secretary of State – have tried to create?

 

I doubt it.

 

But that is what the figures prove.

 

Posted by Mike Sivier

 

From -

 

http://mikesivier.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/esa-appeals-more-than-double-and-decisions-in-the-claimants-favour-are-increasing/

[go.oot.by.dog]

DWP admits ‘real’ disability poverty rose under coalition

Posted by Katharine Russell on Friday, 28 June 2013 in Disability in the News

 

The number of disabled people in “absolute†poverty rose by 100,000 during the coalition’s second year in office, according to new figures obtained by Disability News Service (DNS).

 

Full article here -

 

http://www.thefedonline.org.uk/disability-in-the-news/dwp-admits-real-disability-poverty-rose-under-coalition

 

Watchdog will be asked to examine Atos contract promises

Posted by Katharine Russell on Friday, 28 June 2013 in Disability in the News

The award of a £184 million disability assessment contract to the controversial outsourcing company Atos Healthcare is to be referred to the National Audit Office (NAO).

 

Full article here -

http://www.thefedonline.org.uk/disability-in-the-news/watchdog-will-be-asked-to-examine-atos-contract-promises

[go.oot.by.dog]

The British Medical Association declared on the 12th of June that the Work Capability Assessment is "causing avoidable harm to some of the weakest and most vulnerable in society" because it is "very difficult for health professionals carrying out the assessments to exercise their professional judgement effectively".

 

The doctors' professional body also lamented the lack of effort being made to obtain medical evidence at the Scrutiny stage and by the DWP decision maker before coming to a final decision on entitlement to ESA.

 

Letter can be read here -

 

http://worktestwhistleblower.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/the-bma-and-wca.html?view=classic

 

(To see the letter click on the link from the post on the 29th of June)

[go.oot.by.dog]

DWP allowed to appeal against ruling that ‘fitness for work’ test is illegal

 

It may have taken almost a month and a half, but judges have agreed to let the Department for Work and Pensions appeal against the judgement that the work capability assessment discriminates against people with mental health problems.

 

According to the Mental Health Resistance Network the DWP was denied permission to appeal on the first attempt.

 

Iain Duncan Smith’s lackeys then resorted to a second route – applying directly to the Court of Appeal – and it was this court that granted permission.

 

A spokesperson for the Mental Health Resistance Network said: “This is not the news we wanted, but the Tories were never going to give up without a fight as they are desparate to destroy our welfare state.

 

“Needless to say we will be fighting back.â€

 

Vox Political was one of many who reported, back in May, that a judicial review had ruled that the work capability assessment actively discriminates against the mentally ill.

 

Full article here -

 

http://mikesivier.wordpress.com/2013/07/02/dwp-allowed-to-appeal-against-ruling-that-fitness-for-work-test-is-illegal/

 

[go.oot.by.dog]

Demand for food banks has nothing to do with benefits squeeze, says Work minister Lord Freud

 

Astonishing claim from the millionaire welfare minister

 

A wealthy Conservative minister provoked anger last night after questioning the connection between the soaring use of food banks and the Government’s squeeze on benefits.

 

Lord Freud, a Work and Pensions minister, insisted that the recent sharp increase in people resorting to food handouts to feed their families was not necessarily linked to benefits sanctions or delays. He suggested more people were taking charity food because more food banks existed – and he prompted Opposition jeers in the Lords when he denied they were effectively a part of the welfare system.

 

Full article here -

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/demand-for-food-banks-has-nothing-to-do-with-benefits-squeeze-says-work-minister-lord-freud-8684005.html

 

Unbelievable

[go.oot.by.dog]

Over 12,000 Disabled People Forced To Work Unpaid Since Workfare Scheme Launched

 

Government statistics on the number of claimants forced to work for charities without pay reveal just over 12,000 disabled people have faced mandatory referrals to unpaid work since the workfare scheme was launched.

 

The statistics cover the Mandatory Work Activity scheme which is used by Jobcentre staff to punish people who they believe are not trying hard enough to find work. Claimants of Jobseekers Allowance can be sent on four weeks unpaid and full time workfare even from the first day of their claim. DWP research shows the scheme has no impact on whether people actually find a job after attending.

 

Usually claimants are sent to work for charity shops such as The Salvation Army or environmental organisations like Groundwork and The Conservation Volunteers.

 

Claimants who refuse can now have benefits stopped for up to three years. Most decent charities, including Oxfam, Scope and Marie Curie have pulled out the scheme in disgust.

 

The figures show that in total, 53,720 people were forced to work unpaid between May 2011 and February 2013, of which 12,230 were known to be disabled. Some of these people may have been sickness and disability benefit claimants magically cured of all ills by the Atos assessment regime and declared ‘fit for work’. Others will have not been quite disabled enough to qualify for the tough criteria in place for the sickness and disability benefit Employment Support Allowance.

 

Claimants can be sent on unpaid work with no real assessment of their health or circumstances. Jobcentre staff may not even know that a claimant has a health condition which makes a placement unsuitable. With many claimants too terrified about DWP bullying and sanctions to complain, it is almost certain people have been sent to do work which has damaged their health.

 

Even those on sickness and disability benefits are not safe from workfare. Despite ESA claimants in the Work Related Activity Group being assessed as unable to work at present not just by their own doctor but also the DWP, they can still be mandated to unpaid workfare as part of the Work Programme. Astonishingly the DWP does not know how many people this has happened to, or where they were sent. Welfare-to-work companies running the Work Programme are given free reign to demand claimants attend unpaid work – potentially even for up to two years with - no scrutiny from the department.

 

Full article here -

 

http://www.cantpaywontpay.org/publish/?p=8656

[go.oot.by.dog]

http://i1359.photobucket.com/albums/q799/magnacube/d420a92a-1e80-452b-b643-4b4de8054883_zps9459f3da.jpg