DWP forcing universal credit claimants to pose for photo with daily paper – The Big Issue

One person trying to claim universal credit was told to have someone else take a photo of them holding a street sign with their right hand

 

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This is extremely humiliating and very degrading and shows how far from reality the DWP especially the person or persons who have made up these rules.

What it will do is stop genuine claimants claiming and not stop any fraudsters.

This is because fraudsters are great in finding ways round any requirements and restrictions as they are very resourceful, which genuine claimants are not.

The DWP and the Government need to live in the real world and stop punishing people who are in very genuine and deep distress.

 

Source: DWP forcing universal credit claimants to pose for photo with daily paper – The Big Issue

Pandora Papers: Tony and Cherie Blair avoided paying £312,000 in tax on London property by acquiring offshore firm | The Independent

Deal meant couple did not pay stamp duty on London townhouse bought in 2017 as an office for Ms Blair’s legal advisory firm

 

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So, yet again, the rich get richer and it may be legal, but is it socially acceptable.

If all these legal loopholes were done away with, perhaps the poor would not be fleeced again, why is it always those with money can have means to increase their wealth, but no matter what the poor do they always get poorer, thus again increasing the rich/poor gap.

Even when they do have an income increase, it is then taken into account to decrease their benefits, so where is the incentive to improve life.

 

Source: Pandora Papers: Tony and Cherie Blair avoided paying £312,000 in tax on London property by acquiring offshore firm | The Independent

George Osborne’s legacy is all around us: his cuts left Britain helpless to resist Covid | Conservatives | The Guardian

This is so true, but to date nothing has been done to reverse cuts, even a proportion of them.

It was wrong then and therefore is still wrong now and even today all Local Authorities (LAs) are having to find savings, for costs and demand for services are forever increasing, while the Government Grant is not in any realistic proportion. In reality there were no savings to be made and this has been proven by COVID in so many ways.

Virtually all LA services are suffering and Social Care was and is decimated. As Polly states the poor, sick and disabled, those who could least afford any cuts to services, were the ones to suffer most, leading in some instances to their deaths, especially when the changes to welfare benefits are taken into account. For to claim welfare benefits the eligibility was tightened and claimants were sanctioned for the least failure to abide by the ongoing stringent conditions related to payments and eligibility to benefits. The loss of a miniscule amount of benefit had enormous consequences for persons on benefits, who were most likely living on a day to day basis from one benefit payment to another. For some, even the benefits they received were insufficient to manage.

But LAs are not the only authorities suffering for Health Authorities are suffering too, for while they have been receiving some increased funding the increases are in no way sufficient to maintain services at a level required. In fact the funding for the UK needs to be seriously looked at and it has to be sufficient for the 21st century and buffers need to be maintained to cater for the unexpected, for COVID will not be the last.

Also, with the state of pay scales in the UK, this left many who are in employment unable to manage. Many jobs have been lost over the last few years and even though other jobs have been created these will, more than likely, be at the lowest rate of pay (National Living Wage or even the Minimum Living Wage for persons under 25 years) and maybe part-time rather than full-time. Whereas the starting point for pay should be the Real Living Wage.

LAs do obtain funding in otherways, one being Business Rates, but these are also decreasing due to the effects of lockdowns and COVID restrictions limiting businesses opening.

The UK has never been good at pay rates for those on the lower levels of pay and George Osborne and his cronies did their utmost to ensure these pay levels were kept low, especially when costs were increasing.

One does not need to be a genius to see that this is wrong and not sustainable for a healthy and prosperous UK and which is equal to all.

 

Source: George Osborne’s legacy is all around us: his cuts left Britain helpless to resist Covid | Conservatives | The Guardian

Silenced: The Hidden Story of Disabled Britain Review – Have Attitudes Changed?

Attitudes have always been changing, and will always do so.

For in the 18th century persons with learning disabilities (LD) or now known as intellectual disabilities, but with different labelling, were more inclined to be looked after by their families and were a part of the community.

But on approaching the 19th century this form of accepting changed and persons with LD were more than likely to be placed in institutions where they were out of sight of Society and, of course, their families.

But in the mid-Twentieth century there institutions were, quite rightly, starting to be closed and persons with LD were again within the community and to a large extent their families under the heading of Community Care. But there was one major drawback, as Community Care was never, anywhere near sufficiently funded by Governments, which is still the case for Social Care today.

In 1948 the NHS was created and welfare benefits from 1906 -1914. However, the current and last few Conservative Governments have eroded some of the financial state of these benefits with a view to enhance employment.

But these Governments failed to see, either by design or ignorance that not all on benefits can gain employment and for some of those that do, their financial gain in doing so was minimal, as they were on the statutory minimum wage which in many instances was just above subsistence level and this is the case, even today.

For many employment opportunities on a salary above subsistence to be replaced by opportunities on only the minimum wage. this is in no way inclusion and this is for the general workforce.

But within this there are many persons with disabilities, who need, due to their disabilities more income to cover the additional costs relating to their disabilities.

Yes.as said before, there are welfare benefits, but these are again insufficient and Tory governments have put in place barriers which make it much more difficult to obtain these benefits.

This coupled with the state of Social Care in the twenty-first century are making lives even more difficult for persons with disabilities.

Much needs to be done by this Government to engage change, but have they the will to do this? I fear not.

For this and many other reasons I ask you to support the petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care, https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care

Same Difference

Children’s TV presenters are often at the forefront of social change. Perhaps this is because – as one of the people interviewed in Silenced: The Hidden Story of Disabled Britain (BBC Two) remarked – “children are much better at inclusion” than their angry-letter-writing, Ofcom-complaint-making parents.

Ben Cajee, of the current CBeebies cohort, won praise for his age-appropriate discussion of racism in October, but in 2009 it was his predecessor Cerrie Burnell who inadvertently became an activist. Burnell was born with a right arm that ends just below the elbow. She hadn’t set out to champion the rights of disabled people – all she wanted was to introduce another episode of Balamory – but when parents complained that her appearance was “scaring children”, she did just that.

Where do such prejudices against disabled people come from? This documentary saw Burnell explore that question, finding the beginnings of an answer in…

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Jacob Rees Mogg says Unicef should be ‘ashamed’ for feeding Britain’s hungry kids – Mirror Online

Jacob Rees Mogg is an utter disgrace, for instead to degrading the actions of Unicef, he and the rest of this Tory Government should be doing more to ensure the children of Southwark, South London and all other children in other areas of the UK are not going hungry.

He will not understand what hunger is, not with all his wealth, for he would not be able to stand going hungry for a day, let alone weeks, months, years.

 

 

Source: Jacob Rees Mogg says Unicef should be ‘ashamed’ for feeding Britain’s hungry kids – Mirror Online

275,000 DLA Claimants Still Waiting To Be Forced To Claim PIP

With the state of PIP, it may v be good that there are so many waiting to be forced to apply for PIP.

DLA was not that great, but many feel it was better than PIP.

What a shame that the UK benefits system is thought of in this way, when these benefits are essential for the claimants to live, reasonable lives.

The benefits system needs a complete overall to make it more user friendly, but are Governments best placed to do that, well certainly not this current Government.

Same Difference

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

Over 7 years after personal independence payment (PIP) was first introduced, there are still 275,000 disability living allowance (DLA) claimants waiting for the letter to drop onto their door mat telling them it is their turn to be forced to apply.

Justin Tomlinson revealed the figure yesterday in answer to a parliamentary question. He also made it clear that only slow progress is being made in assessing remaining DLA claimants:

“In July 2020, we started to resume some activity on reviews and reassessments where it was possible to do so safely and without compromising the delivery of new claims and change of circumstance cases, which remain our priority.”

You can read the full written answer on the parliament website.

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DWP extends benefit sanctions against disabled people just as new lockdown begins – Mirror Online

EXCLUSIVE: People who fail to attend a ‘fit-for-work’ test over the phone have been at risk of a sanction since November 2 – two days after Boris Johnson announced the new shutdown in England. And it includes many people on Universal Credit

Source: DWP extends benefit sanctions against disabled people just as new lockdown begins – Mirror Online

I’m still here. My continued battle with Long Covid and good memories.

No truer words have been published and my heart goes out to Charlotte Hughes and her family.

The Government also play their part in this debate, for all their work is there to discredit benefit claimants, for they make it as difficult as possible to claim benefits. Also, in most instances the assessments that claimants have to undergo add to this discredit of benefit claimants. Assessors have been shown to be producing incorrect assessments and some shown to have deliberately so, but has one assessor been prosecuted for doing so?

I fear not, which if correct is a disgrace.

The Government goes out of its way to make like difficult for vulnerable people, disabled people, the poor and sick, etc.

then, this Government and many previous Governments have deliberately kept Social Care short of fun ding, so it is not just welfare benefits they are using to make like difficult for persons in need, but also Social Care, which they require to live a reasonable life.

Governments have made numerous promises to provide the correct funding for Social Care and to solve many of the other problems, but to date, they have not done so. So, Social Care continues to slide greater into crisis and there will come a time, if it has not already been reached when the failure to solve the crisis will cause, not only distress and pain, but the ultimate, death.

It could be argued that in the COVID-19 pandemic this failure to solve the Social Care crisis as already created deaths, a great stain on this Government.

To bring this to the attention of everyone, especially the Government I created the petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care,

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care.

Please view the petition and, if you agree, please sign and share.

But funding is not the only problem, even if it is the main problems, so, if you wish for further information please see,

https://1drv.ms/w/s!Aq2MsYduiazgoEy6ROxeV0abd2mT?e=tA03zo

Thank you

Chris Sterry

#care #socialcare #crisis

The poor side of life

Dear readers an extra blog post from me, I hope that you don’t mind.

I’ve been a tad quiet recently because my recovery has been set right back.

My daughter unknowingly brought home a nasty virus with her when she returned home from school about two weeks ago.

What would normally would have been a slight cold etc completely floored me. I was forced to retreat back to bed.

I really hated having to retreat to bed because I wanted to be out and about and I had plans to do ‘stuff’.

I’m now out of bed but I’m coughing a lot and I can’t get my stats above 94 to 96. I’m also experiencing the return of the stabbing pains.

Yes I know that I should go back to the hospital and I will do when I’m financially able to do so. Shite happens and I’ve got to learn…

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Government Guidance on Covid safe visits for care home residents and families | Care Industry News

• Visits should be tailored to residents and facilities and should prioritise residents and staff’s safety to limit the transmission of Covid-19 • Care homes, especially those who haven’t allowed visits since March, will be encouraged and supported to provide safe visiting opportunities as new national restrictions come into effect • Measures put in place should provide Covid-secure opportunities for families to meet using visiting arrangements such as floor to ceiling screens, visiting pods, and window visits

Source: Government Guidance on Covid safe visits for care home residents and families | Care Industry

 

 

Shielders Need The Support Of A Mayor

This Government appears to ignore the problems experienced by vulnerable and at risk people in all that they do and have done for years, even prior to COVID-19.

Is this a deliberate action or do they just not understand the problems people are experiencing, however, no matter what it is extremely worrying that this Government have this abandonment policy.

Now which is it?

Initially, I believe it was, more likely a case of not understanding the problem, but since then much has been said to bring these problems to the attention of the Government.

But, in many aspects there has been an ‘air of indifference’ by this Government. For they may say the required words, but the lack of appropriate actions, speaks so loudly.

So, effectively it is a mixture of both, resulting in the abandonment policy.

It is, more than likely, that the people being abandoned by this Government will not be Conservative voters, so the Government thought could be, so what, if we abandon these people, to the eventual result of their death, for they will not increase the the support for Conservatives, but will reduce the support for the opposition parties.

But there is a major flaw in this. likely Government reasoning and that is new voters appearing due to the progression of age of new voters.

These new voters will have been following all these Government actions and are therefore, more than likely, to be offended and disgusted by the Governments actions and thereby, when they do attain the age of voting, they will be more inclined to support one of the opposition parties, than support the, current ruling, Conservative Party.

Or am I assuming too much insight thinking by the current Government and that they really are just ignorant dumbasses.

Same Difference

As coronavirus cases rise, headlines are dominated by northern leaders being forced by central government to accept inadequate financial aid packages. This is a shameful dereliction of duty by the Tories and is rightly attracting ire, both from regional mayors and the press. And yet it is striking that a similar thing is being done to another group – shielders – but with even less attention. New guidance for shielding for people at high risk because of underlying health conditions was released by the government last week, but without even a small offer of financial support. The new guidance advises “vulnerable people” in high alert areas to stay at home as much as possible, but offers no support to help them cope with paying the bills or accessing food and medicine. Even in the highest alert areas, if shielders are unable to do their jobs at home, the guidance only…

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