Dear readers I’m extremely sorry for the delay in publishing my blog.
This weeks demo was extremely busy, as usual the food parcels were taken as soon as they arrived. I really wish that this wasn’t the case but it will be for the foreseeable future.
As usual I will list some of the conversations that I had today, identities won’t be revealed either.
As I arrived at the spot where I pick the food parcels up from I was greeted by a chap who I had a conversation with last week. He had followed my advice and as a result he managed to get hold of some much needed work boots etc.
I’m so happy that I can signpost people, remember we don’t leave anyone in the lurch we always do our best to help everyone.
Here’s a typical example of DWP logic it’s obvious to me that they don’t really want people to find good positive employment.
Jenny spotted us she was leaving the Jobcentre, she asked me if she could have a leaflet. As I handed her a leaflet she expressed her disgust of the whole DWP system. Here’s her story.
Jenny told us that she’s a qualified nurse and she would like to return to work. She asked the DWP if they would pay for a DBS check. You’d think that the DWP would agree to this because they apparently help people into work……
The DWPs answer was this, no they wouldn’t pay for a DBS check but they would pay over £200 for Jenny to attend a door persons job.
If course we advised that a future employer should pay for the check but as we know not all employers will do this.
As I’ve said before claimants are nothing but a number to be bought and sold at the DWPs whim. They profit from sending claimants to these often rubbish courses and until this stops they won’t stop.
I was then stopped by a woman who’s being forced to attend what seems to be endless pointless DWP courses. She told me about the latest course that she was forced to attend.
She told me that she was told to attend an effective job search course for people with arthritis. Telling me about her experience she said “I was stuck in a room with lots of other people. They tried to tell us that we shouldn’t let arthritis prevent us from finding work. Easier said than done when you’re in constant pain.”
If this wasn’t enough enough she was also told that she had to attend a job fair in Ashton as well. The DWP advised her that if she didn’t attend they would sanction her.
The word on the street later was that the job fair was rubbish. Potential employers telling people that they were either too old or unsuitable for the work that they were offering. This didn’t surprise me because I’m told the same every year that they hold this event.
A little later I had a conversation with chap that I’d had a conversation with a few weeks ago. He’s been waiting for over 3 months for his first universal credit payment. He told me that the DWP have informed him that he should receive his first universal credit payment on Saturday. Let’s hope that they do.
Last but not least we spoke to a woman who was very quick to tell us that she was over £600 worse off since claiming Universal credit. She’s gone from being able to being able to cope on the benefits system to not coping at all.
Her story is that she had previously been homeless and she had been rehoused to a three bedroom house. She only needed a two bedroom home but she couldn’t refuse the offer of this property. If she did they would refuse to help her.
As a result shes now forced to pay the bedroom tax and top up rent as well as the council tax supplement. She’s applied for a help with this but she keeps on being refused. She’s also asked to move to a smaller property but this is refused also because she owes rent.
It’s absolutely shocking that local housing providers refuse to help people find smaller properties because they owe rent. Of course they’re going to owe rent they need a smaller home so that they can pay back this debt.
The whole system is geared against the poorest people in society. At every turn they get the door slammed in their faces, are told that they’re not good enough and are used by companies employed by the DWP until they burn out, become ill or disabled and are then left with no support at all.
Poverty is isolating which helps the DWP to abuse these people in whatever way they see fit. Like I said earlier we’re a commodity and we’re bought and sold at the DWP and governments whim.
We spoke to lots of people yesterday and offered help, advice, signposting, food, support and solidarity. We will return next week to help even more people.
Please read and share this blog thank you. Tweet it, email it etc because everyone needs to know the truth behind the DWPs false advertisements claiming that universal credit is the best thing ever.
For everyone who supports my blog thank you so much.
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The poor side of life 
So far my job coach has only ‘advised’ me to go to job fairs, not given me a direction. I go and look at them just on the off chance there will be somebody worth applying to. But the latest, in Manchester, had only 11 employers and they were crammed into such a small, crowded room that it was impossible to have a conversation with them. One, a housing association, had no vacancies they were only looking for volunteers. One employer was offering warehousing, one was an agency looking for temporary clerical workers, one was looking for care workers (and no, they don’t pay for travel time between client’s homes), one was another agency with a contract from Metrolink to recruit ticket inspectors and safety inspectors – actually that one wasn’t too badly paid but involves rotating shifts between 5.30am and 11.30pm so brilliant if you have children to look after – and another was a call centre wanting people to work shifts between 8am and 8pm for the minimum wage. Another was a construction company who made it obvious in their literature and display that they were only looking for young lads to train as building labourers. Nice if you’re the right age and sex but I didn’t see anybody in the room of the type they were looking for. That must have been a waste of their time. The call centre was the only job on offer that I can actually do and I’m getting a bit desperate so I gave them my CV but I haven’t heard a word back Every job fair I have been to has the same very small range of employers and types of employment. So why do job centres keep telling people to go to these?
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I’ve been to a few of those Jobfares, they’re usually a waste of time, last one had the Army recruitment there and the Fire service, I’m nearly 60 !
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They certainly are
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People should record these interviews where they are told they are too old for work and put them on YouTube as well as give a copy to their MP. The person in the 3 bed home should be on the homechoice register for their area, the only problem with that is that if the person finds more than three suitable properties in the bidding week they can only bid on three and would have to cancel a bid on one property to bid on another, sometimes being first on the bidding list doesn’t mean you will get the property. For example a two bed flat with a wetroom you might be number one but a disabled person with the need of the wetroom might be lower down the bidding list and be offered it first, the same with over 60’s a disabled person might have the need for a wetroom but be excluded because they are not 60 and a 60 year old be offered the property.
I might add that adblock ultimate is an ad blocker that could block all the ads on the site https://adblockultimate.net
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Reblogged this on Tory Britain!.
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Hi Charlotte, what are these ‘adverts’ that WordPress places at the end of your blogs, “Girl earns $987 a day” and “Girl earns $450 an hour”?
I hope they are not what they look like they might be! If they are and if WordPress facilitates this, the organisation should be shut down!
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I’ve no idea. Sadly I can’t afford to take the adverts down etc. All I can do is to report it. Sadly atm I can’t afford to change my blog host. I’m not impressed by this but I’m in a financial bind here.
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Keep up the good work Charlotte. I never even noticed these until just now! Totally agree you aren’t in a position to do anything about it
Gill
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Thanks. I don’t condone them but I can’t afford to change my blog hosts and all the complications tha comes with that
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The Jobcentre are giving me the runaround too, telling me that I must be “in Provision” and that “all our customers are in Provision now, everyone has to be in Provision”. I only just completed the Right Steps to Work course at Standguide about 3 weeks ago and now they’re wanting to send me to Interserve to do a “more intensive” course. I can well imagine what that consists of; apply for this insecure low paid agency job or we’ll tell the Jobcentre and you’ll get Sanctioned. The Right Steps course was for 12 months, prior to that I did a Manual Handling certificate, before that ECDL at Learndirect, before that Work Experience at Oxfam, and before that they had me doing the Skills Conditionality’ scheme that included a 4 weeks unpaid Work Placement. As well as all of that I have been doing part time voluntary work of my own accord. They are NEVER satisfied!
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