The new DWP minister Mel Stride recently announced that he is happy with the levels of UC (Universal Credit) sanction rates.
Upon taking his new job as secretary of state for work and pensions (DWP), Mel Stride, quickly proved that he will not be making any changes in any harshness inflicted upon the most vulnerable at the hands of the DWP.
Upon answering MP’s questions on the 31 October 2022, Stride made it very clear that he’s happy hat the level of UC sanctions is now double the rate it was before the pandemic.
Stride went on to say “People are sanctioned only if they fail to attend appointments without good reason, and fail to meet the requirements that they have agreed to meet.”
However stride failed to offer any acknowledgement nevermind explanation as to why claimants are now twice as likely to break claimant commitment agreements than they were two years ago.
Upon questioning Stride ignored yet another request to publish a DWP report on the effectiveness of sanctions.
As previously reported in an earlier blog his predecessor also refused to do so.
Stride also claimed there “is a long tail” of 2.5 million long-term sick claimants who want to return to work and that it will be “a prime focus” for the DWP to “support them back into the workplace.”
It’s no coincidence that this figure is exceedingly similar to the total number of claimants that are long-term sick, the majority of whom are not able to work because their condition makes it impossible.
It appears that like his predecessors Stride is either mistaken or believes that every long-term sick person could be moved into work.
Whatever happens there appears to be no plans to treat claimants better, I suspect it will become worse.
A new DWP minister certainly doesn’t bring any changes for the better and until there’s a change of government I very much doubt that there will be.
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The poor side of life 
Reblogged this on elizapdushku's World.
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The whole world of work is mad! I’m always so careful when using job sites, but suddenly I started getting emails about hospitality jobs?! I’m not a bar manager and I unsubscribed, stating I never asked to receive these emails
Today I get a text about a 10 hours minimum wage job in Carmarthen, over an hour away on public transport. I never asked to get alerts for catering jobs and I have no food hygiene certification. I state clearly on my cv I have no transport. I check emails I have an email about this job. Half an hour later my phone vibrates as I’m standing in Tesco. I ignore it. When I check it I have a voicemail from a recruiter about the same job. And the recruiter is based in London?! It’s mad
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Yep. It’s appalling. I see some 600,000 ppl will now be forced to meet work coaches to increase hours or find work
I’m 58, have sciatica and 3 dodgy discs in my neck. I’m a cleaner. I’m getting up at 4.30 am atm to cover overtime at another site, so 2 n half hours there then on to my regular site for 2 hours. I’m exhausted now and falling asleep. Yet I’m expected to work more. Who knows maybe they’ll put me on some course like you, Trev?!!
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Yes, they might do, everyone on this course has some sort of health problem, it’s the Work and Health Programme.
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Without good reason, it depends how they define that. I have to walk into town soon today and it’s pouring down, just to sit in a classroom at Reed for 2&half hours listening to some woman banging on about confidence in the interview setting. I could quite easily stay put, keep dry at home, and wouldn’t have missed much, but then I’d get Sanctioned. What a load of crap to keep the box tickers in a job.
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Off topic but I have just seen this stat, on the bbc website. They expect that 500,000 more people will lose jobs and become unemployed due to the new recession, so they’re forcing 600,000 more ppl who are probably like me, working, or a colleague of mine who’s single mum of 4, to attend jobcentre to meet a work coach to get more hours. You really can’t make it up. Economics of the madhouse
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They haven’t got an original idea in their heads, it’s always more of the same, back-to-work schemes for unemployed over-50s at great public expense, evermore draconian and punitive Social Security rules. No early access to State Pension, no Unconditional Basic Income, no additional Social Security payments for those willing to do unwaged charity work, no paid job creation schemes doing worthwhile Environmental tasks such as cleaning rubbish out of rivers/streams, repairing dry stone walls, or litter picking in the countryside, cleaning the beaches, etc.
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