Category: Cookery

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DWP BACKS DOWN OVER HIGH-PRESSURE PRE-TRIBUNAL TACTICS


The DWP has recently backed down on their high pressure pre-tribunal tactics the day before they faced a judicial review initiated by a disabled woman. Her case concerned the way the tactics that the DWP has been using putting extreme pressure upon PIP claimants via telephone into accepting a lower PIP payment offer rather than attending a tribunal to hopefully receive higher PIP payments.

The claimant known as ‘K’ had been approached by the DWP who made a low offer and told the claimant, known as ‘K’ that they had just one hour to make up their mind. During this conversation the DWP also warned K that tribunals ‘are not very nice to go to’ and if K took it to tribunal they could lose her whole award.

The DWP are well known for their bullying tactics, particularly towards disabled and vulnerable people. K explained that they felt extremely pressured to make a quick decision and wasn’t given the time to make a decision or to seek advice upon this from others.

Needless to say the DWP should not be putting pressure upon people like this, using fear as a tactic to manipulate disabled people into accepting a lesser payment that they are entitled to.

Unsurprisingly the DWP refused to accept it was doing anything wrong for a year until the day before the hearing, when it suddenly agreed to make a number of changes.

These changes being;

Advising staff its essential  that they inform claimants that even if they accept a revised offer they still have the right to appeal against it.

Telling DWP staff that they must ensure that benefit claimants do not feel ‘pressured’ into making a decision.

Introducing mandatory training to all staff involved in ‘lapsing’ appeals by the end of October to ensure they understand the updated guidance.

The DWP unsurprisingly, refused to agree to end the practice of making pre-tribunal offers to claimants .

We shall see if the DWP continue to use their intimidatory tactics, or if they agree to the actions agreed upon in the court case.

As you all know the DWP like nothing better than to target the most vulnerable and disabled people, knowing that they might find it hard to appeal decisions made towards them by the DWP, and personally I do think that some DWP workers do get a kick out of doing this.

It’s never ok to treat people like this. No one should have to fight for the very means to survive especially in times like these when everyone is struggling even more because of the pandemic.

Can you imagine how awful it is to receive a letter from the DWP that you are no longer entitled to the very monies that have kept you going? Your very means of survival taken away at the push of a button and an uncaring letter sent to you?

This is the reality of life for thousands of people every day, it sends people into mental and physical distress. It’s a never ending circle of abuse metered upon them by the DWP initiated by the government.

No one should ever be forced to go through this cruelty and we must continue to fight to end this. You can do this by sharing my blog posts and other campaign groups posts. Write to your MP to share your disgust, share posts on Twitter and Facebook. Join a campaign group, share your worries and concerns.

Your voice matters so let’s make sure that you are heard!

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This week is a very difficult week for me. As you know my son recently died and it is our joint birthday this weekend on the 1st of August.

The pain of loosing a child, even though they were an adult is unlike any other pain that I have ever felt before. A part pf me wants to run away for the day, hide and speak to no one. Another part of me says sensibly that I can’t do that because his sisters will probably want to do something.

To put it bluntly I’m a mess but I’ll be ok, that’s what I keep telling myself. It feels like two minutes ago when Joseph entered this world at 7.40am .

Joseph was autistic, dyslexic and he also had a few other conditions, but he was an extremely brave, high functioning individual. He loved living on his own in his flat, and he was the local odd job man, always helping others.

Joseph did also have to fight the DWP every time his PIP and ESA was up for renewal. He attended tribunals and was helped by local organisations and myself. I know that he found this extremely hard to cope with but he did and I’m so proud of him.

This blog post is written in remembrance of Joseph, and all the good that he did in this world. He would have been very happy about this decision.

Please read, share, tweet, email and talk about this blog post and the issues surrounding it. This makes a lot of difference and it helps lots.

Please support my blog and campaign and blog. I don’t receive and funding for what I do and I am still helping families locally with food etc. I really couldn’t continue without your support.

For anyone that would like to donate towards my campaign and blog theres a donate button at the top and side of this blog post.

A huge thank you to everyone that has previously supported my campaign and blog.

Personally I’m trying to make my front garden into a memorial garden for my son and any advice etc is more than welcome!

Many thanks to Benefits and Work for being the inspiration for this post.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, International Women's Day, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

School Uniform a cost too high report finds.

A new report recently conducted by Covid Realities at The University of York has revealed that parents and carers are struggling to cope with the costs of school uniforms. The report finds that parents are having to take out crisis loans and other loans in order to pay for their children’s uniform. Other parents are forced to make decisions like having to make the choice to go without healthy food in order to pay for their children’s school uniforms. 

In the report it gives examples of how a families father  was placed on furlough from his job  at the beginning of the pandemic which dramatically cut the family’s income enough so that they qualified for universal credit. Reporting that trying to make ends meet became “a constant battle day by day,”.

The report also states that this family  had previously relied on second-hand uniform fairs at their son’s school to buy items for £1 each, but with those fairs were cancelled in lockdown so they were  forced to ask family for “a couple of pounds each” so she could buy uniforms. 

“He wasn’t going to get uniform otherwise, The kids’ clothing is essential. But when it comes to school uniform, it’s such a high cost for so little time.

“You get a whole list of what they need for PE, which they’re doing once a week. And they’ll grow out of those clothes in three months.”

The report published by Covid Realities quotes that the practice of schools requiring badged uniform from approved suppliers has drastically increased school uniform costs for families. Uniform costs had been driven higher for those in poverty, especially when charity shops  were closed during lockdown. 

This isn’t the only increase in living costs during the pandemic though, families have faced soaring electricity and gas bills due to families isolating at home. The report reveals that a  family of five were forced to go two weeks without heating in the middle of winter just to ensure they could still afford hot water for washing.

At the time of the report an extension was given for the £20 uplift payments for Universal Credit payments saying that facing the cut was “a hell of a big worry, stating “I didn’t know how much more I could take.“We were already not covering the essentials. Taking that £20 away, it was going to be just another thing that we needed in order to live but couldn’t have.

“They’re just delaying the inevitable,” she said of the extension until September. “You’re going to cut it right before winter, when there are extra costs? Leading up to Christmas? The financial problems are going to last a lot longer than the pandemic.”

Now facing the cut their fears are likely to become a reality. 

The researchers at Covid Realities and The University Of York are asking that the Government increases monies for families with children plus national guidance on school uniform cost to lessen the financial impact on struggling parents. 

A bill which could address this is currently being debated in Parliament.

“Uniform costs often cluster at the start of an academic year, and so for families on a low-income it can be a source of acute anxiety and worry,” said Dr Geoff Page, a research fellow on the Nuffield Foundation-funded Covid Realities programme. “Uniform can be hard to accommodate in precariously balanced budgets, where almost every penny is meticulously accounted for. 

“Our participants described a sense of the unmanageable – of living with unmanageable expenses, with school uniform representing another turn of the financial screw.

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As the schools break up for the summer holidays, the financial worry of having to pay for children’s school uniform, as well as for food and wellbeing increases. I  also feel this stress and to be honest I don’t know how I’m going to manage it.

Many families are as the report states having to make the decision wether to feed their children a decent meal or pay for a piece of their expensive uniform.

The pandemic and the way that the government has handled it has had a detrimental effect upon families and children, causing them to live on a much lower income but still forced to provide the same things. 

It’s not always possible to find school uniforms in charity shops or at school swap or donation sites. Each and every child needing school uniform are different sizes which is virtually impossible to replicate in donations and charity shops. 

As the report states there needs for it to continue to be debated and acted upon in parliament, otherwise our children and their parents will continue to be let down and made to feel like they’re not good parents. 

Please read, share and tweet my blog. It’s important to get the truth out there. 

A huge thank you to everyone that reads and supports my blog and campaign. I have plans to continue to hand food parcels and help for people in the community and outside Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre. 

I don’t receive any payment for this blog and anything that I do.

If anyone would like to donate theres a donate button at the top and side of this blog post. 

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, International Women's Day, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme

Its Not Good Enough

I’ve been campaigning against the cruel system which is Universal Credit since it’s conception. I have with friends held weekly demonstrations against the cruelty of said system and have been told countless accounts of how Universal Credit has affected people, how it has caused many people to end their life’s, split families up and has Rendered people ill, depressed, stressed, hungry and feeling that they can never satisfy the demands of the system which was created in order to ‘help’ people.

The truth is that Universal Credit doesn’t help many, it leaves people in a much worse financially than they were before. It wears people down until they can’t cope any more.

It doesn’t discriminate though, it treats everyone in the same manner, making some people feel like a criminal for asking for help because they need it and deserve to be helped.

if you look through this blog you will read many stories of how this system has treated people, how its worn people down and has for some been a massive contributor into people taking their own life.

We’ve handed out hundreds of food parcels, literally fed people that haven’t eaten for days. Indeed, I wrote in an earlier blog post I documented that I gave a woman and her children some tinned food and goodies, and how they walked across the road and ate the food out of the tins because they were hungry and hadn’t eaten a real meal for a long time.

I’ve spoken to people that had been discriminated against by the DWP because of the way they looked. If you scroll down my blog posts you will read that a man was discriminated against because he wasn’t wearing a suit and tie and proper shoes for his appointment at the Jobcentre.

This was blatant discrimination because they knew how poor he was, how he’d had no money for over a month and only possessed one pair of canvas shoes and a thin summer jacket.

The demands that the DWP make to people can be completely ridiculous like this, if he had’t spoken to us he would never have found out that he didn’t have to do this.

I also helped a woman with a young baby who was told by her advisor that she couldn’t come to the Jobcentre with her baby. This is completely unfair and also untrue. Children are allowed to attend appointments but the DWP like to make the rules up as they please.

I’ve spoken and helped people that were very close to taking their own life because they couldn’t cope with the DWP bullying anymore. I’ve also helped people that became homeless when Universal Credit was first introduced into my town and two other local authorities. I’ll also never forget being told by a police officer that a man that I had helped but was later let down by the system, that he had taken his own life because he couldn’t see any future for himself.

I really could talk forever about this, please scroll through my blogs and my media posts to see more. It’s cruelty certainly ignited a fire inside of me to make me determined to fight these and other injustices throughout the DWP and other systems.

Universal Credit was introduced under the guise of supposedly making it easier to claim and that people would be better off financially. It wasn’t long before it was shown to do anything but this. It can virtually destroy people.

Years ago I made a promise, prompted by my friend Michael to document everything that I see, hear and experience in this blog. I really didn’t expect it to be read by anyone at all but it was because it wasn’t being spoken about back then.

Although I can’t be there today to take part in the day of action because I developed Potts Syndrome which comes and goes, but today it’s here after having Covid and Long Covid I am there in spirit. Covid nearly broke me but it didn’t and I’m very grateful to have survived it.

I stand in solidarity with everyone that’s campaigning against Universal Credit whilst also demanding that the government introduces the £20 uplift to disabled people as well. Disabled people have been hit the hardest by the pandemic, many haven’t been able to leave their homes because of quarantine restrictions and also the lack of carers being able to help at home. It’s absolutely shocking that the government treats them in this way.

The DWP systems aren’t good enough. They don’t help people, instead they punish people because of their own existence. I fear that this will continue to worsen because they hate poor and disabled people, and they don’t care if we suffer either.

I also experienced the death of my son which was totally unexpected and through no fault of his own. He went to bed and didn’t wake up. Joseph was disabled and he had to fight for every penny that he got from the DWP. I’ve lost count of the amount of appeals that he had to make to get his rightful payments.

When I first learnt that my son had died I didn’t know how I would continue, grief can take you to some very dark places. Despite this I think that I’m learning how to cope with it, knowing that it’s ok to have an off day or to feel sad sometimes. My daughters and everyone that reads my blog and supports both the campaign and blog have really helped me. It’s ok to cry and there shouldn’t be any shame surrounding this.

My son shared the same birthday as me which is coming up very soon, so I know that’s going to be a tough day for us all.

I want to do more though. I don’t think that I’m doing enough to raise awareness and to help people. Despite this I do know that I do need to keep this blog going because despite everything I still need to get the truth out there. If anyone would like to donate towards the upkeep of this blog and my campaign theres a donate button at the top and side of this blog post.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog. Let’s get the truth out there!

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Housing, hunger, International Women's Day, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Government refuses to extend Universal Credit uplift.

This week Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey announced that the government has no plans to continue the £20 Universal Credit uplift, confirming that payments will be ending in late September.

Coffey also announced that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will be contacting claimants so they are aware that their payments will change in late September whilst at the same time and they will be directed to budgeting advice.

The £20 a week uplift was increased for six months in March after charities and organisations had warned the government that it and would damage the mental health and physical health of those living in poverty.

The government’s answer to this is to announce that they’ve doubled the amount of work coaches and organisations that they work with, meanwhile totally ignoring the fact that the well being of thousands of people depends upon the £20 uplift.

Their plans obviously don’t include how to feed themselves and their families when their vital £20 is taken away from them. it might not be a lot of money to some, but it has enabled people to buy some food, get some glass and electric and to top up a mobile phone or internet if they have access to these.

Having a good internet connection is requested by the DWP and failure to have this can, and has ended with claimants being sanctioned.

The announcement to end the uplift payments was made after ignoring the advice of six former Conservative work and pension secretaries whom have requested that the Chancellor to make the £20 uplift permanent. They warned that if they failed to extend the uplift it would cause immense damage to living standards, health and the opportunity to improve their lives.

Indeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson whilst talking to the Commons Liaison Committee had requested to reconsider any plans to end the uplift and also said that higher skilled jobs are the best way forward.

Therese Coffey then announced that a collective decision was made to “shift the focus strongly into getting people into work” as the economy opens up. She also announced that this will ‘help’ when the country reaches step four of the Covid 19 road map and ‘more opportunities’ will be created for claimants.

Conservative MP Nigel Mills is quoted as saying “It sounds like this is a ‘dates not data’ decision, that we’ve just chosen to end this at the end of September and not going to review that based on any data at all.“’We’ll just kind of assume it will all be OK’ – that seems to be a pretty fair summary of what you’re saying: ‘We haven’t got any data yet that you don’t need this uplift, but we’re going to take it away regardless because that’s what we planned in the Budget’.”

Needless to say this is a terrible decision made by the government, fronted by Therese Coffey Work and Pensions Secretary. This decision has been made whilst ignoring the evidence given to her by charities, organisations and felt conservative Mp’s.

Not only will the refusal to extend the £20 uplift cause immense suffering and stress, they still fail to recognise that disabled people are struggling to get by and haven’t been included in any £20 uplift plans.

Along with the governments blatant discrimination against disabled people, the government is also still ploughing ahead to end lockdown and mask wearing whilst covid 19 cases and deaths are increasing.

Many disabled people have been housebound unable to go out for fear of infection and in many cases a lack of help. I’m very concerned that demands will be made of them to travel to assessments and DWP appointments when its obviously not safe to do so.

The government have blood on their hands for more than one reason.

Personally I’m going to continue to wear a mask and social distance for many reasons, one being that I’m still battling with Long Covid and other health conditions. Catching covid again, even though I’m fully vaccinated isn’t something that I want to go through again.

I’m also extremely worried about my children and grandchildren catching this new variant of Covid 19 also.

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How am I? Today is another migraine day for me, yippee. I hope that it passes asap.

I really hope that you are all ok. Lots of love to you all.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog. Every share etc makes a massive difference in the truth getting out there.

A huge thanks to everyone that has and does support my blog, it means the world to me.

If anyone would like to donate to keep my blog and campaign going theres a donate button at the top and side of this blog post.

Thank you and keep safe.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, International Women's Day, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

2,000 more PIP claimants a month refused PIP awards.

It’s been debated by many including myself about the fairness concerning PIP telephone assessments. It’s extremely triggering and stressful to attend these ‘medical assessments’ in the first place but at least you could see the assessors in person which can make appeals easier.

It also is extremely difficult to attend a telephone ‘assessment’ for those that have phone anxiety and limited, if any access to a telephone to conduct a telephone assessment.

The government are still ignoring the fact that not everyone has a telephone and not everyone can use a telephone hence my worry that telephone assessments could be harder than face-to-face assessments.

As reported by Benefits And Work the latest quarterly PIP statistics suggest that almost 2,000 fewer new claimants a month are getting an award since assessments switched from face-to-face assessments to telephone assessments.

These statistics also report that record numbers of people are now applying for PIP, but less applicants in proportion than ever receives their PIP payment.

The figures show that the overall average success rate for new PIP claims since PIP was introduced is 55%.But this has averaged over the last six months that the the success rate for new claims is just 48.5% since telephone assessments have been introduced.

Compare this to the same six months in 2019-20, before telephone assessments started, the success rate was 52%.

This decrease may seem small to many but in reality it means that 5,950 disabled claimants who would have previously been awarded their PIP payments were refused when the telephone assessments were introduced in the last quarter.

Whilst it can’t be be conclusively proved that it is the telephone assessments that has caused this, indeed PIP award rates have been falling for a long while, I can say that having a telephone assessment is going to reduce claims being successful.

I can also say that the government never misses a chance to deny a person their rightful payments to enable them to survive.I can bet that the same Tory MP’s implementing these policies and decisions never miss a chance to claim a so called expense when they get the chance to do so. Whilst they see that it’s ok for them to claim for just about anything that they can do, they see a disabled persons quality of life as an expense too much for them to pay.

The cruelty that the government dishes out to the poorest and most vulnerable appears to be never-ending. My fear is that the same government is going to refuse people with Covid 19 and Long Covid their rightful disability payments. Myself and others will be watching this situation and reporting on it.

For anyone that is or has made a claim for PIP and has been refused, it is essential that you appeal against a refusal. I know that its a horrible, arduous process to undertake but its worth doing.

You can find Benefits And Work over at http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk

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UPDATE find my new podcast over on Spotify 😊 https://open.spotify.com/show/0RgibJjz5KPzEGkyArIrN1

I still intend to start my podcasts asap. I totally lack confidence in this area though. I will start it asap though.

As for me it’s been a tough week. I received a phone call today telling me that my son’s memorial has been put in place and is now ready to view. Honestly having a child die, no matter what age is a pain unlike any other. He was my only son and he was dedicated to helping his family.

I have to keep reminding myself that it’s ok to grieve even when I feel that I shouldn’t. My son enjoyed the summer weather but not the hay fever that comes with it. His favourite thing to do was to help others and he’s missed by so many in his community.

Even though he’s no longer with us I will still be campaigning on behalf of my son, he was autistic and he also had to fight for his rightful payments.

A huge thank you to everyone that reads and supports my blog, I really couldn’t do this without you.

If anyone would like to donate towards the campaign and my blog a donate button is at the top and side of this blog post.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, International Women's Day, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

PIP Mobility Awards Appear Manipulated.

Thousands of claimants claiming PIP for mental health conditions are missing out on PIP payments because their reports appear to be manipulated.

Research conducted by Benefits And Work has shown that although the award rates rose for a year they’ve now dropped down to their previous levels which have started to rise again.

This is appalling because award rates should not have been shown to fall, they should have continued to rise and staying at a higher level.

Benefits And Work have also looked at the award rates for all conditions that the DWP consider would be affected by mental health and surprise, surprise they’re the same.

According to the DWP’s own estimates regarding mental health conditions approximately 6% of the entire PIP caseload should have moved from no award of the mobility component to enhanced.

Indeed a further 6% should have been moved from no award to a standard award.

Also 2% of awards should have moved from standard mobility to enhanced mobility.

The increased award rates regarding mental health should have been immediate and also should have been sustained once it was implemented. This would have resulted hundreds of thousands of additional essential mobility awards in place by 2023.

As usual the DWP are reluctant to comment upon this despite Benefits And Work submitting Freedom Of Information requests and the DWP giving them the runaround.

Sadly the DWP will do anything to prevent people from receiving their essential payments. I have absolutely no doubt that they do this because they know that vulnerable people are less likely to fight back.

I fully expect the government and the DWP sleep soundly at night because they believe that they’re doing the right thing by denying vulnerable people with the means to live a decent life even though its cruel and inhumane.

Thousands of people have lost their lives whilst fighting cruel decisions made by the DWP regarding their payments, I reported upon this last week.

Everyone deserves to live a good life and they should be given the support that they need to have a good quality of life. I will continue to fight for this alongside DPAC and other organisations.

PIP is Personal Independence Payments.

DWP is the Department Of Work And Pensions.

Source Benefits And Work, check them out they’re amazing.

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As for myself, its been a tough week for many reasons, one being that I’ve undertaken the task of sorting out old photos of my son when he was little. Its so sad looking at the photos knowing that when I took them I thought that he would outlive me.

I hope that you are all ok and surviving the best that you can do. it’s such a tough time for so many of us for many differing reasons.

Lots of love and hugs to you all, I couldn’t do this without you.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog. Each share raises awareness and helps others to cope in such hard times.

Once again a huge thank you so much for everyone that supports my blog and campaign, I really couldn’t do this without you.

If you would like to donate to keep my blog and campaign going theres a donate button at the top and side of this blog post. If you’d like to buy me a coffee I’d really appreciate it. Thank you xx.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, International Women's Day, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

100 Terminally Ill Claimants A Month Die Fighting For Benefits.


It has been revealed by Benefit And Works that more than 100 people a month are dying whilst fighting for an award of PIP even though they have less than six months to live.

A recent report by the Motor Neurone Disease Association and Marie Curie has sadly revealed that in the 18 months between April 2018 and October 2019 1,860 people died within six months of being refused benefits.

One person who is terminally ill reported that her benefits had reduced after being forced to move from DLA to PIP.

She told the Guardian: “The assessor didn’t recognise that I was terminally ill. He didn’t want to see the doctor’s letters, the consultant’s letter or the letter from the hospice. He didn’t want to know. I have Crohn’s disease, osteoporosis, brittle bone disease and intestinal failure.

“I have been receiving end-of-life support from a hospice but had to cancel my other care after the review as I couldn’t afford to pay for it. I was forced to appeal and only then did I receive a higher rate.”

It is also reported that a consultant neurologist was questioned no fewer than three times by Capita about their assessment that a claimant with motor neurone disease was terminally ill.

This has caused huge distress to those concerned at a time when they shouldn’t be forced to worry about the DWP and their financial situation.

This has also delayed any access to much-needed benefits, but not only are they harassing claimants they see fit to also harass consultants thus taking time away from dealing with parents.

Meanwhile the DWP is still delaying any reforms of the rules for terminally ill people for benefits.

Can you imagine how stressful it is for terminally ill people having to fight for their payments and care knowing that they might not ever receive their rightful payments? People are literally dying whilst doing exactly this and still the government blatantly fails to support them.

We must also never forget that everyday terminally ill people are forced to end essential care that they need because of the above reason.

Everyone deserves proper care and dignity but still the government continues to persecute them, but let’s be honest they don’t care and never will because they regard disabled and ill people as deserving of nothing.

We all need to continue this conversation and highlight the seriousness of this. No one deserves to die with this stress and worry. Its inhumane and horrific that this is indeed happening at all.

The DWP needs to stop delaying their delaying tactics and start to actually start making the essential changes to the terminal illness rules but we all know that this isn’t going to happen is it.

Once again huge thanks to Benefit And Works for their hard work revealing this report and making thousands of people aware of the DWP cruelty that appears to be never-ending. They work extremely hard to get the truth out there.

At times like this you’d expect any organisation to be sympathetic and caring but as has been proved time and time again the DWP fails to show even an ounce of care and compassion.

Photo by Alex Green on Pexels.com

As for me, I’ve had a tough week, bereavement isn’t easy especially when you loose a child. My apologies for being quiet this week. I’ve struggled but I’m still here trying to raise awareness.

A huge thanks to everyone that reads, shares and supports my blog. It really has made a huge difference in my life and I cannot thank you all enough.

As usual please read, share and tweet my blog, it makes a huge difference and really raises awareness.

I receive no funding for the work that I do, theres a donate button at the top and side of this blog post for anyone that would like to donate or even buy me a coffee. Thank you!

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Disabled people excluded and marginalised during pandemic new report finds.

Research led by Inclusion London reveals that the COVID-19 crisis has impacted thousands of disabled people.

As reported by Disability News Service who have seen a draft version of an interim report based on the research titled Abandoned, Forgotten and Ignored.

The report conducted by Inclusion London is based upon more than 300 online survey responses from across England including a small number of people living in Scotland and Wales.

The report concludes that “Despite the government’s rhetoric about protecting and supporting Disabled people, the reality is that they have been treated less fairly and discriminated against across all areas of their lives.”

The report also warns that many disabled people most affected by the pandemic will not have had access to its online survey resulting in the findings of the report likely to represent only “the tip of the iceberg” due to lack of access to the internet for many disabled people.

Inclusion London have reported that disabled people have been suffering from increasing levels official isolation, mental distress, lack of decent if any care and support during the pandemic, also finding that there has been difficulty for many to access food and also difficulties accessing healthcare such as prescriptions and suchlike.

The report discloses that the actions of central government, local authorities and service-providers have continued to fail exclude and marginalise disabled people which in turn has resulted in discrimination.

It also finds that disabled people in high-risk groups have been unable to obtain personal protective equipment (PPE), and have also had had their vital care packages cut and important social care assessments delayed.

Indeed it reports that a quarter of the people that have responded that receive direct payments for their care were left unaided to cope with staff issues and sourcing their own PPE.

One disabled person responding said of their experience “My care agency are not getting adequate PPE, and they are so short-staffed at present that I’ve been lucky to get a shower once a month (and cannot have a strip wash at all due to them sending male care workers to me eight times out of 10 instead of female), and am not getting one in three of my daily care calls.”

More than three-fifths of people that responded to the survey said they had struggled to access food, medicine, and other necessities.

Respondents described how supermarkets had refused to make reasonable adjustments for them when they tried to shop in-store and how they were unable to order home deliveries.

Many have not received the support they vitally need to prepare meals for themselves also, this resulting in being forced to spend more money on food by having to shop in more expensive stores or having to order their meals online.

More than a third of those surveyed spoke of increasing levels of mental distress during the pandemic.

One respondent saying that they had been inside their home for three-and-a-half weeks without going out resulting in them feeling that they were losing their mind, going on to say that have a pre-existing mental health condition, and it is causing a big relapse.“I feel trapped and controlled and claustrophobic.

This had left them too scared to leave the house because if they get sick that they knew that, as someone with pre-existing conditions the doctors will leave them to die in favour of someone who has a better chance of surviving.

Several people that responded to the survey also said they had been asked to agree to having ‘do not attempt resuscitation’ orders placed in their medical records. Others told they would not be admitted to hospital if they fell ill or would be denied life-saving emergency treatment.

One person responding said: “I can’t access the government scheme for support because apparently I’m not disabled enough.“However I’m disabled enough to get suggested to sign DNR [Do Not Resuscitate], and inferred I’d be left to die if hospitalised.”

Inclusion London concluded the report by warning that there will be a much higher demand for advice and support from disabled people after the lockdown is lifted. This leaves many organisations needing to increase their funding to provide these essential services.

Its a terrible indictment upon the government that disabled people have had to resort to legal action because of the discrimination that they have faced from the government.

This report has reinforced the view that the government and society looks upon disabled people as a burden on the state and are second class citizens.

It is very disturbing however not surprising that disabled people have been treated in this manner throughout the pandemic. The government clearly regards them as unimportant and not deserving of any quality of life, which to be honest is very clear to see. We cannot allow this inhumane treatment of the most vulnerable in society to continue.

Photo by Kindel Media on Pexels.com

For sources of information and support during the coronavirus crisis, visit the DNS advice and information page18 June 2020 over at http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com

Sources http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com

Inclusion London https://inclusionlondon.org.uk

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog. Every share really makes a difference to get the truth out there, which is extremely important at the moment.

I receive no payment for any of the work that I do, I’m trying to improve my content and to increase the amount of blogs that I publish each week.

Along with the death of my son I’m finding things really difficult at the moment.

For anyone that would like to donate to keep both my blog and campaign going theres a donate button at the top and side of this blog.

A huge thank you to everyone that does and has supported my blog and campaign, it really does mean the world to me and it keeps me going.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Housing, hunger, International Women's Day, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Face to face assessments to return for PIP and WCA claimants.

Last month the DWP minister Justin Tomlinson informed the Commons Work and Pensions committee in parliament that face to face ‘interviews’ are set to return although he stated that some telephone and video assessments will still continue.

There has been no concern from Tomlinson about the safety of vulnerable claimants and the fact that there is still a pandemic and most people forced to attend these ‘assessments’ are indeed vulnerable and are still having to shield.

Tomlinson however claimed rather confusingly that they had ‘Lost all of their health professionals’ because they apparently have gone to work for the test and trace system instead.

It isn’t clear yet how the system is going to return to normality when, as he said the health professionals that were employed have now left. Maybe Tomlinson will pay them even more money to do this, therefore tempting them away from their current employment. Who knows, I expect we will find out sooner rather than later.

It does however take a particularly cruel mindset to conduct these ‘assessments’ and to declare vulnerable people fit for work when they clearly aren’t.

Tomlinson went on to say that the work capability assessments (WCA) will begin shortly and PIP (Personal Independent Payment) ‘assessments’ will follow a few weeks later although they will keep video and telephone assessments. Tomlinson wasn’t clear in what capacity this will be, clarity isn’t his or the Tory party’s strong point.

As I write this I expect many people will have had their much dreaded letter from the DWP regarding their assessment, thus causing distress and panic for already vulnerable people.

Whilst the Covid 19 vaccination programme is going well there are people that are unable to have the vaccinations for health reasons. The Covid 19 strain from India has now started to take a hold in the UK, putting thousands at risk.

I urge Tomlinson and the government to rethink their assessment strategy and to put the health and well-being of disabled and vulnerable people first.

Photo by Kat Jayne on Pexels.com

Once again thanks to Benefits and Work for their hard work in researching this and publishing this information. You can find them over at http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk

WCA is the Work Capability Assessment and PIP is Personal Independence Payments.

I don’t receive any funding for the work that I do and for my campaign.

Please help me to continue to do this, there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog.

A huge thank you to everyone that reads, shares and tweets my blog. It makes a massive difference and it helps to raise awareness.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, International Women's Day, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

PIP AWARDS FALL TO ALL TIME LOW.

It appears that the DWP are back to their old tricks again. The pandemic isn’t even over yet they continue with their obvious discrimination against disabled people.

Theres nothing that the government and the DWP appear to enjoy more than target vulnerable people with impossible targets to meet and to basically make their lives ask difficult as possible.

You might remember that a recent court hearing that the DWP had been wrongly using the law in relation to PIP mobility based on mental health grounds. (Personal Independence Payments)

The DWP although not admitting any wrongdoing, they did say that this would result in an increase of approximately 14% of the PIP mobility component. You can bet that they didn’t like that.

Meanwhile the brilliant team over at Benefits And Work have looked at the figures for claimants that claim PIP for anxiety and depression, this being listed as being the most likely to be affected by the court ruling.

They discovered that immediately after the DWP started implementing the new ruling, the award rates for mobility for depression and anxiety rose quite dramatically rising from 14% to up to 25% .

As if by some cruel feat of magic, the PIP award rates started to fall again, resulting in an all time low which is now far greater than before the court ruling.

Once again the DWP had most likely thought that they could ignore the ruling, thinking that no one would notice their deception. After all it’s easy to target the most vulnerable and the people that will find it extremely hard to fight back.

It’s very easy for the DWP to do this though, indeed it’s taken them just over a year to achieve this gross injustice.

They know that they can ignore court rulings because they’re accountable to no one. Knowing that this will result in the suffering of so many people they continue not caring and denying people their rightful payment awards.

Whilst the pandemic had opened up lots more access to online meetings and events, those without the internet cannot access help this way. Can you imagine being awarded such a meagre amount of money that leaves you unable to leave your home? Unable to pay or find internet access?

It’s cruelty beyond belief, and I don’t for one minute doubt that the DWP know exactly what they’re doing.

At a time when society should be helping each other the DWP decided to make disabled peoples lives even harder, which is no surprise and they will continue until they’re physically out of government.

What can we do to help each other? We can give help, advice and solidarity to anyone that we know that needs it. This makes a world of difference. I will continue to campaign against the ugly DWP machine and the government for as long as I am able to.

A huge thank you to Benefits And Work for all the hard work that they do. If you haven’t checked them out yet `I urge you to because they’re amazing!

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/about-us

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog posts. Every share really helps to raise awareness which in turn helps people. We need to get the truth out there.

A huge thank you to everyone that supports my blog and campaign. I’m slowly trying to get back to a new normal for me. Loosing my son has devastated me, but as a disabled person himself he would want me to continue to fight for fairness and equality for all.

I don’t receive any funding for either my blog and campaign. Theres a donate button at the top and side of this blog post.

A huge thank you to everyone that supports my work and a massive thank you to everyone that has supported me and shown me kindness throughout this awful time.