I’m so sorry to have to tell you that our good friend and comrade Christine Clarke passed away earlier this week.
Christine was a huge supporter of my blog and our campaign and was a constant support not only to me but to others.
She had a very kind heart and was a long time protector of our planet having been a long term member of the green party. Christine was also a campaigner at Greenham Common and other campaigns.
Her kindness knew no bounds and this radiated to others always there to comfort people especially at Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre demos. Always there to help and advise others in their time of need.
Christine, you will be sadly missed by so many thanks for the memories and good times. I shall miss you dearly.
My photo that was taken on one of our Universal Credit demonstrations.
Annual energy bills are predicted to increase more £4,200 from January 2023. This will undoubtably cause extreme hardship on an enormous scale.
So far without a fully functioning government, Johnson, his ministers and prospective prime minister candidates are refusing to meet to discuss and implement a strategy and further government financial without government intervention.
No further government assistance offered.
Instead of meeting to discuss further plans and financial help conservative ministers are on holiday blissful in their knowledge that without intervention their actions will cause unseen suffering and worse.
Further price increases.
The consultancy Cornwall Insight have already predicted that energy price caps are expected to reach £4,266 a year for the first three months of 2023.
They also predict that energy bills could rise to £4,426 in April before eventually easing.
Also predicted a week ago by the consultancy the energy price cap was expected to rise to £3,600 a year from January 2023.
It is now predicted that the energy cap will increase to £3,582 from October, an increase of £200 on its last forecast. It expects bills to begin easing next summer, to £3,810 in the third quarter and then £3,781 in the final three months of next year.
Compared to the price cap in October 2021 which was£1,400 a year, these price increases are obscene and totally avoidable.
People can’t afford to pay.
The reality is that there are already thousands of people that were already unable to meet every day household expenses, many of which are living in substandard housing, are homeless and living in temporary accommodation or renting a room or property at already extortionate prices.
There’s absolutely no way that anyone living in this situation will be able to cut costs anywhere to be able to pay for energy on top of food costs.
Whilst the idea of the don’t pay campaigns that have been created is on paper a good idea in real life it’s more complicated than that.
The problem with pre-payment meters.
Most people forced to live on extremely low incomes are already tied into pre-payment meters provided by the energy companies.
As well as having to automatically pay a daily standing charge they don’t have the option not to pay or to default on payments.
To put it simply if they don’t pay their energy supplies are cut off leaving them unable to heat and light their homes and to have any quality of life at all.
For those that pay their bills by direct debit, defaulting on their payments could affect their credit rating even if they pay a reduced amount.
Energy companies could also class them as bad payers and this could result in obtaining credit extremely hard.
It’s going to be a cold winter.
What on earth are people reliant upon pre payment meters going to do? They can’t magic money out of nowhere like the government does when they want to give tax breaks to their pals.
Their only option will be to use coats, bedding and just about anything they can find to keep warm whilst putting their health at risk.
Not forgetting that most people claiming social security will already be receiving a reduced amount due to various debts being garnished from their payments and benefit sanctions.
The poorest cannot be ignored anymore.
Alongside other campaigns the plight of the poorest and most vulnerable needs to be prioritized and help needs to be offered to everyone that require assistance.
Warm banks aren’t the answer nor is finding a warm spot to sit all day. It’s totally unrealistic to believe that this is the answer. At the very best they’re a sticking plaster that keeps falling off.
Government payments.
Everyone dependent on a low income is already well aware that the payments promised by the government offer little help when compared to the actual increase in energy and cost of living increases.
For these payments to realistically help they now need to increase dramatically for it to even start to chip away at the damage caused by the ever increasing energy costs.
The poorest are already suffering.
Food Banks are already experiencing a downturn in donations, some of them having no food and unable to offer any help to people dependant upon them.
There is also an ever increasing amount of people unable to afford to travel to food banks. For various reasons including and exceeding disability, illness and public transport costs they’re unable to collect desperately needed food. At the same time charities and organisations are unable to offer any kind of delivery service.
Their plight will be ignored
I suspect that the plight of the poorest will be ignored by those in power. After all their more concerned with punishing the poor than helping everyone that needs their assistance and correcting their mistakes.
The UK is a broken country, a ticking time bomb ready to explode. The only thing we do know is that the government won’t be there to pick up the pieces.
They don’t care they never have.
We must continue to press the government to reduce the obscene energy increases.
Instead of settling for ideas such as warm banks we need to make our voices heard.
It’s totally unacceptable that people are going to be forced into such extreme poverty that many may not survive the cold, harsh winter.
It really doesn’t have to be this way.
Please share my blog it really helps to raise awareness and shows solidarity to those suffering at the hands of this cruel government.
I receive no payment for any of the work that I do and for my campaign.
If you can afford to and would like to donate to keep both going there’s a donation link at the top and side of this blog post.
Every penny helps me to continue with both.
A huge thank you to everyone that has and does support my campaign and blog. I really appreciate it and I couldn’t do it without you.
Work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey has once again remained silent about nine Department of Work and Pension (DWP) reports during a grilling by the Work and Pensions Committee..
Not only did she remain silent she added another report that she failed to disclose along with the previous nine.
This is despite the Work and Pensions Committee requesting that the information in the reports should have been posted as far back as 2017.
The reports contain information concerning DWP sanctions, claimant deaths and how people are coping with being transferred to Universal Credit (UC)
The committee did however state that they would like to discuss the matter further at another meeting on Wednesday 29 June.
They however made the huge error of giving Coffey until the 15 July to reply to their request.
Instead of answering the committee’s questions Coffey refused to do so in person saying that she would respond to the questions in her response to their letter by letter.
However during the meeting Coffey declared that the DWP have also got a secret plan to help claimants who fail to complete the managed migration process within the time limit given.
Coffey went on to say “I have added a policy that I would rather talk to you privately about, because I do not want to deter people from responding to our requests to migrate.”
As we already know her words are useless until any information about the supposed policy unless it is in public knowledge and is being acted upon.
Secret polices could well include ignoring a claimants legal rights and how would they be able to appeal decisions if the policy is indeed secret?
This could give way to yet more DWP cruelty met upon vulnerable claimants that are already struggling financially.
Only time will tell as to what will happen. The committee needs to request the publishing of the reports as a matter of great urgency and not rely upon Coffey being honest and open about the information that she has.
I do know one thing though. The reports could contain some very damaging information about the suffering and deaths of vulnerable claimants.
This could be the reason why she’s continuing to hold back the information.
Please read and share this blog post. It’s incredibly important that we continue to get important information such as this out there.
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New regulations have been issued to enable registered nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists, and physiotherapists to issue fit notes.
This will extend the categories of people that can issue fit notes. New statutory instrument
The new regulations will commence from 1 July 2022.
These regulations being Social Security (Medical Evidence) and Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022 (SI.No.630/2022) amend the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1976 and the Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1985.
The new regulations also make amendments to sets of regulations which refer to medical evidence as having been signed by doctors or registered medical practitioners.
The explanatory memorandum to the regulations advises that –
‘Currently only doctors can certify fit notes. This is not reflective of modern ways of multi-disciplinary working in healthcare where alternative healthcare professionals (HCPs) such as nurses often lead a patient’s diagnosis and healthcare management.
Expanding certification to a wider group of HCPs will better enable relevant HCPs to undertake health and work conversations to issue and certify fit notes without having to refer patients to their doctors.’
Commenting on the regulations, DWP Minister Chloe Smith said today –
‘The extension of fit note certification is fantastic news for patients, making it easier for them to get the support and advice they need from the right place, ensuring where possible that they are able to remain in work.’
These latest fit note changes recognise the valuable role other professions play in helping manage people’s health, and I hope this will also help reduce unnecessary bureaucracy for doctors and general practice more widely.’
This is welcome news for people struggling to provide fit notes for the DWP which can be a struggle for many.
SI.No.630/2022 is available from legislation.gov.uk
Source Rightsnet
Thanks to Rightsnet for providing this information.
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As reported by Benefits And Work the EHRC (Equality And Human Rights Commission) has broken its promise to investigate the role that the DWP (Department of Work And Pensions)have played in the deaths of vulnerable claimants. This has left the DWP not needing to answer any questions as to the role that they played in their deaths
Instead the EHRC are now asking the DWP to create new policies in relation to claimants with mental health issues and learning difficulties. This will replace the promised investigation.
This is despite promises made by the EHRC in 2019 that they would start an investigation into the deaths of vulnerable claimants.
The EHRC used the pandemic as an excuse to not start the investigation.
The Commission has now declared that it only intends to enter into a Section 23 agreement under the Equality Act 2006. This will oblige the DWP “to commit to an action plan to meet the needs of customers with mental health impairments and learning disabilities.”
Keep in mind that the DWP are a much larger organisation that receive more funding than the EHRC. This will no doubt result in the DWP will dragging their heels in creating so called policies that will be nothing more than good intentions that probably won’t be actioned upon.
Whilst I don’t have any details as to why the EHRC have changed their minds I can say that at best they’re very niave putting far too much trust in the DWP to do the right thing.
The DWP has an appalling track record of discrimination against vulnerable claimants, ignoring their basic human rights and making life extremely hard for them.
Despite my disappointment with the EHRC’s decision I’m not surprised. The DWP will do anything to avoid any actions taken against them making promises that they’ve got no intention of keeping whilst doing the bare minimum to comply.
Once again thanks go to Benefits And Work for their hard work and inspiring this article.
A huge thanks to everyone that likes, shares, reads and supports both my blog and campaign.
I don’t receive any payment for the work that I do and it’s a struggle to say the least.
If you can afford to and would like to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog post.
Dear subscribers and guests it’s been a tough year for so many of us, I know it, I feel it.
This year was probably the worst one of my whole life. My son was tragically taken away from me mid pandemic. It hurts more than anything else that I’ve experienced.
Whilst we were abiding to the social distancing rules, the Tory government were busy partying and carrying on as if nothing had happened.
This was a case of we’ll do whatever we want sod the public. They don’t care about us. My son had to have a very reduced socially distanced funeral whilst they were enjoying life.
To be honest this is a perfect example of how they treat us. They never spare a thought for us so don’t expect them to either.
Christmas is a tough time for so many reasons wether it be for financial reasons or bereavement. I’m with you, I feel it.
I haven’t put a Christmas tree up this year. My daughter and I decided that it doesn’t feel right so we put some extra lights on his memorial table.
So much pressure is put on society to have the big tree, the decorations and lots of good food. The truth is that so many of us can’t afford to buy the big tree, pay for the electric to light the Christmas lights and affording a big meal with all the trimmings is near impossible.
Poverty doesn’t end at Christmas, if anything it’s amplified for reasons that I’ve already stated.
You do Christmas how you want to do it. Try and ignore the pressure to comply to what everyone expects. If you want to turn the TV off and read a book instead then do it.
If you want to spend Christmas day doing nothing then do it. Be kind to yourself.
I used to put so much pressure upon myself to get everything right for others to see. Loosing my son has made me realise that none of this really matters.
Like many of you I’m going to find Christmas tough, but I will get through it.
So many families are going to be going without the Christmas that they were used to. The pandemic has caused thousands of people to loose their jobs and it’s also resulted in the deaths of thousands of people.
Thousands of families and individuals are newly dependant upon foodbanks to keep them going. It’s not easy asking for help and the food isn’t the best. Hopefully one day it will get better.
How do you explain to your children that Father Christmas can’t come this year? It’s heartbreaking.
What we can do is be there for each other, talk to friends on social media, text or face to face (socially distanced of course).
We will get through this. Lots of love to you all.
Please read, share and tweet my blog. This makes a massive difference and it raises so much awareness.
A huge thank you to everyone that supports and has supported my blog this year. I really couldn’t do it without you.
I don’t receive any payment for the work that I do and to say it’s tough is an understatement.
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Please click on the below link from the Public Law Project.
If you are told to repay back hardship payment debts make sure that you challenge this.
It is your legal right to do so. If needed quote the below article and insist that the DWP use their discretion regarding payment of hardship payment debt.
Insist that these payments are causing distress and suffering, which they do for thousands of people.
This is also essential because the majority of claimants already have monies garnished from their payments for council tax debt and suchlike.
No one should be forced to live in extreme hardship such as this.
I expect that the DWP won’t like this so don’t expect them to suggest it to you.
I’ve spoken to many people and helped hundreds of people over the years since Universal Credit was first implemented in my local town, which incidentally was one of the three ‘trial’ areas for Universal Credit introducing it to an unbeknown community.
Out of all the people that I’ve spoken to throughout the years, not one of them has told me that their payments provided them with a large enough income for them to survive, indeed the opposite applies.
Everyone that I’ve helped or spoken to were and still are living in poverty, unable to provide the very basics for themselves and their families.
Then the pandemic hit us, killing thousands and resulting in survivors battling with Long Covid. The government decided that they’d throw a lifeline to Universal Credit claimants which was an extra £20 a week uplift to help them through the pandemic.
The uplift was and is providing Universal Credit claimants the means to actually survive, to buy some food or to pay a bill that they were an unable to do before.
Whilst £20 isn’t a lot to some people, indeed it isn’t a lot of money at all, it has enabled people to survive.
This lifeline will be taken away in October if the government don’t respond to calls from campaigners, politicians, and even some Tory party politicians.
Universal Credit was created under the guise of making claiming a benefit easier, to help more financially and to make it easier to find work whilst claiming Universal Credit.
It wasn’t long before myself and others saw the reality of claiming Universal Credit, the poverty that it forces upon people and the punishing regime that they are forced to comply to.
The truth is the system was designed to be unfair and designed to be cruel. I have no doubt that it was introduced to force people to comply otherwise loose everything. I’ve been documenting this for years, I’ve seen the terror in a persons eyes when they’ve just been told that they’ve been sanctioned and didn’t know why.
With Universal Credit came cruelty like I’ve never seen before. Claimants being gaslighted by so called work coaches, being spoken to as if they’re the worst thing in the world and that nothing that they do is ever good enough.
I’ve seen people loose their homes and families because they can no longer afford the rent or provide for their children. I’ve helped hundreds of people throughout the years dependant upon food parcels to survive, all of which is documented in this blog.
I cannot see any justification in removing the £20 uplift, we are still living during a pandemic, still becoming ill with Covid 19 and people are still dying from it. The £20 uplift is literally the choice between living or dying. Only a sadistic government would do so.
To put it bluntly Universal Credit doesn’t provide enough to live on, it’s highly prejudiced against claimants and it certainly doesn’t help anyone to find employment. What is needed is a system that actually helps people instead of making them much worse off.
We can only pray for the government to give in to demands to cancel the cut and to continue giving the uplift or making it permanent.
The poor side of life 