New claimants with mobilising issues will be the largest group hit by the proposed changes to the work capability assessment (WCA) planned for 2025, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has predicted.
Those that have severe mental health conditions will also be hit hard.
The OBR has estimated that by 2028-29 there will be;
Approximately 371,000 additional claimants placed in limited capability for work (LCW) group and not the limited capability for work-related activity (LCWRA) group. This is happening because of changes being made to the mobilising descriptors.
Approximately 230,000 additional claimants will be placed in LCW group rather the LCWRA group because of the upcoming changes to the substantial risk regulations.
Approximately 29,000 claimants will be placed in the intensive work search group rather than the LCW group because of the future changes that are being made to the ‘getting about’ points score.
It was confirmed as evidence to the Commons Work and Pensions Committee in parliament last month that the DWP is still intending to introduce the changes to the WCA in 2025 and that they will only affect new claims.
It is also estimated that by 2029, over 600,000 people will miss out on the additional payments that they would have if they were still in the LCWRA group.
As a result of these changes it has been reported that almost a quarter of a million claimants many of the those with mental health conditions, will knowingly have their health and wellbeing put at risk.
It has also been estimated that only one or two percent of these claimants will actually be able to find work because most of these claimants either aren’t well enough. Also many workplaces cannot make the required alterations to their workplace to make it disabled friendly.
These changes have been implemented to save them money, to give more tax cuts to those that are already getting a good deal.
To take away a person’s vital payments and to make them look for work that they won’t be able to do is unbelievably cruel.
How many of these already extremely vulnerable people will be sanctioned or forced to do tasks that they aren’t capable of.
It’s unacceptable to treat people like this and all of us should be angry about this I know that I am.
There’s no price that can be put on a person’s life but this cruel and calculated government will continue to throw as much hatred as they can before the next general election.
They don’t care and no one should expect them to either.
I approached the new year with great trepidation thinking about what horrors the government could inflict on us. I didn’t have to wait long.
It has been officially announced that HMRC are going to look into the accounts of people that sell their old clothing and belongings on Vinted and EBay.
HMRC are also going to investigate Air B&B hosts and people that work for Uber, Deliveroo and suchlike.
The majority of people that sell on platforms such as Vinted and EBay are just ordinary folk struggling to pay bills etc and are doing this as a last resort.
Whilst I accept that there are some that make a fair bit of money doing this and they should pay tax on what they earn the majority don’t.
For example they might be selling things to pay for a funeral of a loved one, to buy the basics such as food and energy and just to get by.
As the cost of living crisis continues to worsen the amount of people forced to sell their much loved things and aren’t doing this with joy.
Let’s look at it another way, it’s easier for the government to financially attack poorer people because it’s easier for them to squeeze money from them. They like to kick a working class person whilst they are down and not give them any help I mean how dare they.
This will undoubtedly scare people from selling their unwanted clothing etc on these sites not because they want to avoid paying tax but because of the massive invasion of privacy granted to HMRC.
I’m not a paranoid person, far from it but I’m extremely worried about the amount of powers given to HMRC and the DWP. At the touch of a button they can learn everything about us and this does make me very concerned.
At the same time they don’t investigate their tax evading millionaire and billionaire friends though, they don’t intend to either.
This comes at a great cost to the country as a whole and our economy isn’t going to improve until this is tackled.
Money makes money something they still fail to recognize.
So why are they doing this?
It’s classic Tory handbook stuff, distracting the public from their wrongs by attacking the poorest in society. They do it time and time again it’s what they do best.
We need to stop this rot from the top and the constant attacking of working class people. Investigations of the governments involvement with their tax avoiding multi million pound business pals.
Can you imagine how much better off the UK would be if they actually paid their taxes.
One thing for sure, Tory corruption won’t stop any time soon but we need to take away their governmental power and start rebuilding the mess that they’re going to leave behind.
I truly hope that this year treats you better than the previous one, you deserve better, we all do
I hope you all enjoy the festive period even though I know it’s tough for so many of us.
Here over at The Poor Side Of Life HQ it’s going to be a quiet one, to be honest I’m not really celebrating it.
Of course I’ll make sure that my daughter enjoys Christmas but as a single parent and having no family etc to celebrate with it’ll be quiet.
I’m going to take the time to reflect and maybe get some rest, it’ll be a welcome change.
Don’t feel pressured into celebrating Christmas if you don’t want to. Christmas is a tough time for so many of us, remembering times past and people long gone.
I’m here if you’re on your own and want to chat.
A huge thanks to everyone that reads and shares my blog posts it really does mean the world to me.
And as for the Tories they can get to feck. I have zero time for them.
According to the latest DWP statistics that have been released reveal that 522,690 UC claimants have been sanctioned in the previous year to July 2023.
They show that in July 2023 49,000 new sanctions were applied.
These figures are very concerning with 6.48% of the claimants sanctioned is now almost reaching the peak rate in October 2022.
According to the statistics 96.5% of sanctions were applied for failure to attend or participate in a mandatory interview.
However these statistics don’t reveal the claimants reasons for not attending or participating in mandatory interviews.
One of the most common reasons for the above is not receiving any communication from the DWP that would inform them of these appointments. For more information about this please see a previous blog post titled ‘The case of the missing letters’
Other reasons for non attendance include illness, childcare commitments and not being able to physically attend an appointment.
Of course claimants can appeal these decisions but it isn’t easy to do and many still don’t know that they can do this.
It’s also important to know that sanction decisions are made by work coaches and are often based upon opinion not fact.
For example if they explain to their work coach that they couldn’t attend because of illness, the work coach will decide if this is a good enough reason to do so.
Also in the event that an appointment letter hasn’t been received by the claimant the onus is on the DWP to prove that it’s been delivered.
Of course they can’t prove this, indeed I’ve helped in cases when the letters hadn’t been sent in the first place and I actually saw them still in a claimants paperwork.
It’s especially concerning that we are going through a cost of living and energy cost crisis. The prices of everything appear to be rising daily and many essentials are no longer affordable.
The cost of turning heating on is also impossible for many, and as we are heading towards what will be an extremely cold winter being sanctioned is unnecessarily cruel.
Despite the right wing media portraying the amount of Universal Credit is too much in reality payments are already barely enough to survive on.
It’s also vital to know that debts such as council tax debt repayments and suchlike are garnished from UC payments before they receive them. This leaves claimants with barely enough to buy the very basics needed.
As a result of this an ever increasing amount of people, working and not working are becoming dependent upon food banks. Food banks are also struggling to keep up with the increasing demand because of the cost of living crisis, leaving many that used to donate food unable to do so anymore.
Sanctioning already vulnerable people in the midst of a very serious cost of living crisis and a cold winter is beyond cruel.
Taking away a person’s very means of survival is totally unacceptable, with the ramifications of this lasting a long time, some never recover from it.
We need to start campaigning against sanctioning again because there’s never been a more important time to do so.
3.8 Million people in the UK have experienced destitution In 2022 including One Million Children new report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation finds.
This is almost two and a half times the number of people in 2017, and nearly triple the number of children. There is a desperately urgent need for action to tackle destitution in the UK.
The legal definition of destitution is ‘the inability to afford the absolute basics required to maintain a healthy life: food, shelter and warmth’. Let this sink in… 3.8 million people and 1 million children are forced to live like this through no fault of their own and I expect these figures to rise every year until a politician, maybe even a future prime minister is actually brave enough and committed to tackle this and do something about it.
I say brave because from where I’m sitting save but a few opposition politicians that are brave and committed enough to challenge and to stand up and speak about it, many of the others continue to drone on about ‘working people’ whilst ignoring those most in need.
It’s totally shameful, a true reflection of how the government regard the people living in the UK, you know the ones that don’t have huge trust funds, have friends in high places and the ability to avoid paying tax. Instead theres an ever increasing number of people struggling to afford to meet their most basic physical needs to stay warm, dry, clean and fed.
Not only does this have deep and profound impacts on health, mental health and people’s prospects, indeed mortality, it also puts strain on already overstretched services. Nearly three-quarters of people experiencing destitution are in receipt of social security payments, further evidence of benefit inadequacy. Ad-hoc and totally unrealistic support from the Government, first during the pandemic and now to help with the cost of living, hasn’t halted the rising level of destitution, namely because this help doesn’t even touch the sides. What is needed is to actually admit that this is happening and an outstanding ambitious programme of action to address destitution and its corrosive impacts that doesn’t pander to those that have caused these increasing figures. It comes as no surprise that Rishi Sunack has decided to give bankers another a massive windfall for Bankers.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation that conducted this report have several recommendations that would help to take people out of destitution and they are as follows;
Universal Credit should have an ‘Essentials Guarantee’ to ensure everyone has a protected minimum amount of support to afford essentials such as food and household bills. An independent process should determine the Essentials Guarantee level, based on the cost of essentials. Universal Credit’s basic rate would need to at least meet this minimum amount, and deductions would not be allowed to reduce support below that level.
Undertake wider reforms to social security, including: lowering the limit on deductions from benefits to repay debts; reforming sanctions so people are not left with zero or extremely low income; and ensure people can access disability benefits they are entitled to.
Ensuring cash-first emergency financial assistance is available in all areas, along with free and impartial advice services to address the crushing debt, benefits and housing issues that keep people destitute.
Enable everyone in our communities to access help in an emergency whether they have ‘no recourse to public funds’ or not – and resource local authorities to meet this additional need. Local authorities, charities, independent funders and housing providers should also work together to prevent destitution and homelessness for people with restricted entitlement.
Of course more than this is needed but it’s a start, sad to say that unless theres a change of government and the future labour government actually putting those in most need first because at the moment people aren’t living they’re existing until they die.
Northern council leaders have warned that 27,000 new jobs would not be created if HS2’s northern leg is scrapped
Recently Cheshire and Warrington’s council leaders and the region’s LEP have written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressing their deep concern over the rumours that the government is seriously considering scrapping of HS2’s northern leg.
The letter has been signed by Cllr Sam Corcoran, leader of Cheshire East Council, Cllr Craig Browne, deputy leader of Cheshire East Council, Cllr Louise Gittins, leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, Cllr Russ Bowden, leader of Warrington Borough Council and Clare Hayward, chair of Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership.
In it they say that scrapping the northern leg will undoubtably worsen the north-south divide thus effectively leaving the government’s so called levelling up agenda meaningless.
However Rishi Sunak is reportedly reviewing how the cost of HS2 can be ‘controller’s he states that the cost of delivering it has apparently crippled since its conception. Sunak appears to have no qualms in cancelling the northern leg, after all the fact that he’s considering it speaks volumes in itself. For those in Greater Manchester it’s the worst scenario after putting years of hard work into plans and policies and vast amounts of money.
Once again the north has been promised the earth, but all it seems we’ll get is scorched earth,” said one council leader “For the government to even be thinking about scrapping the northern leg is just madness and I find it difficult to comprehend the logic behind it.”
Another added ominously: “If the north of England is largely left out of the HS2 loop, the north-south divide is almost certainly going to grow wider.”
The HS2 project was created by Gordon Brown’s Labour government in 2009 and was envisaged to link some of the country’s largest cities and towns to London, though the Midlands up to Manchester from Euston.The 225mph railway was originally planned to run from Euston to Manchester and Leeds via Birmingham.
However the planned HS2 extension to Leeds was ended in November, 2021 then followed in the following March that the planned construction between Birmingham and Crewe would be delayed by two years, and that promised services might not reach central London until the 2040s.
But it’s not just about the physical creation of providing high speed train travel. It came with the promise from the government that this project would help Greater Manchester to level up and help to realign regional imbalances after the government acknowledged that the north is neglected north.
Along with this came the promises of what HS2 could bring to Manchester and the north. Amongst these and not excluding others, reduced journey times as intercity trains currently operated by Avanti West Coast would be taken off the West Coast Main Line and better capacity and links around the region and other counties through NPR.
A new Manchester Piccadilly HS2 station was also proposed which would also will incorporate Northern Powerhouse Rail links that would importantly unlock east-west journeys thus potentially boosting the UK’s economy and productivity, as well as Manchesters.
The leader of Manchester city council, Bev Craig, gave an impassioned plea to government in June, urging HS2 to be built right – and built once – here, with a four-platform underground station rather than a station above ground running into Manchester on concrete stilts, as proposed by HS2 Ltd. HS2 in Manchester, she said, would result in subsequent regeneration bringing in more jobs, residents and visitors to the city centre – plans she described as a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’.
The government has always rejected the underground argument for Manchester as too costly. But reports suggest Mr Sunak could offer an underground station for Piccadilly and reallocate savings made on HS2 to rail in the north in a bid to placate local leaders – that or a HS2 delay to Manchester of many years, saying that scrapping HS2 to Manchester, she said, would mean levelling-up ‘is dead’.
“The government has not officially communicated any intention to us about what they plan to do around HS2 to Manchester,” Coun Craig said. “As of yet, there is no clear indication from government as to what action will be taken.
That’s why Andy Burnham and I have written to the Prime Minister demanding a meeting to get an update on the current status of the line and to continue to make the strong case that HS2 should not be scrapped to Manchester because to do so wouldn’t just bring long-term financial consequences for the country, but would also be the final nail in the coffin for levelling-up.”
She said there’s been no response – and there was no prior warning. “What you would be ending up with from a north to London line is something that runs from outer London to the Midlands, and doesn’t even go into the capital,” she added.
“One of the reasons that we are so committed to pushing HS2 to Manchester is not just for the economic growth that it brings, but also the huge opportunity that it offers. Because HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail – HS2 north to south, NPR getting across the north, connecting towns and cities – they need each other.
“Network Rail has said that if you were to scrap HS2 to Manchester, NPR would cost an extra £15bn. HS2 would provide the platform that NPR needs.”
She described HS2 as the ‘building blocks’. “It’s about faster trains, but it’s also about capacity. Manchester’s railways are full,” said Coun Craig. “HS2 would take all of the London trains and put them on a separate line, and that gives more capacity for the other lines to use existing tracks.
“NPR – fast connections east to west in the north of England – would also use some of that same track, they would use the track that is currently planned between Manchester Piccadilly and the airport.
“Political short-termism shouldn’t be creating long-term decisions that will create long-term economic harm. The government needs to give absolute certainty that the investment that was promised to the north will not be reneged on. We see time and time and time again commitments falling away. Where in the north of England, Greater Manchester, we are promised something, and it doesn’t follow through.
“If they do scrap HS2 and there isn’t a coherent plan, it’s for the people of Greater Manchester to drawn their own conclusions. But the conclusions that I am hearing from many Mancunians is that it gives a sign that the government simply don’t care what they think, or don’t care what the needs of businesses are, many of which are also very frustrated at the moment.
This is extremely important for the people of the north west who are desperate for job creation and future funding for already run down council budgets. As more people are losing their jobs due to previously solid department stores such as Wilkos there isn’t enough decently paid employment to cover the need.
As the public in the north west complain that their town centres are run down with shops and markets closing, the blame clearly lies with the government for taking away obscene amounts of council funding and preventing possible job creation such like those above.
While this governments in power I can’t see that any so called levelling up will happen, its just another meaningless term created by the government to keep the public quiet.
Lastly I have a big ask, one which I don’t like making.
To say I’m struggling financially at the moment is an understatement, as it stands I can’t afford to pay both my home internet bill, my mobile phone credit top up and also the everyday things that we need to continue.
I don’t want to have to give up blogging but I may have to considering the above.
Sadly I’m also still living with long covid which is physically and mentally exhausting and my anxiety is really bad on some days.
Any help will directly help me to continue with my work.
The DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) have recently announced that they have begun a consultation concerning changing the WCA (Work Capability Assessment).
The DWP would like to make it harder for claimants that are found to have LCWRA) Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity for universal credit.
They also want this to apply to claimant’s that qualify to be in the support group of ESA.
The consultation document declared that the proposed alterations would apply to four activities:
How a claimant mobilises
How they control their bladder and bowels.
How they cope with social engagement and their ability to go out and manage daily life.
Out of all the proposed alterations by far the worst has got to be their plans to stop all of the above activities as well as the substantial risk rule.
Whilst the government doesn’t regard this rule to be important it’s in many cases the only way that people with severe mental health conditions can enter the LCWRA group.
The DWP’s reasoning for these for these cuts is that since the pandemic employment has changed and there are more opportunities to work from home.
They then argue that if claimants no longer have to travel or mix with other people in order to work they will be able to manage their health conditions at home whilst also earning a living.
Yeah working from home isn’t going to be a miracle cure is it.
The DWP also conveniently fails to recognize that at the time of writing claimants that are in the LCWRA group don’t get any support when looking for work.
The DWP however reveals how cruel and sick they are. In what could be likened to the Charles Dickens character Scrooge they regard taking away the additional and vital £390 a month they receive as a kindness.
If this isn’t bad enough they also plan to move them into the limited capability for work group and therefore put them at risk of being sanctioned and great distress.
The DWP try to explain this in their consultation document:
“It is not right that so many people are left without support, and we must not hold people back from opportunity.”
According to the consultation document, any changes will be legislated in 2024 and come into force in 2025.
They will affect new claimants from 2025 and existing claimants when their award is reviewed from 2025 onwards.
These proposals are also separate from the plan to entirely abolish the WCA from no earlier than 2026/27 for new claimants and 2029 for existing claimants.
The timetable for slashing the support group would allow any proposed savings to be included in the government’s future spending plans and could be announced in the Autumn statement.
This would then enable the Tories to offer tax cuts for the already wealthy which will be funded by welfare savings as part of their forthcoming election manifesto.
The consultation on the proposals lasts until 30 October.
It’s important to take part in this consultation because they need to see that there is a strong opposition to their plans and will show that there isn’t public support for them also.
It could possibly help to stop or show them that their continuation of their hateful treatment of disabled people isn’t popular and is the wrong thing to do.
Hi there I hope you are all ok and are trying to cope in these godforsaken awful times. Just when you think it’s got as bad as it can be the government comes up with something else to torment us.
I’ve decided to write a blog similar to the ones that I used to do when I started out all those years ago. Back in the day things were bad but it’s a whole lot worse now.
Life has certainly changed beyond recognition, services that we had to support people and communities are long gone, working class labour controlled local authorities have had their funding stripped and it’s now virtually impossible to heat and eat.
I often find myself walking around my local town remembering how lovely it used to look compared to now.
It’s run down in parts mainly because the funding that used to be available isn’t available any longer. The government has provided some funding but it can only be spent on designated projects and not urgently needed ones.
It’s the same in most working class towns. Shops are shutting because people no longer have any spare money and have to concentrate on essential things.
A good economy can’t be created by not investing in communities something the government fails to realise
It’s easy to be quick to blame local authorities for the decline of our town centres whilst forgetting that it’s essentially the governments fault for denying much needed funding. If they don’t have the money it can’t be done can it.
Anger should be directed towards the government for their part in the destruction of local communities.
It’s a class war for sure.
Back in the day myself and fellow campaigners DPAC and Black Triangle predicted that things would get bad and we weren’t kidding. I remember being called an extremist and I was making it up.
We weren’t wrong were we.
One thing I do know is that we’re all struggling at the moment and with autumn quickly approaching the worry of keeping warm is upon us.
How will we manage? God knows but I predict there’ll be many casualties this year. It’s soul destroying but I fear that this too is becoming normalised just like foodbank usage has been.
Despite all of the above I like the town that I live in, I can escape to the countryside by walking up the road and I appreciate it now that I’m able to do this.
Keep strong everyone we can get through this because we’ve got each other and they can’t take that away from us.
Hi there I hope you are all ok and are trying to cope in these godforsaken awful times. Just when you think it’s got as bad as it can be the government comes up with something else to torment us.
I’ve decided to write a blog similar to the ones that I used to do when I started out all those years ago. Back in the day things were bad but it’s a whole lot worse now.
Life has certainly changed beyond recognition, services that we had to support people and communities are long gone, working class labour controlled local authorities have had their funding stripped and it’s now virtually impossible to heat and eat.
I often find myself walking around my local town remembering how lovely it used to look compared to now.
It’s run down in parts mainly because the funding that used to be available isn’t available any longer. The government has provided some funding but it can only be spent on designated projects and not urgently needed ones.
It’s the same in most working class towns. Shops are shutting because people no longer have any spare money and have to concentrate on essential things.
A good economy can’t be created by not investing in communities something the government fails to realise
It’s easy to be quick to blame local authorities for the decline of our town centres whilst forgetting that it’s essentially the governments fault for denying much needed funding. If they don’t have the money it can’t be done can it.
Anger should be directed towards the government for their part in the destruction of local communities.
It’s a class war for sure.
Back in the day myself and fellow campaigners DPAC and Black Triangle predicted that things would get bad and we weren’t kidding. I remember being called an extremist and I was making it up.
We weren’t wrong were we.
One thing I do know is that we’re all struggling at the moment and with autumn quickly approaching the worry of keeping warm is upon us.
How will we manage? God knows but I predict there’ll be many casualties this year. It’s soul destroying but I fear that this too is becoming normalised just like foodbank usage has been.
Despite all of the above I like the town that I live in, I can escape to the countryside by walking up the road and I appreciate it now that I’m able to do this.
Keep strong everyone we can get through this because we’ve got each other and they can’t take that away from us.
The poor side of life 