Tag: food banks

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Wilkos Announces They’re In Administration Putting 12,000 Jobs At Risk

Wilko has today announced that they have entered into administration which has put 12,000 jobs at risk.

Sadly Wilko’s have found themselves unable to find emergency investment which could have saved 400 shops across the UK.

Sadly it’s likely to be the end for the business which has been trading since 1930.

In an interview conducted by BBC News the firm’s boss, Mark Jackson, has been quoted as saying ‘management had “left no stone unturned” in its attempts to save the company.

“But we must concede that with regret, we’ve no choice but to take the difficult decision to enter into administration,” he said.

What happens next?

If Wilkos fails to find another business to buy any of the shops or parts of the business out of administration they will become the biggest High Street casualty this year.

It’s expected that Administrators are to be appointed later on Thursday (today), however it will continue to trade as normal for now.

GMB union told BBC News that the collapse was “entirely avoidable”.

National officer Nadine Houghton said: “GMB has been told time and time again how warnings were made that Wilko was in a prime position to capitalise on the growing bargain retailer market, but simply failed to grasp this opportunity.”

Although the business has been struggling for some time, the depths of its problems emerged last week when it announced its intention to appoint administrators.

This gave Wilko 10 days to secure a rescue. However, it was unable to strike a deal within that timeframe.

Wilkos have had a significant level of interest which had included indicative offers that would have met all their financial criteria to recapitalise the business

But without the surety of being able to complete the deal within the necessary time frame and given the cash position, they’ve been left with no choice but to take this upsetting action.

Why is this happening?

Wilko has been struggling with sharp losses and a cash shortage for a long time now.

They had already borrowed £40m from Hilco which is a business restructuring specialist. The company had previously cut the amount of employees, had overhauled it’s leadership team and sold off a distribution centre which was vital to the running of the business.

Whilst most Wilko’s stores are in High Street locations this has proven to be very costly for them as many, not all customers have moved to shop at bigger retail parks and out-of-town locations.

The pandemic also changed the shopping habits of many combined with the cost of living crisis which is having a massive impact on high street shopping.

Sadly Wilko’s has also faced strong competition from rivals such as B&M and Home Bargains as shoppers are now seeking out bargains.

Sadly Wilko’s failed to adapt their business to the changing shopping habits of their customers which is one of the reasons why the business has entered into administration.

Richard Lim, chief executive at Retail Economics a retail consultancy commented saying that a combination of rising costs, lower customer demand and fierce competition is what ultimately pushed Wilko to “breaking point”.

“Against the backdrop of seismic shifts in consumer behaviour and the intense pressure on margins, the business was too slow to react to these mounting challenges and paid the ultimate price,” he said.

The company, founded in Leicester, is still owned by the same Wilkinson family..

When Woolworths ceased trading in 2008 they were quick to fill the gaps in the high street that were left.

Why am I writing about this in my blog?

Wilko’s has long been a staple of the high street, and is still used by many to buy essential household products. It’s accessible for those without cars and are usually easily accessed by public transport.

Retail parks are catered towards car drivers and aren’t easy for non car drivers to access.

Many of the 12,000 employees have worked there for many years and hold their work colleagues in great regard. It’s going to be an awful shock for them when they enter the world of unemployment and the cruel DWP system.

The DWP won’t have any sympathy for them and the stress that they put upon claimants is unbelievably cruel, forcing many to rely upon food banks to survive.

My thoughts and sympathies are with all Wilkos employees and their families, including their customers that relied upon the company for their shopping requirements.

It’s indeed a sad day for the high street, one that won’t be forgotten by many.

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Wilkos Announces In Administration Putting 12,000 Jobs At Risk

Wilko has today announced that they have entered into administration putting 12,000 jobs at risk.

Sadly Wilko’s have found themselves unable to find emergency investment which could have saved 400 shops across the UK.

It’s likely to be the end for the business which has been trading since 1930.

In an interview conducted by BBC News the firm’s boss, Mark Jackson, has been quoted as saying ‘management had “left no stone unturned” in its attempts to save the company.

“But we must concede that with regret, we’ve no choice but to take the difficult decision to enter into administration,” he said.

What happens next?

If Wilkos fails to find another business to buy any of the shops or parts of the business out of administration they will become the biggest High Street casualty this year.

It’s expected that Administrators are to be appointed later on Thursday (today), however it will continue to trade as normal for now.

GMB union told BBC News that the collapse was “entirely avoidable”.

National officer Nadine Houghton said: “GMB has been told time and time again how warnings were made that Wilko was in a prime position to capitalise on the growing bargain retailer market, but simply failed to grasp this opportunity.”

Although the business has been struggling for some time, the depths of its problems emerged last week when it announced its intention to appoint administrators.

This gave Wilko 10 days to secure a rescue. However, it was unable to strike a deal within that timeframe.

Wilkos have had a significant level of interest which had included indicative offers that would have met all their financial criteria to recapitalise the business

But without the surety of being able to complete the deal within the necessary time frame and given the cash position, they’ve been left with no choice but to take this upsetting action.

Why is this happening?

Wilko has been struggling with sharp losses and a cash shortage for a long time now.

They had already borrowed £40m from Hilco which is a business restructuring specialist. The company had previously cut the amount of employees, had overhauled it’s leadership team and sold off a distribution centre which was vital to the running of the business.

Whilst most Wilko’s stores are in High Street locations this has proven to be very costly for them as many, not all customers have moved to shop at bigger retail parks and out-of-town locations.

The pandemic also changed the shopping habits of many combined with the cost of living crisis which is having a massive impact on high street shopping.

Wilko’s has also faced strong competition from rivals such as B&M and Home Bargains as shoppers are now seeking out bargains.

Regrettably Wilko’s failed to adapt their business to the changing shopping habits of their customers which is one of the reasons why the business has entered into administration.

Richard Lim, chief executive at Retail Economics a retail consultancy commented saying that a combination of rising costs, lower customer demand and fierce competition is what ultimately pushed Wilko to “breaking point”.

“Against the backdrop of seismic shifts in consumer behaviour and the intense pressure on margins, the business was too slow to react to these mounting challenges and paid the ultimate price,” he said.

The company, founded in Leicester, is still owned by the same Wilkinson family..

When Woolworths ceased trading in 2008 they were quick to fill the gaps in the high street that were left.

Why am I writing about this in my blog?

Wilko’s has long been a staple of the high street, and is still used by many to buy essential household products. It’s accessible for those without cars and are usually easily accessed by public transport.

Retail parks are catered towards car drivers and aren’t easy for non car drivers to access.

Many of the 12,000 employees have worked there for many years and hold their work colleagues in great regard. It’s going to be an awful shock for them when they enter the world of unemployment and the cruel DWP system.

The DWP won’t have any sympathy for them and the stress that they put upon claimants is unbelievably cruel, forcing many to rely upon food banks to survive.

My thoughts and sympathies are with all Wilkos employees and their families, including their customers that relied upon the company for their shopping requirements.

It’s indeed a sad day for the high street, one that won’t be forgotten by many.

My photo

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, 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, NHS, NHS dentist, Payday loan, PIP, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, safe hands,, 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

DWP Wrongly Forces Universal Credit Claimants To Repay Entire Payments


According to a recent report from Child Poverty Action Group CPAG) claimants are being forced to repay their full Universal Credit (UC) award despite being entitled to it.

Why Are The DWP doing this?

During the pandemic the DWP temporarily changed some of the evidence rules to complete UC claims.

As detailed in the report by CPAG in January 2021 the DWP started to look into the claims that were made during the pandemic.

Whilst doing this the DWP have been changing the entitlement decisions given to claimants declaring that many claims have been wrongfully awarded.

Why This Shouldn’t Be Happening

CPAG have expressed their concerns that the process of retrospectively deciding claimants were not entitled to UC and beginning recovery is unlawful.



In addition, the DWP is asking for evidence of entitlement via the online journal, even from claimants that are no longer getting UC and would have no reason to check their journal.



Some claimants only find out about the alleged overpayment when they receive a letter from DWP Debt Management.

They therefore miss the one month deadline for challenging a decision and often don’t know that they could make a late challenge if they have good cause.


Shockingly, this process is set to be ramped up dramatically.

The DWPs Reaction

The DWP are employing a team of 2,000 staff to look again at 2 million claims over the next five years including, but not limited to, claims made during the pandemic.



The thought that a government department that tramples on claimants’ rights in this way is to be given powers of search, seizure and arrest, as revealed in our last newsletter, is truly frightening.


Conclusion.

It’s very concerning that the government gives the DWP the authority to stamp on a person’s legal rights in this manner.

Not only are they able to stop a claimants payments without any notice they are also set to be given powers of search, seizure and arrest, as detailed in an earlier blog post.

DWP decisions such as these are life changing and literally leave people without the ability to eat, pay their rent and to keep warm.

Combined with this is the mental toll that this puts upon claimants leaving them in a state of distress not knowing where to get help.

Claimants deserve to be treated with respect and should be given the right to reply before any permanent decisions are made by the DWP.

Not only is it morally wrong to change decisions retrospectively, moving the goalposts when it suits the DWP is despicable and should be challenged at all times.

You can find the full copy of the report here https://cpag.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/briefing/demands-repay-impact-and-legality-dwp-reverification-uc-claims

Please read, share and tweet this article. Doing so raises awareness of the real issues that affect the working class of this country.

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Thank you!

A huge thank you to everyone that reads, shares and supports my blog. I really appreciate it and I couldn’t have got through the last two years without you.

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Poor People Can’t Cook Says Lee Anderson MP

Lee Anderson Tory MP for Ashfield claimed that households in Britain can make nutritious meals on a budget of about 30p a day. He made these crass remarks during the queens speech debate in parliament.

He went on to say that his constituency administer a so called “brilliant scheme” where members of the public needing food donations have to register to join and are forced to attend mandatory budget cookery courses along side receiving food parcels.

Anderson claims that the scheme shows them how to cook cheap and nutritious meals on a budget and they can learn how to make a meal for about 30p a day, and this is cooking from scratch.

Mr Anderson went on to say that there’s not a massive use for food banks in the Uk despite record numbers of people being forced to use food banks every day. They can no longer afford to buy food and are having to make this humiliating decision.

According to Anderson poor people come from families that have generations of people from families that cannot cook properly. He went on to say that “They can’t cook a meal from scratch. They cannot budget. The challenge is there.”

Ironically this is coming from Tory MP Lee Anderson that himself claimed £220,000 in expenses last year. Maybe he should attend budgeting classes.

Andersons comments are very telling, they highlight exactly how the Conservative party,MPs, councillors and members regard the working class, in particular people that are forced to take the distressing step to use food banks.

The truth is not being able to cook runs right through the class divide, people that live very comfortable lives don’t know how to cook properly also even though they’ve got the resources to do so. Should they be forced to attend mandatory cooking lessons as well?

Most people forced to live in poverty are very good at budgeting the very little money they receive, trying to prioritising their families need for food above their own. They know exactly how much their food costs and how to work within their budget.

The real problem lies within parliament, decisions have been made that have seen energy prices soar massively with food costs increasing dramatically resulting the cost of living being unattainable for many.

Benefit payments haven’t increased with inflation nor have wages leaving the public already starting at a loss before they even start trying to budget.

The truth is working class people are masters of budgeting, they know how to account for every penny and do prioritise their basic needs. Being able to cook however doesn’t lie with the ability to cook good meals it goes beyond that. As energy prices have increased its becoming exceedingly difficult to be able to afford the gas and electric needed to do so, a point that Mr Anderson fails to mention.

For this very reason thousands of people are forced to eat cold food such as sandwiches or having to make the decision as to if its cheaper to buy ready made food that isn’t necessarily healthy but it’s cheaper than the cost of cooking a meal.

Doing this exposes them to judgement from others and often abuse on social media, after all its easier to make a scapegoat out of poor people than it is to criticise a financially well off person.

The right wing press relish in shaming working class people rather than the policies that the government creates that are the cause of food bank use. It’s also easy for them to celebrate the opening of food banks, and laugh about it when, like Mr Anderson you don’t worry about the need for them.

In reality food bank donations are decreasing because many of the people donating can no longer afford to do so. I predict hundreds of much needed food banks being forced to close leaving the people needing them without the food that they desperately need. No amount of budgeting can change this.

Mr Anderson and his kind can take their prejudiced attitudes and fuck right off. The opening of food banks should never be celebrated its sick, crass and humiliating for the uk as a whole.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog its extremely important that the truth of life under the Tory government gets out there. It raises awareness and we need this more than ever.

A huge thanks to everyone that likes, shares and supports my blog and campaign. I don’t receive any payment for the work that I do and every penny helps me to continue helping people and raising awareness.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Decision maker, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, 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, 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

I can’t afford to live now! Sunaks Spring Budget Fails the poorest And Most Vulnerable.

It doesn’t feel real does it, so many people are struggling to live with the bare minimum of essential things such as food, heating and clothing. This was echoed in a conversation that I had outside Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre today.

I’ll call him Bill, obviously I like to keep peoples names anonymous, its much better that way. It stops the DWP machine from interfering and possibly targeting him. Believe me this has happened in the past, I recorded it in a blog many years ago.

Bill lives on his own after being his mothers sole carer. Sadly his mother died and he now lives alone. Bill doesn’t have a lot, a mobile phone and a television that was gifted to him. Sadly its a smart tv so he can only access the bare minimum of channels.

You might ask why this matters, after all things like this apparently aren’t important. I, however believe that it is important because it gives a person some sense of normality, maybe a bit of enjoyment. When you’re excluded from what others class as normal it has a distinct affect on your mental wellbeing, thus making life that bit more difficult.

Bill doesn’t have access to the internet at home and relies upon his mobile phone for everything. Some say that this is a luxury but it isn’t. It’s a necessity and the DWP will sanction claimants that don’t have a phone and or access to the internet.

I took Bill for a cuppa, I sometimes do this because its a nice thing to do, something that so many won’t be able to do after April, it was then when he told me about his concerns. He’s quite rightly concerned about how he’s going to be able to pay his essential bills, not anything that you could class as a luxury. It’s the bare essentials that he needs to survive.

Bill also shared his health concerns with me and how difficult its become to get an appointment with a doctor and how hard it is for him to get his repeat prescription.

Whilst many doctors surgeries in the UK offer telephone consultations as well as face to face ones its become near impossible to do this because his surgery doesn’t offer an online service and nor do they send his repeat description digitally over to a chemist of his choice. Instead he’s left to struggle collecting his prescription up and handing it to a chemist to be processed.

We discussed the spring budget and how awful it is for unemployed and disabled people, also for people on a bare minimum wage.

The truth is that Sunak doesn’t care and it this was reflected in his spring statement.

Whilst we are faced with an energy cost crisis which will undoubtably plunge at least 10 million people into fuel poverty, leaving them without the means to heat their homes.

Sunak provided nothing to support low income households and people claiming any type of benefit or pension.

On the contrary Sunak has uprated benefits and pensions only by 3.1% which was last October’s inflation rate. This is not the 7% rate of inflation which will be the upcoming over the next few months. By doing this Sunak has directly made 9 million of the poorest and most vulnerable people approximately £500 poorer.

Neither can we forget the £1000 a year Sunak took from Universal Credit recipients in the autumn when he withdrew the £20 a week pandemic uplift. This left thousands of people distraught and struggling. So far Sunak has taken £1700 of the UK’s most vulnerable and poorest households, whilst not forgetting that disabled people didn’t even receive the £20 uplift.

Sunak then announced that he is raising the threshold at which National Insurance contributions begin to be paid. Remember, most benefit recipients do not pay NI as their incomes are too low. Neither do pensioners. So once again they do not benefit from this at all. 

Sunak also announced that he’s cutting the fuel duty whilst ignoring the fact that the poorest benefit recipients do not own a car, so they don’t benefit one bit from this. Neither do they pay income tax, so will not benefit from the 1p cut in 2024.

Theres also no information given as to how and will the poorest benefit from the £500m Sunak has given local councils. 

To put it bluntly Sunak’s statement was aimed at fellow Tory MPs whose support he wants in a future leadership election if he is to take part, but this is a cruel and heartless way of doing it. He’s basically stamping his feet upon the poorest with his only concern being himself.

This is to be expected though because Sunak is a millionaire and has no understanding of what life is really like for the majority of people in the Uk, and nor does he care to learn and sympathise with them. He’s a typical Tory, selfish and as shallow as they come, after all they’re never going to care and they don’t want to.

I shall be returning to the Jobcentre next week, health permitting.

Photo by Anthony on Pexels.com

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I don’t receive any payment for my work from any organisations, and I like many of you are reliant upon food parcels etc. To say it’s a struggle is an understatement.

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

A huge thank you to everyone that reads and shares my blog, and also to everyone that has and does support my campaign and blog. I really couldn’t do it without you.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, Elderly, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, 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

It’s expensive being poor

You might have heard this statement being made rather more these last few years. The combination of the cruel DWP system, zero hour contract work, low hourly pay and the pandemic have all ensured that being poor is now more expensive now than it has been in recent times.

Of course it has always been the case but the amount of hatred beaten upon anyone that’s poor and disabled is now worse than I ever remember it.

I’ve mentioned this many times throughout my blog posts over the years that I’ve been blogging and writing but at this moment in time I’ve never known such a hostile environment for anyone that’s poor and disabled.

Cruelty towards the poor has always existed and laws have been created to ‘deal’ with poor people go right back to medieval times and perhaps earlier. This does not excuse the modern day cruelty metered upon the poorest and most vulnerable at the very time when they need help.

The DWP (Department Of Work And Pensions) and the government are our modern day overlords that are hell bent on causing pain and suffering to those that are in need of their help.

To understand this we need to look at the DWP’s cruel system guised as Universal Credit, titled as such to give the illusion of help and support. Instead of monetary credit and help claimants are met with cruelty and a total lack of care given by the `DWP, the organisation that is supposed to be helping them.

When universal Credit was created the publicity surrounding it said that it was created to help those most in need and that claimants would be much better off financially if they applied for it, The truth is that it most people that have and do receive Universal Credit are much worse off financially than they were previously.

The cruelty doesn’t end there though. The government systematically put in place various punishments that ensure that claimants don’t receive enough money to live off. Sanctions given reducing a persons payments for so called ‘failing’ to comply, when quite often a person has complied but the cruel DWP system is never satisfied with anything that a claimant does.

Sanctions as well as monies garnished from Universal Credit payments for debts such a Council Tax and fines are the cause for many to have to use food banks in order to survive. It’s very difficult if near impossible to get the DWP to reduce a sanction and for courts and local authorities to reduce the monies paid back per week. This is a circle of poverty that’s never-ending. It’s torturous and cruel. Not one thought is given by local authorities and the DWP about how they’ll survive. They also don’t care as long as they get their money.

Being poor is expensive because although our incomes are much reduced we are still expected to pay the same bills that those better off financially pay. It’s extremely unfair but I can’t see this changing for the better in the future, I do expect it to worsen leaving more people living in extreme poverty.

Just recently it was announced that gas prices are increasing to such a high degree that we won’t be able to heat our homes no matter how small they can be. Eating is also a luxury these days for thousands. With retail prices increasing having a good substantial meal each day is more or less impossible. I often reminisce about the good old days then I was able to do so, it feels like a lifetime ago.

On top of this rents are increasing for thousands and thousands are being made homeless on a daily basis and organisations that help homeless people are overwhelmed and can’t keep up with the demand for their services.

Can you imagine how devastating it is to loose your home only to find yourself having to live on the streets relying upon begging and organisations feeding homeless people in city centres?

It’s very easy for those better off to say go to a food bank for help when many do limit their food parcels to three. When you’ve had your allotted amount you’re on your own again to try and work out how to survive. There are food banks that do help people long term and a huge thank you to them for doing so. They need support more than they’ve ever needed it before. This isn’t the answer to the problem though, its a sticking plaster on an open wound that shows no sign of healing.

Many forget how humiliating it is to be forced to ask for help, it makes people believe that they’ve failed everyone, both themselves and their families. To do this is to admit that they have nothing and feelings worthless is something that no one should be forced to feel.

Writing from experience of being poor and living in poverty £10 may as well be a million pounds. Having a decent set amount of money to spend on food, energy bills and personal care is a dream that many including myself have.

Maybe one day it’ll be achievable but realistically the government aren’t going to change into a caring machine any time soon if ever. With the opposition government not opposing enough except for the usual few whom I’m thankful for it leaves the government to do exactly what they want whenever they want.

Remember this… If someone tells you that they haven’t got a penny to their name they probably haven’t. They probably haven’t had cash to hold for a long time. It’s not a sentence that’s thrown around flippantly its the truth, its reality for thousands of people every single day of every single week of the year.

Can you imagine living like this? It’s a living hell.

I’ve not met a single person in all of the years that I’ve been helping and blogging that doesn’t want to better their situation. The government makes this near impossible. The government is responsible for our suffering and don’t ever forget this.

Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.com

Please join my colleagues and friends over at https:\\manchesterdpac.com if you live in the Greater Manchester area. They do amazing work and they provide much needed support.

I write this blog after a very stressful week for myself. I don’t publish everything that I go through on a personal level online because some things should remain private. I’m still mourning the loss of my son especially as halloween is approaching which he loved to celebrate especially with my grandchildren.

I want to make this world a better place for everyone but sometimes it’s impossible to do more than I’m doing.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog. Every share makes a massive difference to raising awareness of the governments wrong doings to the most vulnerable,.

If anyone would like to donate as long as it doesn’t put yourself in need theres a donate button at the top and side of this blog post. Every penny helps both myself and my blog continue. I don’t receive any payment for any of the work that I do and every penny makes a massive difference.

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.

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Ashton Under lyne, baby, 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, loose women, love island, 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, 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

Merry Christmas one and all.

Dear readers I write this blog on Christmas Day, a day when people are expected to celebrate and be happy.

Sadly because of the government’s cruel Universal Credit system and the torturous PIP and ESA DWP ‘medical’ assessments thousands of people won’t be able to celebrate, cook a Christmas dinner and exchange gifts.

This year is tougher than normal because we are still in the middle of a pandemic that the government is trying it’s best to ignore.

Today the UK’s official Covid death toll has surpassed 70,000 on as 570 more people died today.

Let that sink in 570 people have died from Covid 19 on Christmas day. Also a total of 70,000 people have died as a result of Covid 19.

Meanwhile the government continues to ignore this, they just don’t want to know and they certainly don’t want to help.

70,000 families will be grieving as will their friends. But hey let’s ignore them and continue to put the public at risk.

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the government actually tool some positive action, set an example to the rest of the world and protected people. This won’t happen though.

It appears that the government is in some sick competition with America about how many people will die from Covid 19.

Then we have the thousands of people now unemployed as a result of the pandemic. Now facing the inhumane universal Credit system, many can’t understand how they’re expected to survive on so little money.

Thousands of people won’t be able to give anyone presents this year, heat their home and have a Christmas dinner.

This year the queues for food banks and suchlike places have more than doubled. Families are queuing for hot meals in city centres and children and their parents are hungry because they don’t have the money to survive on.

How sickening it is that I have to use the world surviving… People shouldn’t be surviving they should be able to live, be happy and have enough money to be able to feed themselves and their children.

I want to be positive I really do but it’s extremely hard to find the good in all of this. We shouldn’t be celebrating the fact that food banks are opening and organisations and charities are working extremely hard to find food to give to hungry people.

Theres a reason why the government likes foodbanks. If given the opportunity one of their Tory MPs will see this as a photo opportunity.

Foodbanks save the government thousands of pounds every year. They also take the responsibility of feeding people away from them and moves it to the foodbanks and organisations to do this.

No wonder Tories smile so much at the thought of another foodbank opening.

Basically what I’m saying is yes please support your local foodbank but please remind the government of their duty of care towards the people of this country.

Normally we would see the government’s opposition making a speech or statement about the terrible neglect of the poorest and most vulnerable of this country. This year it’s virtually silent.

Sir Kier Starmer quite rightly made a speech about Brexit, but he failed to address the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable of this country.

As a result thousands of people are feeling neglected and unimportant and totally pissed off with the political system in general.

So what do we do now? We support each other in whatever way that we are able to.

A friendly word, a smile can sometimes be enough.

We have to be there for each other because this damned government will never never care.

A huge thank you to everyone that reads and supports my campaign and blog. Your kind words and support have kept me going throughout my own covid 19 nightmare.

Sadly I’ve got pleurisy again, thanks to long covid. Hopefully I’ll be better soon.

For anyone that would like to donate towards my campaign and blog there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog post. Thank you!

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, 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, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, 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, 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

Covid 19. What happens to the survivors and the families of those that have died?

Dear readers and subscribers it appears to be Thursday once again. I hope that you are all ok and as well as you can be.I’ve had a pretty busy week having a telephone consultation with my respitory consultant, blood tests and talking to my GP.

For covid survivors I’m one of the lucky ones. I have a doctor that listens to me and echoes mine and my consultants concerns. This is a rarity though.

Why is this a rarity you might ask, everyone should be treated this way. The sad reality is that they aren’t.Helping a patient with Covid 19 is extremely hard because they’re dealing with the unknown. Covid also presents itself differently with each and every person that catches it.

There isn’t any real ‘normal’ symptoms with Covid 19 because of this.For me, covid hit my lungs pretty hard, most likely because I already had mild asthma.

Covid likes to find a person’s weak point and attack there.

For other people they can get more neurological symptoms and not the classic symptoms. For them getting help is extremely hard.

Like my doctor said, so many doctors haven’t got a clue about how to deal with it unless they’ve had the time to research it themselves. I can imagine that finding the time to do this would be hard for them.

This leaves us with a massive problem though. Thousands of people with long covid symptoms are being ignored,some are being told that there’s nothing that can be done for them when that’s not true.

I was both unlucky and lucky enough to be admitted into hospital and this fast tracked me to the follow up care that I need. This is why I consider myself lucky in this respect.

But still thousands of people that are suffering with delibatating symptoms are being ignored, left on their own with no support at all.

Every covid survivor deserves to be listened to and to have their symptoms investigated. It’s vital that this happens. The fact that it isn’t happening is a complete travesty.

Then we have the families of loved ones that have died from Covid 19.They’re not being listened to at all.

The government is so far refusing to meet with them to discuss their needs and concerns.

Why the government refuse to meet them is unknown as of yet, but I do believe that they’re avoiding any contact with the public but my be is that they don’t want anyone challenging their extremely bad decisions

.Also add into the mix the farcical second lockdown. This lockdown won’t be successful because schools are still open etc. Unbelievable isn’t it.

We’ve also as a result of this got the real possibility of a lockdown over the Christmas period. To be honest I don’t mind this because we need to get this virus under control but so many people will suffer as a result of this possible decision.

Basically the government has done what it does best… Mess everything up, ignore the public and walk away.

This leaves the public to do the best that they can with very few resources if any.We are facing very bleak times and are going to do this with little or no Government help and it’s extremely worrying.

We have thousands of people that will be facing destitution in the coming months and they need help and representation.

We then have the terrible decision to remove Jeremy Corbyn from his position. They then allowed him to return but without the whip.

This is exactly what we don’t need at the moment. Jeremy deserves to be given the whip etc back.

The labour party should be united to fight the Tories against their terrible decisions that they’re making about the pandemic etc.

Instead it’s divided the party and members are leaving. Would it be too much to ask for some real united opposition?Can they please stop this witch hunt and focus on the government’s faults instead?

I urge them to think about this.

Thousands of people have died as a result of contracting covid and their families need help and support.

Thousands of people are ill with Covid and they need support.Thousands of people suffering from long covid need support.

They all need this support to come from the government’s opposition.We need this now.

I’m eight months into my long covid battle and it’s been awful. I’m trying to keep strong and fight back but it’s hard at times.

I don’t think that I could have done it without the help and support from my online friends

.For those without this online support it can and is a very dark and lonely place to be. Please spare a thought for them.

I’m going to end it there because I have to go and collect my meds.
Please keep safe you are important and I do care about you all.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog.
I don’t get any funding for anything that you do.

Having covid has put an enormous strain on my finances.

For anyone that would like to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog.

Thank you to everyone that reads and supports my blog and campaign.

Ashton Under lyne, baby, 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, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, loose women, love island, 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, 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

It’s official the government wants children to be hungry.

Well yesterday the government hit an all time low. Not only have they purposely neglected to protect the public from Covid 19, they’re now allowing our children to become hungry.

As a covid 19 sufferer I know exactly how vicious this virus can be. Thousands have does from it and the secondary infections that follow.

Thousands of people have also lost their jobs as a direct result of Covid 19.

The government have been woefully neglectant in the so called support that they’re giving the public. They even plan to take away the extra £20 top up money for universal credit and tax credit claimants in April.

It might not sound like a lot to many, and it isn’t but it is helping people to survive this covid 19 nightmare.

This week Andy Burnham and the other metro mayor’s took a stand against the governments covid phase strategy.

I live in the Greater Manchester area and the monies offered to our local councils weren’t enough to help anyone.

Thankfully Andy won his fight in parliament this week, but it’s a bitter pill to swallow.

It’s not enough to compensate people, nor will it make a big difference in the R rates. I’m a big believer in a full lockdown for at least two weeks, and everyone should be adequately compensated.

Yesterday a motion was put forward in parliament to ensure that all children would receive free school meals in the autumn and Christmas holidays.

Despite putting up a good fight, Tory MPs voted it down. They don’t care if our children are hungry, not do they care if we die from Covid 19.

Boris Johnson’s cruel, evil Government voted down a motion which would have prevented a million kids going hungry over the half term & Christmas holidays.

This is proof that they don’t care and will never care. Some Tory MPs are disgusted in their behaviour as are some ex Tory MPs.

The fact is that the Tory party has always been cruel and judgemental. They believe that the working class person is responsible for their own poverty, and they fail to acknowledge that they are the ones responsible for this.

If they could they’d round us all up and throw us in workhouses again like they did in the old days. Maybe this is why they always hark on about the good old days.

They now claim that eating is a choice that we have to make and it isn’t a necessity. They claim that all working class parents are bad parents because they can no longer afford to feed their children and themselves.

The truth is that the majority of parents living in poverty are bloody good parents. They feed their children before themselves and often go without meals to do so.

I honestly was waiting for the day that the government would stoop as low to suggest that eating food is a choice. That our children don’t deserve to eat, that they must go hungry at any cost.

They actually want our children to be hungry.

The ramifications of child hunger don’t just end when a child grows up. Not only does it hinder development it also causes health problems that continue throughout their lifetime. It also can cut their lifespan short.

We’ve already seen the return of Victorian illnesses and this is going to become a whole lot worse.

Combine hunger and the covid 19 and you create the perfect storm. The covid 19 virus loves to target a person with a weakened immune system, so I expect the child and adult mortality rates concerning covid 19 to rise substantially.

Being poor is no joke, I know because I’m in this situation myself, and the lack of care and consideration from the government never fails to anger me. Some high poverty areas voted for the Tory party because they were more concerned about Brexit than their well-being. This has bit them on the bum big time and hopefully they regret their actions now.

It’s going to be a struggle for many to donate food to food banks as more and more people are plunged into poverty yet the need for them will be greater than ever.

The Tory party actually like the fact that we are literally begging for food to survive. They love it, it brings back memories of the deserving and undeserving poor, only now no one’s deserving.

God help you if you’re northern and working class. They don’t even hide their hatred of us.

We all need to be angry about this, we need to remind them that we won’t be walked over like this. That every human being deserves a good quality of life. This isn’t an extremists views it’s a basic necessity.

So what will happen to the odious, lazy prime minister Johnson?

Johnson has been a failure since day one and I’m certain that he only got the job because of what he’s got on everyone else.

There is a time though that the Tory party will have to do some damage limitation. They’ve now lost thousands of supporters and if there was a general election in the near future they could well loose.

Will they do the dirty on him and get rid? Who knows but what I do care about is the future of our children.

I’m a Thatcher’s child, I grew up in a time where the working class was hated and poverty was everywhere.

I grew up with a lot of anger about this and a determination to try and help others and to try and change things.

I’m positive that our children will never, ever forget the cruelty inflicted upon them. They will fight back like I have I just hope that they’re more successful than I’ve been.

Health-wise I’m still not 100%, I’m struggling to stop coughing and to get my breathing back to normal. Yesterday I had to go out to do some errands and I felt awful, trying to breathe and beat exhaustion.

Please keep safe everyone and let’s continue to fight the heartless Tories. We can’t allow them to continue their cruelty towards the working class and also northern England.

It’s not the desolate north it’s beautiful with amazing people living there.

My thoughts go to other areas entering phase three of the so called governments covid strategy and also to the areas entering phase two.

We were in phase two for ages and you can get through this.

Now is the time to ignore the conspiracy theorists and to follow the hygiene and mask rules.

We need to beat this virus and every precaution helps.

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Thank you to everyone that supports and reads my blog and campaign. Thank you so much!!!

I don’t receive any payment for any of the work that I do. If anyone would like to donate this would really help me. There’s a donation button at the top and side of this blog post. Thank you!