Second court case to challenge ILF closure in England and Wales launched

Save-ILF-Postcard-Pic-300x213

 

PRESS RELEASE – For immediate release

Judicial review launched of repeat DWP decision to close the Independent Living Fund

The Department of Work and Pensions is facing a judicial review challenge by a group of disabled people of the decision of Minister for Disabled People Mike Penning to close the Independent Living Fund (ILF) in June 2015, taken just weeks after the Court of Appeal quashed a previous, almost identical decision as being unlawful.  ILF provides vital support and funding to some 18,000 severely disabled people in the UK to enable them to live independent and fulfilling lives.  To be eligible people must already receive a substantial care package from local authority social services, but ILF funding provides a top-up for those with particularly high support needs. The ILF system was set up in 1988 in recognition of the fact that more severely disabled people are at high risk of social exclusion and face particular barriers to independent living and working, but their needs in this regard were not adequately addressed by council provision with its focus on meeting basic needs.   The claimants, represented by Deighton Pierce Glynn and Scott-Moncrieff & Associates, fear that loss of ILF support would threaten their right to live with dignity, and they may be forced into residential care or lose their ability to participate in work and everyday activities on an equal footing with other people.

The Court of Appeal had ruled in November 2013 that the previous closure decision had breached the public sector equality duty in the Equality Act because the Minister had not been given adequate information to be able to properly assess the practical effect of closure on the particular needs of ILF users and their ability to live independently.

However following the new closure decision announced on 6th March 2014, the DWP admitted that in considering the proposal once again it had not consulted with any organisations or individuals outside of Government. It had not gathered any additional information from local authorities or other sources about what level or type of support former ILF users would receive from social services once the ILF element was removed and how many people would be likely to go into residential care or lose their ability to work or study.

The new legal challenge is on the same basis as the first that once again the Minister had not discharged the public sector equality duty because he did not have adequate information to be able to properly understand what the impact of closure would be on the particular people affected. This made it impossible to properly weigh up the pros and cons of the proposal with the necessary focus on removing disadvantages for disabled people, meeting their needs, increasing participation in public life and advancing equality that the law requires in all decisions by Government.

The Claimants are asking the court to again quash the decision to close the Fund.

Notes

  1. The ILF is a body of the DWP but under the management of independent trustees. Since it was created in 1988 it has helped many thousands of disabled people to live independent lives. It has targeted support at the most severely disabled people in the UK who face the greatest barriers to independent living, and has also played a key role in overseeing social services provision from local authorities for this group of people, to ensure that the combined ILF/local authority support packages meet criteria of promoting independence and inclusion and avoid unnecessary escalation of costs from people being cut off from their communities .  In 2010 the Fund was closed to new applicants because the Government had reduced the amount of money it gave to the Fund.  It is now proposing that the Fund close completely in 2015, leaving users to rely on local authority adult care services.  This is at a time when the funding for local authorities is being dramatically reduced and many authorities are cutting services for disabled people.

 

  1. Further information, including individuals’ stories, on the campaign against the closure of ILF is available at the DPAC website: http://www.dpac.uk.net/.

 

260 thoughts on “Second court case to challenge ILF closure in England and Wales launched

  1. Decency says:

    Oppose Welfare Destruction and Victimisation of the Poor

    Support Social Justice and Let this Land come Out of it’s Trance of
    Obliviousness

    Money For Welfare Not for MPS Expenses

  2. Humanity2012 says:

    There is Money to Fund Welfare it is Just that it is Wasted upon Nuclear
    Weapons EU Membership and MPS Expenses

  3. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “BIASED SUPERMARKET JUSTICE FROM THE DWP”

    HAVING READ ARTICLE SIX, SECTION ONE OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT, I AM IN NO DOUBT THAT OUR GOVERNMENT, ESPECIALLY THE DWP, BREACH THE MEANING OF THIS LAW, AT EVERY CHANCE……………

    Article 6 reads as follows.
    “ 1.In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. Judgment shall be pronounced publicly but the press and public may be excluded from all or part of the trial in the interest of morals, public order or national security in a democratic society, where the interests of juveniles or the protection of the private life of the parties so require, or the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice.

    AFTER COMPLAINING THAT A JUDGE REFUSED TO STEP DOWN FROM MY ESA TRIBUNAL (RECUSAL DUE TO BIAS), I WAS SENT THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION FROM THE HM COURTS AND TRIBUNALS SERVICE;

    ” Many judges will see the same customers over and over again, but that does not disqualify them. It is for the tribunal judge to decide, in the exercise of his power to regulate procedure………………….

    TO PUT THIS IN A NUTSHELL, WHEN APPEARING AT A TRIBUNAL IN SCARBOROUGH FOR ESA, I WAS CONFRONTED BY THE SAME JUDGE AND HIS SIDEKICK DOCTOR WHO HAD REMOVED MY DISABILITY LIVING ALLOWANCE SOME WEEKS EARLIER.

    FROM THE ONSET I DECLARED THAT I WOULD NOT BE JUDGED BY HIM AS THERE WAS A STRONG POSSIBILITY OF BIAS, WHICH THERE WAS.
    CONSEQUENTLY, I WALKED OUT IN DISGUST, AFTER THE JUDGE DECIDED THE CASE WOULD CONTINUE IN MY ABSENCE.
    THE SYSTEM IS NEITHER, INDEPENDENT, FAIR OR IMPARTIAL, THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS CROOKED.

    I HAD PREVIOUSLY HAD MY BENEFITS REMOVED BY THIS JUDGE AND HAD INFORMED HIM THAT I WAS LIVING FROM HAND TO MOUTH EXISTING ON £32.30 PER WEEK SINCE LAST JULY.

    YOU ARE BEING DEALT SUPERMARKET JUSTICE BY THE SAME OLD FACES THAT ARE FILLING THEIR POCKETS ON THE MISERY THEY DISH OUT ON A DAILY BASIS.

  4. Stepping Razor says:

    Trio launch fresh court battle to save ILF – [Disabilityy News Service 6th June 2014] John Pring

    Three disabled people who use the Independent Living Fund (ILF) have launched a fresh legal bid to halt its “unlawful” closure.

    Lawyers for the trio have told the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that they are seeking a judicial review of its decision to close the fund, a government-resourced trust which helps about 18,000 disabled people with the highest support needs to live independently.

    Many campaigners believed the battle had been won when five ILF-users secured victory in the court of appeal last November.

    The court ruled in November that the closure decision had breached the Equality Act’s public sector equality duty, because disabled people’s minister Esther McVey had not been given adequate information to assess the effect on ILF-users and their ability to live independently.

    But the judgment meant only that the government had to reconsider its closure decision, this time paying “proper attention” to its legal obligations.

    Mike Penning, the new minister, told MPs in March that he had completed that duty and had decided to go ahead with the original decision to close ILF and transfer non-ring-fenced funding to local authorities, although he delayed the closure date by three months until 30 June 2015.

    But DWP admitted that in reconsidering the closure decision it had failed to consult any individuals or organisations outside government.

    It also failed to gather any additional information from local authorities or other sources about what level or type of support former ILF-users would receive from social services once ILF was removed, or how many people would be likely to have to go into residential care or lose their ability to work or study.

    Now three of the disabled campaigners who took the original court action – Stuart Bracking, Gabriel Pepper and John Aspinall – are renewing the legal fight to save ILF from closure.

    Bracking told Disability News Service: “Gabriel, John and I are starting another legal challenge because it is vital we do everything legally we can to stop the closure of the fund, and reverse the flawed decision made by the new minister for disabled people in March.

    “When Mike Penning decided the fund should now close in June 2015, he still did not adequately address the personal consequences for many severely disabled people if their lives are restricted by limited support in the community or the appalling prospects that await those with ’round-the-clock’ needs who will be institutionalised.

    “It is clear from more and more stories from different parts of England that Independent Living Fund-users are already facing deep cuts to their care packages or are being given warnings by social workers what to expect when the Care Act is fully implemented from April 2015.”

    Bracking and Pepper are represented by Louise Whitfield, of solicitors Deighton Pierce Glynn, while Kate Whittaker, of Scott-Moncrieff, is representing Aspinall.

    Whitfield and Whittaker say that Penning has breached the public sector equality duty in a similar way to McVey, because he “did not have adequate information to be able to properly understand what the impact of closure would be” on ILF-users.

    They say this made it impossible to “properly weigh up the pros and cons of the proposal with the necessary focus on removing disadvantages for disabled people, meeting their needs, increasing participation in public life and advancing equality that the law requires in all decisions by government”.

    They believe that DWP’s latest equality analysis failed to reflect what the court of appeal described as “the inevitable and considerable adverse impact which the closure of the fund will have”.

    They are calling on DWP to withdraw its closure decision, which they say is unlawful.

    6 June 2014

    DisabilityNewsService: –
    http://disabilitynewsservice.com/2014/06/trio-launch-fresh-court-battle-to-save-ilf/

  5. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    …………………Personally, i think the only reason for the government to stop the ILF fund was because they expected that the existing measures would have killed all the long term socially excluded disabled by now………

    The hidden mortality statistics form a diary of the DWP cull of those less fortunate within our world.

    PENNING AND HIS TWISTED BRETHREN ARE SELECTED FOR ONE PURPOSE ONLY, DISABILITY DENIAL ON AN EPIC SCALE NEVER SEEN SEEN SINCE THE HOLOCAUST……………………

  6. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “THESE ARE JUST TWO QUOTES MADE BY THE DWP WITHIN A COUPLE OF WEEKS OF EACH OTHER”

    1/ Atos is contracted to support the delivery of learning of Decision Makers who make decisions
    in respect of how a health condition affects a claimants daily life and capability for work.

    2/ In response, Atos Healthcare are not involved in the training of DWP Decision Makers in making
    benefit decisions, this training is provided in-house within DWP.

    …………….IT WOULD SEEM THAT EVERYTHING THE DWP SAY’S IS A PACK OF LIES…..

  7. Stepping Razor says:

    Hundreds of thousands hit by benefits backlog – [BBC News 11th June 2014]

    Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by a benefits backlog, the government has said.

    More than 700,000 people are waiting for assessments for employment and support allowance (ESA), it said.

    Minister for Disabled People Mike Penning blamed the delays on Atos, the contractor carrying out controversial fitness-to-work tests.

    Atos has said its staff have been “vilified” and abused for doing what was asked of them by ministers.

    Asked in Parliament about implementation of benefits reform, Prime Minister David Cameron said changes should be carried out “in a way that works well” rather than to an “artificial deadline”.

    He was responding to a question by Labour MP Katy Clark, who asked why the majority of those who had applied for the personal independence payment (PIP) had yet to receive a decision.

    PIP started to replace the disability living allowance from April 2013.

    Backlog falling

    An official from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) told MPs that Atos, which has agreed to end its contract early, “couldn’t deliver the quality at the capacity we want”.

    However, a DWP spokesperson later said Atos was “now processing more cases than come in” and the backlog was falling.

    The DWP said the total backlog stood at 712,000 people. Of these, 394,000 are new claimants for ESA and 234,000 are existing ESA recipients whose reassessments as to whether they are still entitled to the benefit have been delayed.

    A further 84,000 are people still on incapacity benefit who have not yet been moved over to ESA.

    Mr Penning said the government had failed to meet its own deadline of moving these people onto the new benefit by April.

    They are still awaiting assessment.

    The DWP said: “Incapacity Benefit reassessment has resulted in over 700,000 people looking for, or making steps to return to work – it is crucial that we continue this important process to ensure that people are not written off and we get a fair deal for the taxpayer.”

    Critics have said delays and wrong decisions in Atos’s work conducting controversial fitness-to-work assessments have caused distress to vulnerable people.

    Atos has acknowledged difficulties but said its staff are well trained and it has become a “lightning rod” for public anger with the principle of the assessments.

    Citizens Advice said the assessments were “failing” and “must be fixed to be delivered fairly”.

    The organisation’s chief executive, Gillian Guy, said: “The failings of the Work Capability Assessments are leaving sick and disabled people on a knife-edge.

    “Employment Support Allowance is now the biggest single issue that Citizens Advice clients need help with and more than 1.5 million people have come to us about problems with ESA since it was introduced.”

    Timely and proper

    In total, more than three million people on ESA, including all those who previously claimed incapacity benefit, are being assessed to see how their illness or disability affects their ability to work.

    This process began under the last Labour government and has been accelerated by the coalition government.

    Mr Penning said a decision in March to end Atos’s contract early was based on the fact he had lost faith in the firm.

    He said a new contractor – expected to be appointed in early 2015 – would not be chosen on cost alone but on its ability to carry out the assessments in a timely and proper fashion.

    This would cost the department more money, he said.

    Citizens Advice said safeguards should be put in place to deal with flaws in the assessment process, and the new contractor should be fined if its assessments were shown to be flawed.

    Ms Guy said: “Medical evidence should be made available free to claimants to support their application for support and the unacceptable backlog of applications must be dealt with.

    “Unless ministers make changes to how assessments are carried out then sick and disabled people face another three years of delays, anxiety and unfair treatment.”

    BBC News: –
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27796739

  8. Stepping Razor says:

    Atos was ‘lightning rod’ for anger over benefit changes – [BBC News 10th June 2014]

    The company which is quitting its contract to provide fitness-for-work assessments for the government has warned its successor will also struggle unless the process is improved.

    Atos officials said their staff were “vilified” simply for carrying out what was asked of them by ministers.

    They told MPs that other firms would find it hard to hire staff due to “negative coverage” about their work.

    Critics say delays and wrong decisions have caused distress to the vulnerable.

    Ministers announced in March that the contract to deliver Work Capability Assessments in England, Wales and Scotland was being terminated early by mutual consent after criticism of the French contractor’s performance.

    The contract had been due to end in August 2015.

    More than three million people on employment and support allowance, including all those who previously claimed incapacity benefit, are being assessed to see how their illness or disability affects their ability to work in a process that began under Labour but which has been accelerated by the coalition government.

    ‘Lightning rod’

    Facing questioning by the Commons Work and Pensions Committee, Atos senior vice president Lisa Coleman acknowledged the firm had not got everything right since October 2010.

    She also conceded an inability to make a sufficient profit was a factor in the firm’s decision to withdraw from the contract, for which it has had to pay compensation.

    But she said Atos had become a “lightning rod” for public anger with the principle of the fitness-to-work assessments and it was “massively over-simplistic” to think a change of provider would change that.

    “Unless something is done around educating people what the actual operational reality of that policy really is and what they mean potentially for individuals going through that then I find it difficult to see that actually just changing the supplier will change things,” she said.

    “We often find that when somebody makes a comment that Atos has done an assessment incorrectly, actually, against the policy, what has happened has been right,.

    “It is very difficult to understand that somebody with a very challenging or quite a difficult condition doesn’t go through the process as you might expect.”

    Workers ‘vilified’

    Helen Hall, the firm’s head of communications and customer relations, said more than a quarter of the firm’s assessors had quit as a result of abuse they had been subjected to.

    “They are professional trained people,” she said. “They care about the job they do. They are doing a very good job of applying the legislation the government has laid out and despite that they are being vilified for it.

    “The level of intimidation, the level of negative coverage about professional people…I’m not sure that’s an issue that can be resolved by a new provider just throwing money at that.”

    A climate of suspicion had built up, she suggested, with many of those being tested wrongly believing that the assessors were not trained and would “treat them with contempt”.

    “What we have seen quite often now is people coming in for an assessment and they are actually saying at the end of it ‘you’ve just been recorded on my iPhone and I am going to expose you on the internet’.

    Tests ‘flawed’

    “If you put all those together and imagine how both those parties are feeling, that environment is something that has to change.

    “I personally don’t think the private provider by themselves can achieve that level of change.”

    Disability campaigners maintain the tests are “fundamentally flawed” and are being driven by the government’s desire to reduce the welfare bill.

    Ministers have said nearly a million people who applied for sickness benefit have been found fit for work and the tests have been subject to continual reviews to identify problems.

    The government wants a new provider in place by next year to speed up the number of assessments and to reduce waiting times and that the contract could ultimately be divided up between a number of firms.

    Atos will continue to carry out the assessments in Northern Ireland under a separate contract.

    BBC News: –
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27767779

  9. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “HOW MANY OF THE FORTY THOUSAND PLUS, THAT DIED AS A RESULT OF WELFARE REFORMS, WOULD BE HERE TODAY HAD THIS UNIVERSAL COCK UP MONEY BEEN AFFORDED TO THEM?”

    DWP believes universal credit is dead, tribunal president reveals

    Category: Latest news
    Created: Monday, 09 June 2014 14:48

    Evidence has emerged that the DWP believes that universal credit (UC) is dead. Officially the department insists that ‘the vast majority’ of around 7 million recipients will move onto the benefit during 2016-17. Privately, however, the department is no longer predicting that there will be any universal credit appeals between now and 2019.

    The revelation was made in the April edition of the Judicial Information Bulletin –which goes out to all tribunal members – by Judge Robert Martin, the outgoing president of the social entitlement chamber which deals with benefits tribunals.

    Several times a year the DWP provides the tribunals service with estimates of how many appeals are likely to be generated in the next five years. This is vital for the tribunals service, who need to be able to plan how many staff to recruit and how many venues to provide for hearings. The DWP give estimates for each different type of benefit, as tribunals may be constituted differently depending on the benefit involved.

    The Judge reveals that in its April 2013 forecast the DWP estimated that there would be 1,355 UC appeals in 2013-14 and 77,926 UC appeals in 2014-15. In fact, by the end of March 2014, due to the tiny number of claimants who have been able to claim UC, there had been just three appeals.

    The DWP made further forecasts in December 2013 and most recently in April 2014. In the last of these the DWP estimated that there would be:

    393,000 appeals in 2014-15

    456,000 appeals in 2015-16

    622,000 appeals in 2016-17

    553,000 appeals in 2017-18

    340,000 appeals in 2018-19

    However, Judge Martin reveals that none of these appeals are now predicted by the DWP to be for universal credit.

    It is not credible that the DWP now imagines that no claimant of UC will appeal in the next five years. The only reasonable explanation, therefore, is that the DWP now expect there to be so few people receiving the benefit that the number of appeals generated will be too small to make provision for.

    In other words, when planning for the future in the real world rather than the world of departmental spin and propaganda, the DWP are making no provision whatsoever for UC.

    The DWP seem unlikely to be grateful to Judge Martin for his disclosure, one of several in the article

  10. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    COST OF WEMBLEY STADIUM = £798 MILLION

    COST OF UNIVERSAL FUCK UP = £1.7 BILLION

    © Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2011

    The long-run cost of Universal Cred
    it will be around £1.7 billion (in
    2014–15 prices). The short-run cost
    , including the transitional
    protection, will depend on how qu
    ickly the government transfers
    existing recipients of benefits and
    tax credits over to Universal Credit
    and on the precise details of the scheme.

    …………THEREFORE YOU COULD HAVE BUILT TWO WEMBLEY STADIUMS AND STILL HAD AMPLE TO SPARE WHILST FOLLOWING THE DREAMS OF A COMPLETE IMBECILE, IAIN DUNCAN SMITH…

  11. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “HOW THE BBC DOCTOR THE NEWS”

    Lee | June 12, 2014 at 7:53 am | Reply

    I find it curious that BBC,reporting on a British university article in a professional journal will not publish the figures for suicides due to the recession in the UK,though the numbers for other countries are provided. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27796628

    Draw your own conclusions as to this ‘soft’ censoring of the news. Anyone have access to the original article in the Journal of Psychiatry? How many suicides in the UK caused by Coalition policies?

  12. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION”

    jaynel62 | June 12, 2014 at 6:45 am | Reply

    Reblogged this on jaynelinney and commented:
    And No doubt these figures will be ‘spun’ by IDS &Co?

    Sick of the DWP doing this? – JOIN the TRUTH Campaign “Lies,Damn Lies, IDS and The DWP; STOP Spinning Statistics” #ImpeachDWP #NOWPetition http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/david-cameron-lies-damn-lies-ids-and-the-dwp-stop-spinning-statistics-impeachdwp-nowpetition

  13. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “LETTER TO SAMUEL MILLER IN CANADA”

    Wednesday, June 4, 2014
    Sam, things are dire
    Sam, things are dire. I lost my appeal on 29 March, they upheld the decision of ATOS and the DWP. I am ‘Fit for Work’ and am now waiting for my Benefits to be stopped. I am now attending the district mental health team I am so stressed. I am to have a Return to Work interview in a few weeks and expect to return to the system of 40-50 job applications every week. As I am not able to retire until 2024 I see the next few years as being bleak indeed. I can only hope that I die soon.
    Posted by Samuel Miller at 10:02 PM
    Email This

  14. Humanity2012 says:

    People in this Country have been like Zombies in a Trance with Regards
    to the Wrecking of the Welfare State

    Tax the Rich Hands Off the Poor

  15. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    LAST NIGHTS QUESTION TIME SAW THE OPPORTUNITY TO PUT IDS UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT FOR HIS CRIMES OF GENOCIDE/CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER…………..

    YET, AS USUAL WITH THE BBC, THE QUESTIONS WERE RIGGED AS NOT TO TELL THE TRUTH OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN SOCIETY TODAY.

    I FEEL ASHAMED, AND SO SHOULD THE BBC WHO ARE JEWISH THROUGH AND THROUGH, TO IDENTIFY THE SAME TRAITS USED AGAINST THEIR OWN PEOPLE DURING THE HOLOCAUST YEARS…………………..

    THEY ARE, IN MY EYES, KOWTOWING TO THE SAME DOCTRINES USED BY THE NAZIS.

    THE BBC HAVE NO SCRUPLES WHEN SIDING WITH THE ENEMY WITHIN.

    GIVEN THEIR TRACK RECORD ON WITHHOLDING THE TRUTH FROM YOU ALL, I WOULD LOBBY AGAINST PAYING TELEVISION LICENSE FEES OR STOP PAYING THEM ALTOGETHER.

    YOU ARE BEING FED NOTHING BUT COALITION BULLSHIT AS THE DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO RISE……………….

  16. Humanity2012 says:

    A Nazi Policy that should be Opposed as an Affront to Human Dignity Charity
    and Help For the Poor

    A Demand ” That ” unearned ” Income , And all Income that does Not arise from
    Work be Abolished ”

    The Nazi’s Victimised the Poor and the Vulnerable

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      “FOR ALL OF YOU AT THE DWP WHO THINK THAT SANCTIONS WORK”

      ……………a little reminder to put your minds at rest…….

      Single mother died penniless after her benefits were stopped
      http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/disabled-mum-died-alone-penniless-3662850

      Former soldier David Clapson, died after benefit sanctions.
      http://www.theadvertisergroup.co.uk/Daily-News/Stevenage/Lessons-must-be-learned-from-diabetic-former-soldier-who-died-after-benefits-sanction-20140722174205.htm#ixzz38TYzrM00

      Sick benefits claimant has HEART ATTACK during Jobcentre test – and Government axe his payments
      http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/sick-benefits-claimant-heart-attack-3098219#ixzz39KxGjWnj

      A disabled man died penniless when he lost his benefits after being judged fit to work
      http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/Cambridge-microbiologist-Robert-Barlow-dies-penniless-in-Liverpool-after-his-benefits-were-withdrawn-despite-him-needing-a-new-heart-20140409063051.htm

      Linda Wootton: Double heart and lung transplant dies nine days after she has benefits stopped
      http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/linda-wootton-double-heart-lung-1912498#.U19bUv55SVY.facebook

      Mark Wood, 44, starved to death after having his benefits removed.
      http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/28/man-starved-to-death-after-benefits-cut?CMP=twt_gu

      Farmer David coupe was refused benefits after being diagnosed with a bad back, terminal cancer and diabetes.
      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2474772/Farmer-David-Coupe-refused-Atos-healthcare-reassessment-diagnosed-terminal-cancer.html

      Grandad shoots himself after finding out his benefits were being stopped
      http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/grandad-shaun-pilkington-shoots-himself-2989685#ixzz39L4zeYSQ

      Martin Hadfield, 20 committed suicide 24hours after job-seeker meeting.
      http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/379712/Jobseeker-commits-suicide-after-being-worn-down-by-Job-Centre-bureaucracy

      ……….THE SUCCESS OF PUNITIVE ACTS AGAINST THE WEAK AND DISABLED, laid out for all to see………….

  17. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    THAT WRINKLY OLD BASTARD IN BUCKINGHAM PALACE AND HER BUNCH OF INBREDS, ARE THE EPITOME OF ALL THAT IS WRONG IN THE UK TODAY……………..

    WHILE HER MINIONS ARE DRIVEN INTO HOMELESSNESS, HER DISABLED KICKED FROM PILLOW TO POST AND FINALLY MURDERED, SHE STANDS CONTEMPTIBLE AT EVERY LEVEL.

    ITS HER BIRTHDAY AND OVER 1000 TROOPS ARE BEING USED TO GIVE HER A ROYAL SALUTE, I COULD GIVE HER ONE USING TWO FINGERS AS SHE LOOKS OUT OF HER PALACE OF VERSAILLES LOUNGE WINDOW AND SAYS, “LET THEM EAT CAKE”…………………………

    UTTER CONTEMPT IS ALL THESE ROYAL SCROUNGERS HAVE FOR THE THE STARVING OF OUR COUNTRY………….

    WE ARE FORCED TO FOOD BANKS WHILE THIS EX GERMAN STOCK REVEL IN UTOPIAN GRANDEUR.

    TO SET AN EXAMPLE, WOULDN’T YOU THINK SHE WOULD DIP INTO HER BULGING ESTATES AND MAKE A CHARITABLE DONATION TO THOSE WHO ROAM OUR STREETS WITH EMPTY BELLIES…

    ALL THIS POMP AND CEREMONY WASTED ON ONE PERSON WHO WILL NOT KNOW ABOUT THE KEY ON A CAN OF CORNED BEEF?

    HER DOGS WILL ENJOY BETTER FOOD THAN HER LOYAL SUBJECTS!

    SHAME ON YOU, YOU OLD COW. MAY YOUR REIGN COME TO A SWIFT END AS THOSE YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO IGNORE ONCE MORE STORM THE PALACE WALLS TO PUT YOUR HEAD ON THE SPIKES WHERE IT BELONGS……………..

    CLOSE YOUR EYES TO THE REALITY OF A BROKEN STATE WHERE THE REALITY OF WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING IS WITHHELD FROM PUBLIC SCRUTINY.

    MY £32 PER WEEK WILL NOT ALLOW ME TO VIEW THE PALATIAL EXUBERANCE OF YOUR POSITION. I HAVE TO SPEND WISELY, NOT HAVE IT THRUST UPON ME LIKE YOU……………

    ENSHRINED IN YOUR OWN IMPORTANCE, DESPISED BY YOUR PLEBS……………………

  18. Humanity2012 says:

    Money Spent on MPS Expenses can be Better Spent on Welfare Provision

    The Masses Zombie Sleep Walking about has a Lot to Answer For the
    Wrecking of Public Services

    Help The Poor Not Harm the Poor

  19. Humanity2012 says:

    Shame upon the Sheepish Masses for being Oblivious to the Suffering and
    the Oppression

    Shame on them for being like Sheep since May 11th 2010

  20. Humanity2012 says:

    It is Easy for People to be Oblivious to how Bad Things have Been like
    Ostriches with their Head’s in the Sand and Masquerade as ” Thinking Positive ”
    when they have the Blinkers On

    Better to see a Country in a Messful State as a Messful State and thus Not
    be Oblivious ie Anti Oblivious

  21. Humanity2012 says:

    Proverbs 21:13 Whoso Stoppeth his Ears at the Cry of the Poor, he also shall Cry himself, but shall Not be Heard.”

    Down with the Arrogance of the Selfish I Am All Right Jacks

  22. Humanity2012 says:

    No to Patients Paying £10 to see their GP

    It takes the Biscuit even in this Zombie Land the UK

  23. Stepping Razor says:

    ESA disability benefit is ‘failing’, government document says – [BBC News 19th June 2014]

    The new disability benefit is helping fewer people get jobs, while its rising cost is a big financial risk for the UK, an internal government memo says.

    The memo, obtained by the BBC, says the Department for Work and Pensions is struggling to deliver employment support allowance (ESA).

    ESA was introduced in 2008 to replace incapacity benefit.

    The government acknowledged there had been problems but said it was bringing in a new firm to do tests for ESA.

    The document also says claimants face an average nine-month wait after assessments.

    ‘Not delivering’

    ESA is intended for people who are unable to work due to sickness or disability. Claimants undergo tests, called work capability assessments, before learning whether they are eligible.

    The memo says that ESA “is not delivering more positive outcomes for claimants” than incapacity benefit did.

    The payment’s costs are expected to rise by £13bn by 2018/19, it says, warning the increase is “one of the largest fiscal risks currently facing the government”.

    The benefit is becoming a long-term destination for too many people, the document says, and more people than expected are becoming eligible for it.

    This is thought to be partly due to restrictions on jobseeker’s allowance leading to an increase in ESA claimants.

    A key aim of the benefit is to get people off welfare and into work, but the document says that employment outcomes appear lower than under incapacity benefit.

    Earlier this month the government said more than 700,000 people were waiting for an assessment, blaming the delays on delays on Atos, the private contractor carrying out the tests.

    Atos, which has agreed to end its contract early, has said its staff have been “vilified” and abused for doing what was asked of them by ministers.

    Mike Penning, the minister for disabled people, said: “We do have problems with the ESA assessment.”

    He said it was “something we inherited” from the previous Labour government – “but we are doing everything we can to address [it] which is why I’ve negotiated Atos out of the contract and we’re bringing in a new provider so we make sure that we can have proper flow of the benefits coming through.”

    Mr Penning said he did not recognise the comments about financial risk to the government.

    ESA is “fit for purpose”, he said, adding: “It needs to evolve, it needs to change as we go forward and we need to make sure we get the right decisions – as in any other benefit – the right money goes to the right people and that’s what the taxpayer would expect us to do.”

    Work capability assessments are carried out both on new claimants and those in receipt of incapacity benefit before they are moved to ESA.

    Some of those deemed eligible for the payment are given regular interviews to help them find work, depending on their level of disability.

    bbcnews: –
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27927842

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      “Mr Penning said he did not recognise the comments about financial risk to the government.”

      Financial Risk – Can`t Compute That.

  24. Stepping Razor says:

    DWP spends £170,000 on consultants to help clear PIP chaos [Disability News Service 13th Jne 2014]

    The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been forced to spend £170,000 paying consultants to help clear up the mess caused by the chaotic implementation of its new disability benefit.

    The introduction last year of personal independence payment (PIP) – which is replacing working-age disability living allowance (DLA) – has seen huge delays and backlogs.

    Only last week, new DWP figures showed that of 349,000 new PIP claims lodged since its introduction in April 2013, only 84,000 decisions had been made by the end of its first year.

    Disability News Service (DNS) has reported cases of disabled people who have had to wait as long as nine months, and even a man who had to wait more than a year to hear whether he would receive PIP.

    But a new document published by the government, and detailing exceptions to the coalition’s austerity rule that it should not employ consultants, shows DWP secured permission on 28 March this year to spend £170,000 on “additional strategic support for the PIP Implementation Programme”.

    A DWP spokesman denied that this showed how badly the programme had been implemented.

    He said the consultants had been providing “additional support as we continue to work to improve process and the claimant experience in PIP”.

    He added: “We constantly monitor and review their performance. Their contract is due to end at the end of June.”

    He said: “PIP is a completely new benefit with a face-to-face assessment and regular reviews to ensure support goes to those who need it most.

    “In some cases the end-to-end claims process is taking longer than the old system of disability living allowance, which relied on a self-assessment form.

    “We are working with providers to ensure that all the steps in the process are as smooth as they can be and the benefit is back-dated so no-one is left out of pocket.”

    But he has so far refused to say which consultants were paid by the government.

    Meanwhile, Mike Penning, the Conservative minister for disabled people, has insisted that the government still plans to meet its target of reassessing all current DLA claimants for PIP by 2018.

    Responding to a question from Kate Green, his Labour shadow, Penning also insisted that the delays and chaotic implementation would not lead to any additional costs.

    He told her that DWP was “committed to driving up PIP performance and we are taking action to improve this by working with providers and reviewing DWP internal processes”.

    12 June 2014

    DisabilityNewsService: –
    http://disabilitynewsservice.com/2014/06/dwp-spends-170000-on-consultants-to-help-clear-pip-chaos/

  25. Humanity2012 says:

    This Country is Utterly Crazy and Nasty

    Shame upon the Many for being Responsible for this The Yobbo The I Am All Right
    Jack

    More a Scumiety than a Society

  26. Humanity2012 says:

    Yesterday I Saw a Yob Throwing something to Torment a Duck

    The State of Britain makes me Feel Sick

  27. Stepping Razor says:

    IDS £162 billion over budget on the welfare reforms over the past 4 years. Yes billions ££.

  28. Stepping Razor says:

    MPs’ report vindicates DNS investigation into Atos PIP contract – [Disability News Service 20th June 2014]

    A government contractor appears to have used “incorrect and potentially misleading” information to win disability assessment contracts worth nearly £400 million, according to a committee of MPs.

    The public accounts committee used evidence provided by Disability News Service (DNS) to make the claims in a report published today (Friday) on the implementation of the new personal independence payment (PIP).

    The concerns were first raised in a joint investigation by DNS and the disabled journalist Richard Butchins.

    DNS supplied the committee’s chair, Labour MP Margaret Hodge, with the tender document used by Atos to win the contract, as well as copies of news stories run by DNS.

    And in March, Butchins briefed Hodge on the scandal before her committee grilled Lisa Coleman, an Atos senior vice president.

    Hodge said today: “We are concerned that Atos appears to have included incorrect and potentially misleading information in its bid for the contract.

    “Atos stated in its tender document that it had ‘contractual agreements’ in place with a national network of 56 NHS hospitals, 25 private hospitals and over 650 physiotherapy practices to provide assessments. This turned out not to be true.

    “The [Department for Work and Pensions] should challenge claims made in bids, so that it can demonstrate it has not relied on inaccurate or exaggerated information when awarding contracts.”

    She added: “We would have expected the department to have exercised particular caution in letting this contact, given the poor performance of Atos on work capability assessments.

    “The department must take into account previous performance on similar work when running a procurement.”

    DNS had passed concerns to the committee about the way the company won the contract to assess PIP claimants across London and the south of England.

    Atos had boasted of its “extensive” network of 16 NHS trusts, two private hospital chains, and four physiotherapy providers, all of which it said would provide sites where the PIP tests would take place.

    But in the months after the contract was awarded, all but four of the NHS trusts and both of the private hospital chains dropped out.

    Atos had stated in the tender that it had a network of 740 assessment sites across London and the south of England, but after the contract was signed, it only managed to secure 96 assessment centres, including not a single one covering a vast sweep of north London, and only one in Suffolk and one in Cambridgeshire.

    Because there are so many fewer centres, thousands of disabled people are facing delays in being assessed, and longer and more complicated journeys to reach their assessments, often by inaccessible public transport.

    Butchins told DNS: “It’s good to see that the results of our long and thorough investigation into the tender bid by Atos for PIP have finally been taken seriously by parliamentarians and that the public accounts committee have taken on board the fact that private providers will promise things they cannot deliver in order to gain multi-million pound contracts and that the DWP will collude in this sort of ‘snake oil’ salesmanship.

    “The people who suffer are the poor and vulnerable when they are perceived as either a burden on the public purse or a revenue stream by corporations.”

    20 June 2014

    Disability News Service: –
    http://disabilitynewsservice.com/2014/06/mps-report-vindicates-dns-investigation-into-atos-pip-contract/

  29. Stepping Razor says:

    The public accounts committee used evidence provided by Disability News Service (DNS) to make the claims in a report published today (Friday) on the implementation of the new personal independence payment (PIP).
    http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-accounts-committee/news/personal-independence-payments-substantive/

    Implementation of Personal Independence Payments nothing short of fiasco – [Parliament.co.uk 20th June 2014]

    Public Accounts Committee publishes its report into Personal Independence Payments.

    Report: Personal Independence Payments
    Report: Personal Independence Payments (PDF)
    Inquiry: Personal Independence Payments
    Public Accounts Committee

    The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, today said:

    “The implementation of Personal Independence Payment has been nothing short of a fiasco. The Department of Work and Pensions has let down some of the most vulnerable people in our society, many of whom have had to wait more than 6 months for their claims to be decided.

    The Department’s failure to pilot the scheme meant that the most basic assumptions, such as how long assessments would take and how many would require face-to-face consultations, had not been fully tested and proved to be wrong. This resulted in significant delays, a backlog of claims and unnecessary distress for claimants who have been unable to access the support they need to live, and in some cases work, independently.

    The personal stories we heard were shocking. We heard evidence of a claimant requiring hospital intervention as a result of the stress caused by the delays suffered, and another claimant who was unable to afford the specific diet required for diabetes and gastric problems while waiting for a decision.

    By October 2013, the Department had only made 16% of the decisions it had expected to have made by that time. What was particularly alarming was that terminally ill people were having to wait on average 28 days for a decision, 180% longer than expected.

    Some claimants have been forced to turn to food banks, loans and charitable donations to support the extra costs of living associated with their disability.

    The standard of service provided by the Department and its contractors has been unacceptable. Claimants have experienced difficulties in arranging appointments – and assessors have cancelled home visits at the last minute and have failed to turn up when claimants have travelled to assessment centres. Four in ten claimants in Atos areas have had to travel over an hour to be assessed, a far cry from its promise that between 75% and 90% of claimants would travel less than 30 minutes to an assessment centre.

    We are concerned that Atos appears to have included incorrect and potentially misleading information in its bid for the contract. Atos stated in its tender document that it had “contractual agreements” in place with a national network of 56 NHS hospitals, 25 private hospitals and over 650 physiotherapy practices to provide assessments. This turned out not to be true.

    The Department should challenge claims made in bids, so that it can demonstrate it has not relied on inaccurate or exaggerated information when awarding contracts.

    We would have expected the Department to have exercised particular caution in letting this contact, given the poor performance of Atos on Work Capability Assessments. The Department must take into account previous performance on similar work when running a procurement.

    The process has also proved to be inaccessible and cumbersome for claimants, increasing the risk of delays and incorrect decisions.

    The Department urgently needs to get this Scheme up to scratch and make sure some of our most vulnerable citizens are protected when going through this process. What we’ve witnessed is a rushed, wholly unacceptable job, and the Department should take a long hard look at what went wrong.”

    Margaret Hodge was speaking as the Committee published its 1st Report of this Session which, on the basis of evidence from James Bolton, Policy Officer, Mencap, Lesley Hawes, Chief Executive, DABD (UK), Vicky Pearlman, Social Policy Officer, Citizens Advice, Robert Devereux, Permanent Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions, Lisa Coleman, Senior Policy Officer, Atos, Dr Stephen Duckworth, Chief Executive Officer, Capita PIP, Jason Feeney, Benefits Director, Department for Work and Pensions, examined Personal Independence Payment.

    The Department for Work and Pensions (the Department) rushed the introduction of Personal Independence Payment and did not pilot the benefit process. We are concerned that many disabled people have experienced long and unacceptable delays in their Personal Independence Payment being assessed and granted. The process has proved inaccessible and cumbersome for claimants, who are some of the most vulnerable people in society. The Department significantly misjudged the number of face-to-face assessments that providers would need to carry out, and the time these assessments would take. This has resulted in significant delays to benefit decisions and a growing backlog of claims. The unacceptable level of service provided has created uncertainty, stress and financial costs for claimants, and put additional financial and other pressures on disability organisations, and on other public services, that support claimants. The Department has yet to achieve the savings it intended to make and will have to seek compensatory savings elsewhere.

    Conclusions and recommendations

    In April 2013, the Department introduced Personal Independence Payment, a new benefit to replace Disability Living Allowance, to support disabled people with the extra costs of living so that they can live independently and in some cases work. The Department administers and awards claims for Personal Independence Payment but it pays private sector contactors to assess claimants’ needs. Atos Healthcare (Atos) and Capita Health and Wellbeing (Capita) conduct face-to-face consultations, or paper-based assessments, against criteria set by the Department. The Department introduced the new benefit through a ‘controlled start’ so that the Department could test early parts of the process, including the new IT system, staff guidance and the telephone application process, as it rolled out the benefit. The Department started taking new claims for Personal Independence Payment in parts of the north of England from April 2013, and nationally from June 2013. However, only 360 decisions had been made by the time the scheme was implemented nationally. The Department began to reassess the 1.7 million Disability Living Allowance claimants from October 2013, but then postponed this for most claimants when it realised that claimants already faced long delays, and that significant backlogs had developed.

    Critical assumptions about the process were not fully tested and proved to be incorrect, resulting in significant delays to benefit decisions and a backlog of claims. The Department expected 75% of assessments would be face-to-face consultations rather than on paper, and that they would take 75 minutes on average to conduct. In practice, over 97% of assessments have been face-to-face consultations and they take around 120 minutes. This should have been established through a pilot programme, with necessary adjustments being made so that so many claimants could have avoided the distress and lack of support brought about by the delays. Without this piloting, contractors’ planned staff numbers have been inadequate, benefit decisions have been delayed and backlogs have developed. When the Department rolled out the scheme nationally for new claims in June 2013, it had made only 360 benefit decisions and therefore had not fully tested the end-to-end process, or the accuracy of its assumptions. In deciding to continue with the roll-out, the Department had relied on its own judgement of the capacity required, and on assurances from assessment providers.

    Recommendation: The Department should ensure that new systems and policies are fully tested before they are implemented nationally, to provide evidence that assumptions made and any assurances received from third parties, are correct.

    Claiming Personal Independence Payment can be cumbersome and difficult for claimants, increasing the risk of delays and incorrect decisions. Claimants are encouraged to apply by telephone, but this deters and delays some people from making a claim, particularly those with mental health problems and sensory impairments. Obtaining an alternative paper-based form is difficult and time-consuming, with forms not readily available. Providers conduct face-to-face rather than paper-based assessments of claims when they lack sufficient information. In most cases assessment providers do not receive extra evidence requested from third parties such as General Practitioners, physiotherapists and social workers. The processes to ensure the appropriate information is delivered on time were not tested before the scheme was implemented nationally.
    Recommendation: The Department should make the process easier for claimants by, for example, making paper claim forms available through recognised voluntary organisations, such as Citizens Advice. The Department should also ensure that third parties supply information on claimants where relevant and do this in good time.

    There have been unacceptable delays in making benefit decisions, placing unwarranted pressure on claimants, disability organisations, and other services. Many claimants have had to wait over six months for their claim to be decided. By October 2013, the Department had only made 16% of the decisions it had expected to have made by that time. We heard evidence of a claimant requiring hospital intervention as a result of the stress caused by the delays suffered, and another claimant who was unable to afford the specific diet required for diabetes and gastric problems, while waiting for a decision. Claimants waiting for a decision may no longer be able to claim linked benefits such as carer’s allowance, and additionally, delays have increased demand on third sector organisations which are helping claimants through the process. Some claimants have resorted to discretionary housing payments and others to food banks, loans and charitable donations to support the extra costs of living associated with their disability.

    Recommendation: The Department must speed up all stages of the process to ensure benefit decisions are made on a timely basis and tackle the backlog of cases that has arisen.

    The Department and its contractors have failed to provide an acceptable standard of service to claimants. Claimants have experienced difficulties in arranging appointments, assessment providers have cancelled home visits at the last minute, and assessors have failed to turn up when claimants have travelled to assessment centres.

    Recommendation: The Department should ensure that it, and its contractors, provide an acceptable level of service to claimants by minimising delays and travel times, making home visits when arranged, improving administrative processes, and providing better information to claimants.
    The Department maintained that it had not regarded the Personal Independence Payment bids as a contractual commitment, and that it expected negotiations between Atos and its subcontractors to continue once Atos had submitted its bid. It also stated that it had ignored the bidders’ previous record in providing assessments for Employment Support Allowance, when deciding to whom to award contracts. We would have expected the Department to exercise particular caution in letting this contact, given the poor performance of Atos on work capability assessments. The Committee were concerned that Atos appeared to include incorrect and potentially misleading information in its bid for the Personal Independence Payment contract.

    Recommendation: The Department should challenge inaccurate or exaggerated claims made in bids, so that it can demonstrate it has not relied on them when awarding contracts. The Department should have regard to previous performance on similar work when assessing contractors.

    Parliament.co.uk.: –
    http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-accounts-committee/news/personal-independence-payments-substantive/

  30. Stepping Razor says:

    House of Commons 16 June 2014, ESA Work Capability Assessments

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  31. Stepping Razor says:

    ATOS are having threats made against them. The threat of ATOS fraud is what ATOS is scared of. To expose ATOS`s fraud is threatening to ATOS. ATOS KILLS.

  32. Stepping Razor says:

    The welfare Reform is £162 Billion over budget. So you can talk & talk all you want to make it £200 billion over budget. The fact is £162 Billion is a huge failure on tax payers money & the disabled can`t be blamed for their over budget.

    So ATOS has made IDS spend £162 Billion for the cover up. Now IDS has to spend £300 billion on the £162 billion over budget cover up.

    FAILES AGAIN & AGAIN WITH FAILURES !!

  33. Humanity2012 says:

    Interesting Information

    It is a Necessity that there is an Adequately Funded Welfare State and
    that People come before Profit

    No to Neo Nazism and No to Neo Liberalism

    1. AL says:

      In Nazi Germany, the sick, the disabled, the useless eaters, were rounded up, carted away in cattle trucks to be processed out of sight of decent people. Never to return.

      Today, in Camerons Britain the friends and families, rally round and volunteer to take thier loved one to be processed. Then they sit powerless, sickened while the life is slowly extinguished by today’s British version of the Gestapo. ATOS. Doctors, nurses, trained to save lives, now judging and destroying them. Later as the true enormity of what has taken place sinks in, there’s guilt. The people who thought they were being helpful and supportive, watch in horror, helpless, as the full extent of what took place at processing becomes evident. Loved ones are damaged, broken. Their lives falling apart, ruined, over. The shame of complicity is a ripple flowing out from the drowning man. Does it touch you too?

      ATOS have resigned, they wish to pass on the poison chalice. Or were they fired? The story isn’t clear as each side seeks to hold their heads high. No blame, no shame. Another firm will be hired, the same mandate, the same people, costing even more money. And why not? If you need a firing squad you have to pay the price and it seems, we do need one. Wages, bullets, a suitable location, and then there’s all the cleaning up after. Oh yes, it’s going to cost.

      This expensive process, is sold to the masses as a necessary cost saving operation. At every turn, taking lives, cost’s more and more. It seems like madness to continue but what’s the alternative? Giving up? Doesn’t that negate the benefit of all those lives lost?

      Mike Penning is set to seal the deal with a new killing machine. ATOS are primed to help them adjust to their new role. ATOS, whose reputation is in the gutter, want to make the new ATOS replacement, successful where they never could be. They will put aside their Ego for the common good. This murderous process must continue and succeed at all costs. ATOS will leave, disapear. Be resurrected as OH Assist or some other new brand and we will forget. They will continue to bid for contracts and take public money and make ever increasing profit at our expense. The poison Chalice will be passed on, and you can bet for the next company, it will be the Golden Goose. When they fail, as undoubtably they will, they can say it was an impossble task. ATOS have already failed proving the case. The country will be locked into another long contract with the next Government picking up the pieces and blaming the last. The winners will be private enterprise who have lawyers to ensure their eyes are open to the profit and loss. Their profit, our loss. Surely we should let ATOS leave, then catch our collective breath and think about whether we need to judge fitness. Could we instead just encourage it? Heal it, train, make space and opportunity?

      Money Power and Greed are killing this country, killing it’s people. Killing it’s spirit too if we let it. The psychological services are at breaking point and their many clients are too. The sick, the disabled, they get labeled different, less. Yet how are we sure that they are not like everyone else? Human, worthwhile, special just for turning up to the party.

      Sick and Disabled people are having their conditions and their suffering denied. Pronounced fit and faced with working or starving, losing their homes. These are often people who have already been found unfit by their employers and removed. People who are over and over rejected and excluded from work because of their conditions. Employers prefer perfect. It’s an open secret that they prefer, young, attractive, appealing people, who attract customers and make money. They fear profit losses. They fear litigation. They fear sickness and ill health, and how when it’s indulged, it’s the green light for others who want to fake. Employers must hold the upper hand. Be firm, keep discipline. Industry does not run on part time, turn up when you like hours, even though health does exactly that. It strikes down like a capricious foe. Those who need assistance are those who are losing their fight. Is it always clear cut who have surrendered having done their duty and those who refused to fight? Would you fight, no matter what? And for how long? Would you fight the odds and those who deny you weapons? And when your fight is gone, what then? Are you prepared to die? Or could a truce be called?

      ATOS wish to quit. They see how they are hated and shamed for their part in what has become wholesale people extermination. This, they say now, is not what they signed up for. They want to wash their hands. Is there a lesson in this? Have the Government gone too far in seeking to get rid of those who do not make profit. Who are ‘Useless Eaters? Is profit the only goal? Is it too late to imagine human worth to be intrinsic and inviolable. Can we be humble and believe that all life is special, if we but open our eyes and hearts to see it? Or is Money, Power, and Greed, all that there is?

  34. Humanity2012 says:

    There is too Much Anti Social Behaviour in this Country and this Explain’s
    why it is such a Horrible Place to be in Away from the Countryside .

    A Lack of Compassion and Care For the Poor and Vulnerable should also be
    Seen as Anti Social Behaviour upon the Part of I Am All Right Jacks

  35. Humanity2012 says:

    Apart from the Orgy of Anti Social Behaviour in this Country amidst the
    Townies in their Trance It is Not often I Agree with Tories but for Once
    Tory MPs have got something Right when they are Calling for the Early
    Break Up of the Coalition the Sooner the Better

    The Coalition an Unsavoury Alliance for Political Power should Never of
    been Formed in the First Place

    Certainly I will Not Vote Liberal Democrat

  36. Humanity2012 says:

    Do I Hear much Calls For Social Justice out amidst the Ignorant Masses
    out There ?

    No just Obliviousness

    This is a Nation of Zombies and I Am All Right Jack for every Decent
    People there at least 10 to 20 Oblivious Scumbags

    I am so Angry with People’s Obliviousness

    1. AL says:

      Can we be surprised that people are oblivious? Who can bear to listen to endless parliament heckling? And going no-where? Like kids no-one takes responsibility for the mess we are in. The media feed us a diet of one sided propaganda. Yes lots of people have been lulled into sleep.

      Another Healthy Debate

      They batted insults and statistics to and fro like pros
      and sob sob stories too to make your curl.
      For each sad tale, a better happy one was told
      to prove the policy working.
      Til finally,
      an Elder Statesman true and on his reasonable feet
      told of Lazy Feckless Fit Young Man
      pleading poverty because,
      he could not afford. . .
      To go to The Zoo,
      as was his Human Right.
      The ZOOOO!
      He wanted to go to The ZOO!
      Did you all hear that?
      The horror!
      The Hard Working, should give him More Benefit, to cover what he’s due. . . A life of leisure and Trips to The ZOO!
      Game set and match, I think, to true Blue.
      Those myriad collected tales of long suffering, hunger and death, are nothing now to the disgusting shame of one man’s expressed entitlement to. . .
      A free trip to The Zoo.
      Was there a kid at home who excluded, hankered for a normal life like his friends?
      Do we care?
      Not if we can score a point and hit it home. Hard.
      This one poor man. Ignorant. Lazy. And weighed against the many,
      Epitomises the feckless greed so feared, that still pervades the shameful underbelly of
      Our Proud Country.
      We will correct the fault.
      At any cost.
      We all agree don’t we? That it’s worth any cost?

  37. Stepping Razor says:

    Glenda Jackson’s speech about Iain Duncan Smith and the DWP – Published on 3 Jul 2014

      1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

        “ABSOLUTELY SUPERB, STOPPING JUST SHORT OF CALLING HIM A CLINICAL, MURDERING BASTARD”…………………………

  38. Humanity2012 says:

    It is Absolutely Important that Welfare Provision is Defended and Expanded

    Better a Caring Society than a Slavery Society

    No to Oppression Exploitation and Degradation

  39. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    ARTICLE SIX OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT AFFORDS THE PROTECTION OF HAVING A FAIR TRIAL AND LEGAL AID, NEVER FORGET THIS…………….

    UNDER THE TERMS OF THE EQUALITY ACT A DISABLED PERSON HAS “PROTECTED CHARACTERISTICS”.

    WE ARE NEITHER SPECIAL NOR OUTSTANDING, BUT WE HAVE THE RECOURSE TO DEMAND THAT OUR CASES ARE TREATED WITH THE COMPASSION AFFORDED TO SOMEONE WITH LIMITED ABILITY, BE IT PHYSICAL OR MENTAL.

    A FEW DAYS AGO I RECEIVED A LETTER FROM SOMEONE AT THE THE HM COURTS AND TRIBUNALS SERVICE, CALLED MARTYN BRADFORD.
    HE SAYS THAT I CANNOT TAKE MY CASE TO THE UPPER TRIBUNAL BECAUSE A JUDGE NAMED L. MCDONALD AGREED WITH THE EARLIER TRIBUNALS DECISION TO STOP MY ESA PAYMENTS.

    THESE PEOPLE ARE HAND PICKED DISABILITY DENIAL ACTIVISTS, FEEDING THEIR GREEDY GRUBBY POCKETS FROM THE MONEY STOLEN FROM PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. THEY ARE NOT AGENTS OF JUSTICE, JUST GOVERNMENT HAND PICKED THIEVES ACTING ON EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS TO BLOCK REAL JUSTICE AS AFFORDED UNDER HUMAN RIGHTS PROVISION……..

    I AM NOT SCARED OF TAKING THE CORRUPT SYSTEM ON, IT IS THEY WHO ARE AFRAID OF YOU EXPOSING THE TRUTH.

    WHERE I LIVE IN SCARBOROUGH, WE ARE BLESSED WITH A JUDGE NAMED D. J. WALL AND HIS SIDEKICK, FEMALE RETIRED DOCTOR, DR P J MANNERS…………….

    THESE TWO REGULARLY ADJUDICATE AND MAKE A COMFORTABLE LIVING STEALING BENEFITS FROM THOSE THEY SEEK TO ROB.
    THEY ARE NOTHING SHORT OF A COUPLE OF CROOKS WHO ARE HAND PICKED TO UPHOLD DWP MONEY GRABBING POLICIES.

    WHAT NONE OF THE JUDICIARY WANT IS FOR ANY OF YOU OUT THERE TO BE GIVEN A FAIR HEARING.
    IT IS IN THE GOVERNMENTS INTEREST TO STIFLE THE TRUTH OF WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING USING BASIC SUPERMARKET JUSTICE……………..

    ATOS MEDICAL REPORTS ARE NOT WORTH THE PAPER THEY ARE WRITTEN ON, ANYBODY WHO HAS UNDERGONE ONE WILL TELL OF HOW THE TRUTH IS DISTORTED TO SUCH AN EXTENT IT IS NOTHING SHORT OF A DWP DIRECTIVE TO STEAL…………

    DUNCAN SMITH IS AT HIS WITS END TRYING TO STIFLE THE RELEASE OF MORTALITY STATISTICS, THESE JUDGES ARE THE TOOLS NECESSARY TO KEEP THE STATISTICS HIDDEN.

    FAIRNESS IS NOT PART OF THEIR REMIT, NEVER HAS BEEN, NEVER WILL BE………………….

    ARTICLE SIX GIVES YOU THE PROTECTION THAT YOU REQUIRE.

    CITE IT IN ALL CORRESPONDENCE, IT IS A GIVEN RIGHT THAT OUR GOVERNMENT SIGNED UP TO…………………….

  40. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    THE JUDICIARY ARE NOT AS CLEVER AS THEY THINK……………..

    I HAVE SEEN GLARING INCONSISTENCIES IN OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS TO MYSELF FROM SO CALLED INDEPENDENT JUDGES WHO HAVE SUPPOSEDLY SIGNED DOCUMENTS ON A CERTAIN DAY THAT OTHER DISCLOSURES PROVE TO BE FALSE.

    THEY WILL SIGN ANYTHING THAT IS ASKED OF THEM, AS THEY ARE BEING PAID TO DO IT………..

    YOU HAVE TO BE CLEVER AND AN EXTREMELY GOOD LIAR TO PULL IT OFF SUCCESFULLY, YET THEY ARE NOW MAKING MISTAKES AS THE BACKLOG OF COMPLAINTS TAKES IT’S TOLL ON THE OVER STRETCHED SYSTEM OF DISABILITY DENIAL…………………..

    SIMILARLY I HAVE HAD LETTERS FROM THE TRIBUNALS AND COURTS THAT STATE I HAVE REQUESTED THINGS, ONLY TO RECEIVE AN APOLOGY WHEN I HAVE MADE A CHALLENGE…….

    THE DWP AND THE COURTS ARE ALL PISSING IN THE SAME POT, CLAIMING TO BE TOTALLY INDEPENDENT OF EACH OTHER WHILE USING A CONCERTED FRONT…….

    THEY ARE SO BENT THAT THEY COULD HIDE BEHIND A CORKSCREW……………….

    “her majesty’s little elves”

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      Ever noticed the ambiguous statements written on ATOS medical reports?

      They are done for one purpose only, to try and give the health care professional enough lateral movement if challenged…………

      To emphasise what i mean,

      “THE EVIDENCE DOES NOT SUGGEST THE CLIENT HAS A CONDITION WHICH MEANS THERE WOULD BE A SUBSTANTIAL RISK TO THE MENTAL OR PHYSICAL HEALTH OF A PERSON IF THEY WERE FOUND CAPABLE OF WORK OR WORK RELATED ACTIVITY”

      another example,

      “FROM THE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE”

      and another,

      THERE ARE NO CONDITIONS REPORTED”

      yet again,

      “I ADVISE THAT A RETURN TO WORK COULD BE CONSIDERED IN…”

      Strangely the evidence is then interpreted by a DWP DECISION MAKER, who has no medical qualifications whatsoever, to be hard fact……….

      THE AMBIGUITY DEFINES THAT NEITHER HAS THE MEDICAL BACKGROUND TO MAKE SUCH AN ASSERTION ON A DISABLED PERSONS FITNESS TO DO ANY KIND OF WORK…………………

      Leave a Reply

  41. Stepping Razor says:

    Dictatorship in full swing today – All the teachers are criminals.

    The Welfare Reform budget is a whopping £162 billion over budget since 2010.

    No believes that or now 46,000 disabled people have now lost their lives to IDS`s genocide of the disabled.

    Cameron you won`t even get to 2015 NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE AS A DICTATOR.

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      ACCORDING TO A SUMMARY OF EVENTS AT MY RECENT TRIBUNAL, THE TRIBUNAL JUDGE, J D WALL, STATED THAT THESE WERE MY COMMENTS TO HIM;

      “YOU WERE PREJUDICED AND HAD NO RESPECT FOR EQUALITY LAW, DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION OR HUMAN RIGHTS”

      HE FURTHER STATED,

      “I INFORMED YOU THAT I WAS LIVING ON £32.32 SINCE JULY 2013″

      AND CONTINUED,

      “YOU ARE PART OF A DISABILITY DENIAL NETWORK LIVING OFF THE PROCEEDS OF BENEFITS THAT YOU STEAL FROM PEOPLE”

      in response;

      I would reaffirm that i said these actual words to the judge and stand by everything i said…………………

      Five letters were also sent to the DWP, by myself, asking why a disabled person who has two children and a partner were being made to exist on this amount……………..

      The DWP has declined to answer.

      ALL MY FILES AND DOCUMENTATION HAVE BEEN FORWARDED TO THE COURTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS.

  42. Stepping Razor says:

    What the politicians forgot or didn`t know was you don`t have to pay for a lawyer for a Human Rights case because it`s a Human Rights Issue that has been breeched.

    Also Disability Hate Crimes have been breeched by IDS & his Sinking Flag Ship Welfare Reform. IDS don`t say I give Disability Hate Crime to cover your back to get out of breeching my Human Rights with Disability Hate Crime by you IDS & your [see above IDS on a merry-Go-Round talking Gibberish & gobbledygook]. Shame IDS can`t talk, write or understand the Queen`s English or to take minutes of Gibberish & gobbledygook IDS.

    That covers the Disability Hate Crime law.

    The slaves that have been created by IDS & his UNUM tick box system having pretend battles with ATOS & Capita is yet more muddled thought from iDS.

    Slavery or death is what choices IDS gives. IDS is no doctor, but he knows it all. ATOS can not work within the DWP rules IDS has set them. UNUM Medical Tick Box System. Capita is also having huge problems with the same UNUM DWP IDS system. The reputation of ATOS has got so bad not from disabled people saying Kill Atossed Off AKA OHPotial but by IDS himself.

    IDS £1000 an hour for your lawyer & still IDS knows better than his lawyers advice. Are marbles money IDS? They gone down the billion £ drain again. How about toff-oos conkers!!!

    4 hours at £1000 an hour to work that on out & that just the lawyer, IDS is lost like billions of £s & 46,000 dead disabled since 2010.

    So many Human Rights breeches IDS – So many Disability Hate Crimes IDS – All rubber stamped as legal.

    Style & Pattern
    JAH Rastafari & I & I & I & I

  43. Stepping Razor says:

    The whole tactics of IDS is scaremongering emotional distress & conspiracy theories.

    Lets start with conspiracy theories because we sure know about the others.

    People who use the conspiracy theories as a tactic is a contradiction so contradiction in term of what IDS.

    Simpleton & don`t need 50,000 words to explain IDS`s conspiracy theories that he hides behind – its all conspiracy theories where IDS is concerned.

    Food Banks are a conspiracy theory.
    Disabled people are a conspiracy theory.
    Disabled people dying & being found fit for work with sanctions conspiracy theory.
    The only thing that is not a conspiracy theory is the dictatorship that impose these slavery conditions & sanctions IDS. IDS says its not him its ATOS. You don`t work with atos anymore IDS or is Mike Penning actually going to do a days work as Disability Minster or just plunder the wealth from the disabled.

    No time for jokes Penning, IDS & the dictator himself David “Dictator” Cameron. There has been a war against the disabled & their carers !! Work pays using disabled PEOPLE as a scrounging PR stunt.

    FREEDOM, JUSTICE & EQUALITY LAWS FOR ALL.

    Knowledge Is Power.

  44. Stepping Razor says:

    Emotional now IDS because I have not got time to be emotional.

    The Disability threat is real & you can not control the disabled & get away with WAR CRIMES AGAINST THE DISABLED COMITTED COMITTEE COMIT COMMENT.

    I am proving we live in a DICTATORSHIP not a Democracy – Look it up on wiki IDS like the Medical Doctor you are.

    You want to get personal on Disability Hate Crime every day DEADSTOCK!!

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      MY ATOS EXAMINATION WAS DONE BY A PURELY GREEDY HORRIBLE BASTARD NAMED EMMA BRODRICK………………….

      RATHER THAN WRITE THE TRUTH OF WHAT I WAS CAPABLE OF DOING. MY REPORT STATED THAT “CLIENT DECLINED”.
      THIS WAS NOT WRITTEN ONCE, BUT SEVENTY FIVE TIMES………….

      UPON SUBMITTING A FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST TO THE DWP, IT WAS ASKED, WHY REPORTS CONTAINED THE WORDS, “CLIENT DECLINED.
      THE DWP FREEDOM OF INFORMATION RESPONSE STATES THAT THE LIMA SOFTWARE PROGRAMME USED BY ATOS, CANNOT DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN CANNOT AND WILL NOT DURING AN EXAMINATION……………….

      THIS IS A BLATANT LIE BY THE DWP AS FURTHER INFORMATION RELEASES BY THE DWP SHOW THE LIST OF SELECTIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THE OPERATOR ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN.

      ONE OF THE SELECTIONS, THE FIRST ONE, STATES CLEARLY,”CANNOT DO THE OPERATION THAT WAS ASKED OF THEM”

      IN OTHER WORDS, THE OPERATOR, THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL, (STOP LAUGHING), HAS PURPOSELY BEEN INSTRUCTED TO USE THE AMBIGUOUS WORDING ESPECIALLY TO GIVE THE IMPRESSION TO THE DWP DECISION MAKER, THAT THE CLAIMANT REFUSED TO DO WHAT WAS ASKED OF THEM ON THE DAY OF THE EXAMINATION, RATHER THAN THE TRUTH, THEY COULDN’T………

      MY REPORT STATES THAT I SAT IN A CHAIR, WAS SEEN TO RISE UNAIDED.
      I DID NOTHING OF THE SORT, PREFERRING TO STAND WITH MY STICK.

      MY BACK WAS SAID TO BE EXAMINED, STRANGELY I WAS WEARING A CORSET WITH THREE METAL RODS IN THE BACK………….

      WHEN ASKED TO PICK THINGS UP PROPERLY, I COULD NOT DUE TO PAINS IN MY THUMBS AND SEVERED GUIDERS IN MY LEFT INDEX FINGER.
      THIS WAS REPORTED AS, YOU GUESSED, “CLIENT DECLINED”………

      THE ATOS MEDICAL REPORT IS SUPPOSED TO BE AN OFFICIAL DOCUMENT, YET THE INCONSISTENCIES HIT YOU BETWEEN THE EYES.

      I WAS SEEN TO SIT IN A CHAIR, RISE FROM IT WITHOUT HELP, WALK TO A COUCH, BE EXAMINED, REFUSE TO DO SEVENTY FIVE ACTIONS AND REMARKABLY IT STATES AT THE END OF MY REPORT……….

      “THE CLIENT WAS OBSERVED TO STAND IN THE SAME PLACE, HOLDING ONTO HIS STICK, FOR THE DURATION OF THE EXAMINATION”

      ……………..YOU HAVE, AND ARE, BEING SYSTEMATICALLY ROBBED BY CHARLATANS WHO HAVE GAINED A CERTIFICATE ENDORSED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
      THEY DO NOT HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO ASSESS A CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS PARTY, LET ALONE A HUMANS PHYSICAL OR MENTAL ABILITIES IN THE WORKFORCE…………………..

      “THEY ARE THE SCUM OF THE EARTH, PARASITES THAT FEED ON SOCIETY’S WEAKEST AND MOST VULNERABLE”

      I HAVE TWO KIDS AND A PARTNER AND HAVE BEEN RECEIVING JUST £32.32P FOR OVER A YEAR, DESPITE BEING ORIGINALLY DIAGNOSED AS DISABLED FOR LIFE…………………..

      IT’S NO WONDER THAN DUNCAN SMITH IS TRYING HIS HARDEST TO HIDE THE MORTALITY RATES FROM PUBLIC VIEW.
      THE TIMES THAT I HAVE THOUGHT OF ENDING MY PERSONAL TORTURE ARE COUNTLESS.

      IT IS A TORTURE THAT NO ORDINARY PERSON COULD EVER REALISE, THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT HUMAN, THEY ARE STATE ASSISTED ASSASSINS………………………..

      MY RESOLVE TO BRING THESE CRIMINALS TO JUSTICE HAS GIVEN ME THE STRENGTH TO FIGHT BACK……….

      THEY ARE NOW MORE AFRAID OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS THAN YOU WOULD EVER IMAGINE.

      THE NOOSE IS TIGHTENING………………………………………………

  45. Stepping Razor says:

    Iain Duncan Smith in the dock for defending unfit for work tests

    Published on 11 Jul 2014

    As the Department of Work and Pensions are summoned to the Royal Courts of Justice to explain what changes, if any, they are proposing to make to the work capability assessment (WCA), the Mental Health Resistance Network and DPAC hold a vigil outside to remember all the people who have died due to the horrendous stress and fear this process has caused, and the hundreds of thousands more who are suffering at the moment.
    Please show your support by writing to Iain Duncan Smith to inform him that you are aware of the case and that you support the claimants’ fight for justice: The Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP, Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions, Caxton House, Tothill Street, London SW1H 9DA, Or email: caxtonhouse.clerkpru@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

  46. Stepping Razor says:

    Ruling may force jobseeker payouts

    Harborough Mail: 4th July 2014

    test case “fair play” ruling could force the Government to pay out millions of pounds to thousands of jobseekers denied benefits under its flagship back-to-work schemes.

    The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) brought in emergency retrospective legislation to stop payouts after regulations governing the schemes were found to be legally flawed in an earlier decision by top judges.

    But the High Court declared today that the emergency legislation was itself flawed and violated Article 6 (1) of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to a fair trial.

    The back-to-work schemes have been condemned by critics as ”slave labour” because they involve work without pay – but are seen by supporters as a good way of getting the unemployed back into the world of work.

    Jobseeker’s allowance benefits have been withheld from those deemed to have failed to co-operate.

    Mrs Justice Lang, sitting in London, rejected Government spokesman Lord Freud’s assertion that repayment of benefits withheld unlawfully would be “an undeserved windfall” for claimants.

    She declared: “They are merely receiving their legal entitlement.”

    The judge held: “Parliament’s undoubted power to legislate to overrule the effect of court judgments generally ought not to take the form of retrospective legislation designed to favour the Executive in ongoing litigation in the courts brought against it by one of its citizens, unless there are compelling reasons to do so.

    “Otherwise it is likely to offend a citizen’s sense of fair play.”

    The judge said she “readily understood” that a Government faced with the prospect of substantial repayments “would consider it in the public interest not to pay them.”

    This was particularly so as the DWP “aims to reduce its benefits bill as part of the overall deficit reduction programme”.

    However financial loss alone was not a sufficiently compelling reason to justify retrospective legislation when balanced against the right to a fair trial.

    A DWP spokesman said there would be an appeal, and payouts would remain on hold until it was heard.

    Today’s ruling was a second legal victory for university graduate Cait Reilly, 24, from Birmingham, who challenged having to work for free at a local Poundland discount store.

    Ms Reilly and 40-year-old unemployed HGV driver Jamieson Wilson, from Nottingham, won the original ruling that regulations governing the back-to-work schemes were flawed.

    Mr Wilson objected to doing unpaid work cleaning furniture and as a result was stripped of his jobseeker’s allowance for six months.

    Ms Reilly was joined in the battle against the subsequent emergency legislation by another jobseeker, Daniel Hewstone, who has received jobseeker’s benefits since 2008.

    The court was told Mr Hewstone stopped attending the DWP’s Work Programme because he could not afford to wait for his travel expenses to be reimbursed and felt that the menial work offered did not enhance his skills or improve his prospect of finding long-term work.

    Public Interest Lawyers solicitor Phil Shiner, who represented the victorious jobseekers, called on the DWP “to ensure that the £130 million of benefits unlawfully withheld from the poorest section of our society is now repaid.”

    Mr Shiner said: “This case is another massive blow to this Government’s flawed and tawdry attempts to make poor people on benefits work for companies, who already make massive profits, for free.

    “Last year the Supreme Court told Iain Duncan Smith and the coalition Government that the scheme was unlawful.”

    The attempt to introduce retrospective legislation, after the DWP had lost in the Court of Appeal, was “a further disgraceful example of how far this Government is prepared to go to flout our constitution and the rule of law”.

    The DWP spokesman said: “We’re pleased the court recognised that if claimants do not play by the rules and meet their conditions to do all they can to look for work and get a job, we can stop their benefits. That is only right.

    “However, we disagree with the judgment on the legislation and are disappointed. It was discussed, voted on and passed by Parliament.

    “While this applies to only a minority of past cases and does not affect the day to day business of our Jobcentres, we think this is an important point and will appeal.”

    In her ruling, Mrs Justice Lang said jobseekers Ms Reilly and Mr Hewstone were both in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance – “a subsistence level benefit payable to persons actively seeking employment”.

    At the time of their claiming, it was £56.80 a week for those aged 16-24 and £71.70 for those aged 25 and over.

    Under the Jobseekers Allowance (Employment, Skills and Enterprise Scheme) Regulations 2011 claimants were required to take part in a variety of unpaid “work for your benefit” schemes.

    Both the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court ruled the 2011 regulations unlawful and unfair because insufficient information was provided to claimants to be able to make meaningful representations before they were required to take part in schemes.

    The regulations had also failed to give effect to Parliament’s intention that the regulations would include “prescribed descriptions of schemes” so that it would not be open to the DWP “to introduce such schemes from time to time, as it thought fit.”

    On February 12 2013 – the day the appeal judges gave their ruling – the DWP immediately made the Jobseekers Allowance (Schemes for Assisting Persons to Obtain Employment) Regulations 2013.

    The 2013 regulations were intended to “correct the flaws” the appeal judges had identified in the 2011 regulations and to apply retrospectively from the date they were made.

    A month later the Government introduced the Jobseekers (Back to Work Schemes) Act 2013 to “retrospectively validate” the 2011 regulations and the sanctions, including loss of benefits, imposed under them .

    It is the 2013 Act the court has declared incompatible with the European Convention of Human Rights. The judge stressed her ruling only applied to the “minority of claimants” who have pursued their claims for lost benefits before courts and tribunals.

    The judge said that the total figure of repayments of benefits wrongly withheld under the flawed regulations was put at “up to £130 million”, but that was an estimate and included sanctions imposed and decisions stockpiled under parallel 2011 regulations – the Jobseekers Allowance (Mandatory Work Activity Scheme) Regulations.

    Harborough Mail: –
    http://www.harboroughmail.co.uk/news/national/ruling-may-force-jobseeker-payouts-1-6159810

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      “Public Interest Lawyers solicitor Phil Shiner, who represented the victorious jobseekers, called on the DWP “to ensure that the £130 million of benefits unlawfully withheld from the poorest section of our society is now repaid.”

      1. Stepping Razor says:

        ““Last year the Supreme Court told Iain Duncan Smith and the coalition Government that the scheme was unlawful.”

    2. Stepping Razor says:

      Notice everyone except the DWP give their name – The DWP spokesman said – What is their name IDS !! Robot Wars.

    3. Stepping Razor says:

      IDS you can`t change a law whilst in litigation on that rule of law , change that then IDS. YOUR IN LITTIGATION IDS DON¬T TAKE THE PISS OUT OF DEAF PEOPLE IDS HAS NOW GONE DEAF.

  47. Stepping Razor says:

    IDS has violated Article 6 (1) of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to a fair trial.

    TIME & TIME AGAIN.

  48. Stepping Razor says:

    “The DWP said it would launch an appeal against the decision and did not intend to compensate anybody who had lost out on benefits, pending the outcome of their appeal.”

    YET MORE MILLIONS of £s wasted on the DWP appeals !!

    IDS moved to the War Office in a Gov reshuffle. IDS you can`t get away even if you swap jobs with the war office – DOOMED.

  49. Stepping Razor says:

    IT`S ALL ABOUT BREECHES OF HUMAN RIGHTS NOT POLL A TRICK & SPIN. Politics has lost to Human Rights Laws.

    & they know it Billions of £s on a cover up of utter failures & not fit for purpose while abusing the HUMN RIGHTS LAWS, THE EQUAILITY LAWS, DISABILITY HATE CRIME LAWS.

    Learn IDS Hitler made a mistake he didn`t kill off all the Jews & IDS you can`t kill off all the disabled people like genocide ethnic cleansing.

    ATOS DEATH TOLL RISES EACH STILL !! WHILE YOU ALL FUCKING ABOUT IN POLITICS MORE DISABLED PEOPLE ARE DYING IN CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER!!

  50. Stepping Razor says:

    WTF DWP>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>ATOS A COMMONWEALTH GAMES SPONSER>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>PR DISASTER DWP>>>>>>>>>>

    DWP Press release 10th July

    ‘Transformation’ in British attitudes towards disabled people since Paralympics 2012

    Nearly 70% of the British public feel attitudes towards disabled people have improved since the London Paralympic Games in 2012, statistics published by the government reveal.

    The findings from the DWP survey are from one of the most detailed surveys of its kind and marks the second anniversary of the Paralympic Games in London.

    It also comes as we approach the first anniversary of the ‘Disability Confident’ campaign – designed to break down barriers in employing disabled people. Disability Confident was launched by the Prime Minister David Cameron and has showcased the talents of disabled people across the country.

    Minister of State for Disabled People Mike Penning said:

    “London 2012 helped lead to a transformation in the representation of, and attitudes towards, disabled people in Britain. It challenged mind-sets and left a positive lasting legacy. But more still needs to be done to challenge perceptions.

    “Twelve million people in Britain have a disability – that’s 1 in 5 of us. Disabled people have the same aspirations as everyone else, particularly in the workplace. That is why we have travelled round the country over the past year with the likes of Sophie Christiansen and Simon Weston to speak to big business about employing more disabled people”.”

    The employment rate for disabled people has increased gradually over the years to 45%. The government kick-started a 2 year advertising campaign to support businesses to become more confident at recruiting disabled people, as more disabled jobseekers cite employers’ attitudes as a barrier to work than transport.

    Changes in attitudes are already leading to positive developments for disabled people across the country:

    Disabled people are moving into work or training at the rate of 100 placements every working day.

    315,000 more disabled people are playing sport regularly now than in 2005.

    Professional football clubs are moving to make improvements to the accessibility of their stadiums, after the government called for urgent action and after the Olympic Park showed what was possible.

    BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and BSKYB have pledged to increase the number of disabled people in the broadcasting industry.

    Over 8,100 rail carriages now comply with modern accessibility standards and over £500m will have been spent on upgrading railway stations to become more accessible by 2019.

    London’s 8,500 buses are now fully low-floor accessible and all of London’s 22,000 black cabs have wheelchair ramps.

    66 tube stations are now step-free and TFL plan to make a further 28 London Underground and Overground stations step-free over the next decade.

    Professional institutions in the built environment for architects, town planners, surveyors, facilities management and engineers have committed to making their professionals proficient in inclusive design.

    Paralympic triple-gold medallist Sophie Christiansen: said:

    “London 2012 not only inspired a generation, it challenged the ideas of a generation about what disabled people were capable of.

    “Just because we might be a bit different does not mean we should be looked at any differently. We all have unique talents and deserve the opportunity to fulfil our true potential.”

    Next month the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will feature more disabled athletes than ever in the competition’s history, with 50 from Britain’s home nations alone. They will compete in 20 events covering the 5 core Para-Sports:
    •athletics
    •lawn bowls
    •powerlifting
    •swimming
    •cycling being added this year

    gov.uk:-
    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/transformation-in-british-attitudes-towards-disabled-people-since-paralympics-2012

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      WE ARE NOT YOUR PR AVERT STUNT NOW FUCK OFF IDS & KILL ATOS OFF – THREAT !!! NO HUMAN RIGHTS BREECHES IDS.

    2. Stepping Razor says:

      “The employment rate for disabled people has increased gradually over the years to 45%.”

      >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

      Can you prove that statement or is that just 45% just in Poundland?

    3. Stepping Razor says:

      “The employment rate for disabled people has increased gradually over the years to 45%. The government kick-started a 2 year advertising campaign to support businesses to become more confident at recruiting disabled people, as more disabled jobseekers cite employers’ attitudes as a barrier to work than transport. ”

      Breakdown – £130 million withheld disabled benefits withheld & spent on a advertising campaign to promote disabled people. ROBBERS – The Employment rate bit don`t make the Queen`s English status How Many Years 45% of What !!

    4. Stepping Razor says:

      “Disabled people are moving into work or training at the rate of 100 placements every working day.”

      FOI REQUEST>>>>>>>>>>>>>

      Proof Please

      Work placement is sitting at the jobcentre watching daytime TV all day & training as a TV critic.

    5. Stepping Razor says:

      DWP AGAIN IN THEIR LOVELY PRESS RELEASE –

      “Nearly 70% of the British public feel attitudes towards disabled people have improved since the London Paralympic Games in 2012, statistics published by the government reveal.”

      So 70% of people used to have Disability Hate Crime then !!!

      Utter rubbish the press release is so damning to IDS.

    6. Stepping Razor says:

      DWP MIKE PENNING DISABLED MINISTER & ROBBER

      “Minister of State for Disabled People Mike Penning said:

      “London 2012 helped lead to a transformation in the representation of, and attitudes towards, disabled people in Britain. It challenged mind-sets and left a positive lasting legacy. But more still needs to be done to challenge perceptions.”

      Mike Penning you IDS seen to having problems with ATOS at the DWP, it seem you don`t have a problem with ATOS being one of the sponsors of the Commonwealth Games – Mike Penning you endorse ATOS their but at the DWP it`s a very different story. How dare you Mike Penning say such contradictions bullshit in your DWP press Release WWHAT THE FUCK HAS A DWP COMMONWEALTH GAMES PR STUNT GOT TO DO WITH DISABLED PEOPLES BENEFIT BEING ROBBED!!

  51. Stepping Razor says:

    Jobseekers to get extra help to get online and manage their finances on a monthly basis to prepare for the world of work under Universal Credit.

    DWP PRESS RELEASE 10 JULY 2014

    Today (10 July 2014) the Minister for Welfare Reform announced, to the Local Government Association conference, a series of new trials to help claimants get ready for Universal Credit along with the 11 partnerships that have successfully bid to deliver this local support.

    The trials will be partnerships between jobcentres and local authorities across Great Britain. They will look at the best way to prepare claimants for the world of work by helping them with online access and digital support, and managing their finances on a monthly basis.

    As part of the government’s long-term economic plan, Universal Credit makes the welfare system simpler by replacing 6 benefits and tax credits with a single monthly household payment. It includes support for the costs of housing, children and childcare, as well as support for disabled people and carers.

    Each trial will be different, tailored to local needs and local authorities will be supported by third sector organisations, voluntary groups or social landlords.

    Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud said:

    “Through Universal Credit we are empowering people to escape the benefits trap. But we know that for some vulnerable people additional support is needed to help them manage their lives to prepare for the transition into work. That is why today we are announcing the next steps for trialling local support, delivered in partnership with local authorities to support those with more complex needs.

    “The successful bidders, announced today, will prepare claimants for Universal Credit by offering tailored local support to budget, access housing support and promote digital inclusion.

    “We have been committed to working in partnership with local authorities throughout the roll-out of Universal Credit and continue to build on these valuable relationships in the existing sites.”

    The help proposed by local authorities includes:
    •referring claimants from jobcentres to a hub of local services to support the most vulnerable throughout their journey
    •setting up a network of mentors and provide coaching to claimants to help them manage their finances online
    •improve access to debt management advice and to local credit unions
    •support around accessing housing options and drug and alcohol treatment

    Universal Credit is now available to claimants in 24 areas of England, Scotland and Wales, providing people with stronger incentives and support to get into work and earn more money. By the end of 2014 1 in 8 Jobcentres in Britain, will offer Universal Credit.

    The trials will help to shape the final framework which will be published in the autumn of 2015.

    gov.uk
    https://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2014/06/09/second-court-case-to-challenge-ilf-closure-in-england-and-wales-launched/#comment-99069

  52. Stepping Razor says:

    Department for Work and Pensions and Lord Freud – 10th July 2014

    Announcing local support for jobseekers to help prepare for Universal Credit.

    Introduction

    It is a pleasure to be here in Bournemouth on the closing day of the Local Government Association conference.

    When it comes to tackling Britain’s most challenging and entrenched social problems, I have long believed that answers are not to be found in Whitehall.

    Despite good intentions, it is my belief that we achieve far less from sitting in ivory towers drawing scientific conclusions on social policy…

    …and far more from listening to people on the ground, freeing up grassroots organisations to apply their insights, and working together with experts to deliver innovative solutions.

    Across central and local government, we are currently in the midst of enormous cultural change…

    … offering a real opportunity to seize the initiative, and push ahead with radical approaches.

    Already, new ways of delivering services are coming to the fore – nowhere more so than in my area of responsibility: work, welfare and pensions.

    Need for welfare reform

    In 2010, this government was faced with a pressing, even dire need for reform.

    The Coalition inherited an economy at breaking point – £112 billion wiped off our GDP – burdened with the largest deficit in peacetime history.

    Welfare bills out of control, having increased by 60%, rising even before the recession.

    Yet worklessness and dependency were on the rise as well – in too many cases…

    … a complex array of 30 different payments that meant too often, work simply did not pay.

    Difficulties people face

    For too many in our society…

    …. for the 5 million on out of work benefits at its peak, a million for a decade or more…

    … for the 1 in 5 households where no one worked…

    … for the 2 million children living in workless households…

    … the welfare safety net had become a trap.

    Programme of change

    Since 2010, across 44 programmes of change underway at the Department for Work and Pensions, our ambition has been a cultural transformation in Britain’s welfare state…

    … restoring fairness and sustainability…

    … but even more than that, renewing the incentive to get a job and helping people to overcome the barriers they face.

    In short, every change has been designed to get Britain back to work.

    Scale of the task

    I make no secret of the fact that change on this scale is not easy.

    Far from it, for it involves both unpicking a benefits system of historic complexity, and a complete behavioural shift for those lost to its clutches for far too long.

    Yet I believe this change is necessary if we are serious about securing a future in which everyone can share.

    A stable economy matched by a strong society in which all can play their part.

    Results already

    Already, we are seeing the results of our efforts, with record successes in the labour market – better even than we might have hoped.

    We now have record employment – up 1.7 million since the last election.

    And we have more people working in the private sector than ever before, up over 2 million.

    Less known – we also have falling numbers of people absent from the labour market… falling long-term unemployment…

    … and, perhaps most importantly of all, the lowest rate of workless households on record, down 450,000 since 2010.

    Ultimate aim

    As the economy improves, this is where the real effect of our reforms is felt: British people reengaging with the workforce and regaining the opportunity to access the jobs being created…

    … ensuring everyone who is able can play a part and realise their potential.

    Universal Credit

    That is the context for welfare reform.

    But I didn’t come here today to give a long lecture on the labour market, or to run through all of the programmes we are implementing.

    Rather, there are just a few key points that I want to make – to my mind, the key messages for local government.

    The first is about Universal Credit itself a significant change for local government…

    … and an area where we are committed to working closely with local authorities… alongside local jobcentres, Housing Associations, community groups and many others…

    Commitment to partnership

    I know, that the only way to ensure Universal Credit succeeds will be through genuine, integrated partnerships – working well at the local level, with local authorities as our clear delivery partners.

    We’re absolutely committed to that delivery partnership operating model.

    Seek to innovate

    And as we deliver the programme, we will seek to innovate more. We want to enable DWP and LAs to:
    •co-locate more as we share estate
    •share data, more smartly, for better services
    •build skills for sustainable partnerships
    •share expertise to help more households back in to work

    …as we enable exceptional local support services, built on evidence, experience and our collective leadership.

    Together I believe local partnerships can be substantive, genuine, and integrated and that they can be resilient.

    This is what will bring the essential public service transformation we need, to build a Welfare State fit for the 21st Century.

    Thanks

    I would like to thank all our UC local authority delivery partners for the progress so far – and to encourage and welcome the innovation already happening.

    11 new trials

    This, I hope, makes clear just how fundamental local services are to Universal Credit…

    … underpinned by the framework we are developing in collaboration with all of you, and the local government Association.

    And it with this commitment to partnership that today, I am pleased to announce the next stage in developing support for Universal credit, delivered locally…

    … that is, the 11 local partnerships that will be testing how best we deliver these life-changing outcomes.

    Sites

    From inner city London:
    •Islington
    •Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark
    •Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea

    To other urban areas:
    •Derby City
    •Dundee City
    •Northumberland and south Tyneside

    The rural areas of England: south Staffordshire and West Lindsey.

    Argyll and Bute in Scotland.

    And Carmarthenshire and Blaenau Gwent in Wales.

    What we are trailing

    All 11 will be trialling innovative new approaches… be it:

    Different types of co-location – multi-agency sites… one-stop shops… outreach in the community.

    Different ways of tackling multiple problems – new digital data-sharing… one-to-one keyworkers… peer mentoring.

    Or different types of intervention – referrals to credit unions… wifi in schools and libraries… using social media to keep in touch with individuals.

    All of this, and more, is about developing a breadth and depth of evidence that simply has not existed before…

    Test and learn

    … measuring the effectiveness of different solutions, knowing what works, and sharing best practice…

    … in time, making a real, and lasting difference to some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.

    We’re not making the mistakes of previous administrations.

    Because creating a benefit system for the 21st century needs to be done with care, not through a ‘big bang’.

    And we are taking the time to work with LAs to make improvements as we go.

    Thanks to the support of our delivery partners, we are making progress with a careful and controlled roll-out.

    Expansion in north west

    Expansion across the north west is underway. In little over 2 weeks, we have more than doubled the number of jobcentres taking claims to Universal Credit… and we are extending to 90 – that’s to 1 in every 8 Jobcentres – through this summer and into the autumn.

    We have also started taking new claims for couples, with families set to follow later this year – delivering the full Universal Credit service in the north west.

    UC facts

    Yet already, Universal Credit is working – delivering the major benefits that we always intended.

    90% of claims are online.

    Two thirds of claimants agree Universal Credit offers a better work incentive.

    And with the vast majority of workers now used to being paid monthly, it comes as no surprise that 78% of claimants are confident about their ability to budget.

    With time on benefits now resembling life in work, making that positive move back to work is no longer the huge upheaval it once was.

    Flexible support

    Yet we haven’t lost sight of the fact that there will be some individuals who do need more support.

    And that we need to continue to listen carefully and work with social landlords, as we don’t want them to go into debt.

    Direct payment demonstration projects

    That’s why we’ve run projects to test what happens when claimants pay their own rent.

    With the average successful rent collection rate at 95%, we found, of course, that a huge number of people are capable of managing their money.

    Yet where people did have difficulty, direct payments opened the door not just to help with managing rent – but also to wider social problems that were previously out of sight…

    Now under Universal Credit, decisions about whether tenants should receive direct payments are being made in collaboration with social landlords…

    … meaning we retain flexibility for exemptions and exceptions, to make sure the system works for councils and housing associations…

    … but also that we take the opportunity, for the first time, to tackle the entrenched problems causing difficulty in the first place.

    Points based system

    For the vulnerable minority who cannot budget, cannot pay their bills, or are struggling to manage, having been left to languish in dependency for too long… the difference Universal Credit will make is transformative.

    We will continue to work with you, to make sure there is flexibility for direct funding.

    And so through targeted interventions, we are giving individuals the tools and the support to regain control over their own lives…

    … regain security for their families…

    … and hope for their children’s futures.

    Troubled families

    Yet already, even beyond the formal testing, local areas up and down the country are pioneering new ways of funding and delivering social change.

    This brings me to my second point, for I believe one of the very best illustrations is the Troubled Families Programme…

    … a complete overhaul in how we deliver services for the most disadvantaged families of all.

    These are some of the hardest families to work with, the ones known to all local services – police, children’s services, housing associations and so on – but who have never before received the intensive, tailored support that can bring lasting change.

    Lives changed

    By putting the family first – looking at them as a whole and addressing their problems in the round – now the lives of over nearly 40,000 troubled families have been changed for the better…

    … seeing children back in school where they were previously playing truant or committing crime; adults off benefits and into work.

    For that, I want to thank all of you here today – for it is your efforts in landing this programme with frontline staff that have made it such a success.

    Advisers

    The Troubled Families Employment Advisers have, I believe, played a crucial role…

    … embedded as part of how Local Authorities approach the problem, and therefore making certain that work is seen as part of the solution and employment as an ambition for all.

    Extend programme

    Now as we look to extend the Troubled Families Programme from 120,000 to another 400,000 families, those once at the hands of piecemeal and inefficient social services will receive the intensive, tailored support that can bring lasting change.

    As we press ahead, I have no doubt that local government will step up to the mark, with renewed commitment meaning we continue to see success.

    Social investment

    Yet at the same time as congratulating all of you on these achievements, finally today I also want to talk about an opportunity…

    One which I believe is the single most exciting development in how we deliver social programmes…

    … and currently the greatest untapped opportunity now facing local government.

    Let me explain how.

    Social Impact Bonds

    The UK has become a world leader in social impact bonds, that is: in measuring a given social outcome, putting a financial value on it and underwriting the return…

    … opening up new funding streams by saying to investors: ‘You can use your money to have a positive impact on society, and you can make a return.

    We now have 17 social impact bonds now up and running, 10 of which are financed by my Department’s £30 million Innovation Fund…

    … started 2 years ago to test cutting-edge projects to help our most disadvantaged young people, intervening as early as 14.

    We have financed these projects and seen a positive return on our investment. And we have been able to use them to trial the way a Social Impact Bond could work.

    As a result, we have developed an enormous amount of knowledge and expertise. And the government has decided to extend this process… including through tax relief for investors.

    DWP offer

    Today, I want to make an offer to you, that my Department’s door is open to anyone looking to learn from our experience… we have established the Centre for Social Impact Bonds offering dedicated help to structure new projects and get them off the ground.

    Results

    Promisingly, social investment bonds are now emerging across government departments, through charities, and now in some local areas as well – with Essex, Peterborough and Nottingham, amongst others, leading the way.

    Centrally, we have pooled some £70 million, together with the Big Lottery Fund, to catalyse new social impact bonds.

    And with cross-party support – led in its first year by the Labour MP, Graham Allen – we have established the Early Intervention Foundation to accredit programmes of work and provide a rigorous assessment of likely social returns.

    With all of this work now converging, we are set for the dawn of a new era…

    … transforming how we fund and deliver social change, most of all at Local Authority level – be it in the area of early intervention, remedial education, rehabilitation and recovery, or many more.

    Opportunity for change

    As I say, it is my belief that we are on the brink of a historic shift – the challenge is to grasp this moment.

    If we can get it right, I believe social investment has great potential, for local government especially…

    …. harnessing your commissioning power… empowering local decision-making… ultimately, releasing you from the central Government straightjacket.

    Empowering LAs

    In the first instance, that comes from the opportunity to greatly increase the amount of funding available locally, freeing councils from uncertain or limited central funds, by bringing in new investment from private sector companies, high-net individuals, and venture capitalists and more…

    … groups who might never before have seen themselves as part of the solution for change.

    How SIBs help

    But what’s more, social investment brings a whole new level of discipline and rigour to how that money is spent.

    Because every pound is only paid out when providers achieve a result, it requires that spending has a demonstrable purpose… saving money previously spent on ineffective remedial policies, and instead investing only in proven programmes that change lives.

    With all of us working together to commission and deliver social impact bonds, I believe there is a game-changing opportunity to transform ‘big ticket’ areas of policy – health, early years education, and more…

    … but also to unlock much more independence for Local Authorities.

    Conclusion

    As I have said, now is the time to seize those emerging opportunities.

    In straightened times, and facing tight budgets, all of us need to find new ways of tackling social problems…

    … but we must be committed to making a lasting difference and prevent spending from simply popping back up further down the line.

    By intervening early and efficiently, we prevent costs from building up later on.

    By tackling problems in the round, we save money otherwise spent dealing with the fall-out elsewhere.

    And by focussing on meaningful outcomes, we ensure that every pound has a demonstrable purpose.

    It is Social Impact Bonds that can drive and finance this.

    With our economy now growing again, and employment at record highs, we must no longer allow ourselves to accept that some in our communities are left behind.

    Our aim must be to improve the chances of the most disadvantaged.

    A welfare system that will catch you when you fall, but lift you, when you can rise.

    Local services that get to the heart of the problem…

    … offering individuals and families help to take control of their lives… moving onwards and upwards.

    United by a common purpose and as delivery partners, this should be our aim.

    Let us work together in years to come, to make it a reality.

    gov.uk
    https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/partnerships-for-delivery

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      LORD FRAUD –

      “The Coalition inherited an economy at breaking point – £112 billion wiped off our GDP – burdened with the largest deficit in peacetime history.”

      IDS has spent £162 billon already on the welfare from in 4 years is that in budget or over budget!!

        1. Stepping Razor says:

          LORD FRAUD AGAIN –

          “Let us work together in years to come, to make it a reality.”

          You don`t play drums – you don`t play bass, you don`t play the disabled.

        1. Stepping Razor says:

          THE DWP WEBSITE IS MEANT FOR BENEFIT NOT FOR USING £130 million WORTH OF WITHELD DISBLED BENEFITS TO USE ON YOUR DISABLED PR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN USING THE DWP WEBSITE AS A PR STUNT GREAT DISABLED STORIES ABOUT THE DISABLED. GENOCIDE NEEDS TO BE REFORM LORD FRAUD TELL THAT TO YOUR BOSS CAMERON PROPAGANDA IS SCARED TO PRINT MY PROPAGANDA BECAUSE IT IS NOT PROPAGANDA.

          Power Is Knowledge shame you don`t learn on a millons of ££££ education slacking of at Eton !! Go down in history as the Disabled Denial Factories. Tory genocide rules.

          Don`t forget your in litigation soo changing the can`t help you your in litigation in many Human Rights breeches of the disabled.

  53. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    STRANGE HOW ALL PARTIES WITHIN OUR GOVERNMENT SUPPORT A HASTILY BOTCHED LAW TO INTERCEPT AND RECORD PERSONAL DATA IN AN EFFORT TO STEM TERRORISM……………..

    YET AT THE SAME TIME THEY DENY THE RIGHT OF DISABLED PERSONS TO RECORD MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS AFTER WHICH THEY ARE TERRORISED……………

    THE NUMBER OF DEAD RECORDED OVERSEAS IN THE LATEST BATTLES ARE A MERE FRACTION OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TERRORISED AND DIED ON OUR HOME SOIL BY OUR OWN GOVERNMENTS ELITE TEAM OF ASSASSINS, THE DWP IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE TRIGGER MEN, THE PCS UNION.

    TERROR HAS MORE THAN ONE FACE, IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A JIHADIST WHO INFLICTS WHO INFLICTS PAIN, SUFFERING AND DEATH,

    INDEED, DUNCAN SMITH HAS HIS NAME FIRMLY EMBEDDED IN THE DEATHS OF COUNTLESS THOUSANDS OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE.

    HE IS A WAR CRIMINAL, GUILTY OF ETHNIC CLEANSING ON HIS OWN SHORES.

    BILL GUNNYEON IS NO DIFFERENT TO THE ANGEL OF DEATH, JOSEF MENGELE, WHO TERRORISED HIS VICTIMS AT CONCENTRATION CAMPS WHERE HE WORKED.

    GUNNYEON, AS THE CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO THE DWP, SHOULD BE TAKEN TO A DARK PLACE AND EXECUTED.

    I WOULD HAVE NO QUALMS ABOUT PULLING THE TRIGGER OR RELEASING THE TRAPDOOR THAT SAW HIS BODY TRYING TO SEPARATE FROM HIS HEAD AS IT TWITCHED AND HIS BLADDER AND BOWELS EVACUATED……………………….

    THESE PEOPLE ARE NOTHING MORE THAN MINDLESS MURDERERS, BEARING SIMILAR TRAITS TO SERIAL KILLERS, THE NEED FOR ULTIMATE POWER TO SATISFY THEIR TWISTED CRAVINGS……….

    MEANWHILE, THE LILY LIVERED BUREAUCRATS OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS PRETEND THAT ALL IS WELL AS THE GROWING MORTALITY RATES ARE SHIELDED FROM VIEW

    THE WAR IS ON OUR OWN SHORES, IRAQ IS JUST A DISTRACTION FOR THE STATE ASSISTED CULL OF IT’S OWN CITIZENS.

    AT LEAST 46, 000 AND COUNTING……………

    GENOCIDE BY SANCTIONS…………

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      SO THERESA MAY WANTS A FULL BLOWN INQUIRY INTO THE DEATH OF ONE PERSON, THE RUSSIAN DISSIDENT, ALEXANDER LITVINENKO………………………………………………….

      STRANGELY, THE DWP AND DUNCAN SMITH ARE HIDING THE MORTALITY RATES OF THOSE WHO HAVE DIED AFTER ATOS MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS……………

      ONE MAN WARRANTS AN INQUIRY BUT THE DEATHS OF PROBABLE, MULTI THOUSANDS, GOES UNNOTICED…………..

      THERESA MAY WANTS TO KNOW IF THE RUSSIAN STATE WAS INVOLVED IN THE MURDER, YET WE ALREADY KNOW THE UK STATE IS GUILTY OF MULTIPLE DEATHS ON AN UNPRECEDENTED INDUSTRIAL SCALE.

      …………HOPE YOUR ARSE IS TWITCHING MR SMITH…………….

  54. Stepping Razor says:

    Cabinet Office – Disability Role Model Guide

    Role Models in the Civil Service – Guidance on the Use of People with Disabilities as Role Models

    Developed in partnership with the Civil Service Disability Network with contributions from HM Treasury and Department for Education and Skills

    Purpose of this guide

    This guide is intended to assist in identifying disabled people as role models and gives hints on how to best make use of them.

    Why might you want to find a person with disabilities to act as a Role Model?

    Organisations might have a range of reasons for wanting to identify a person with disabilities as a role model. It may be just to raise general awareness of disability issues within the organisation – for example, an article in an internal magazine; or to gather support/interest in a particular policy or initiative – for example, to help publicise the launch of a new training course or development opportunity; or to act as a mentor or buddy to a new person in the organisation who may have a disability.

    Who is a “Role Model”?

    Anyone, and possibly everyone, can be considered a “role model”. What is key is that the person who is formally asked to take on this role is happy to do so, and understands exactly what is required of them, and what exposure they will have to deal with.

    How to identify a “Role Model”

    Almost without exception Role Models will identify themselves. They are the individuals who are already prepared to stand up and be identified as people with disabilities. If an organisation has a Disability Network, then it is probably a good idea to contact them as a potential source of contacts. However, it is perfectly acceptable to select role models because of their role in the organisation (in particular if they are very senior people) if that is important to what you are trying to achieve (e.g. to mentor a more junior person).

    What you must not do is select “role models” to meet your criteria. Do not ask for a role model with a specific disability or adaptation, at best this can come across as tokenism. For example, do not ask for someone with an apparent disability for a photo opportunity just to send a visual message that your organisation employs people with disabilities.

    Tips and Tricks

    1) Always get the permission of the Role Model, before using their information, for each separate occasion or type of occasion. For instance, if they have agreed to be used for promoting an internal event do not assume that they would be happy to be used outside of the organisation.

    2) The Role Model should be allowed to say no to the use of their, often personal, information at any time.

    3) Allow Role Models to cover both the good and the bad aspects of having a disability and working in your organisation, this will add value to the articles, as it will seem more honest.

    4) Linked to this, do not edit, or “simplify” the Role Model’s text without a full explanation and most importantly, agreement.

    5) Use the departmental networks as a source of volunteers, but if no one is prepared to volunteer do not apply any pressure. It is better that no role model is used than an enforced one.

    6) Don’t over use a single role model; people will rapidly become bored of reading a single “story”. Also the individual could become the target for jokes if they are repeatedly used.

    7) When appropriate give the Role Model training in the media you are expecting them to work in for you, e.g. if you want them to be in a video, let them attend a media skills course.

    8) Always give the Role Model a copy of the final document before it is released, so that they can be prepared for any follow on questions or actions.

    9) Organisations need to recognise that people who agree to act as role models will need to take time out from their existing work to do this. It is vital that line managers are fully involved and aware of the likely time commitment, so that the risk that the person might be disadvantaged does not manifest itself.

    Acknowledgements

    With grateful thanks to the Civil Service Disability Network (CSDN) for providing the material for this guide. Thanks also to HM Treasury and DfES for their input.

        1. Stepping Razor says:

          “6) Don’t over use a single role model; people will rapidly become bored of reading a single “story”. Also the individual could become the target for jokes if they are repeatedly used”

          SLAVE TRADE AGAIN

  55. Stepping Razor says:

    Outrage as police set up 2014 Games protest zones – Herald Scotland 6th July 2014

    Campaigners say police use of protest zones at event is ‘ghettoisation’ aimed at neutralising legitimate public displays of dissent against games sponsors and participating countries Exclusive By Judith Duffy

    POLICE proposals to set up “protest zones” at the Commonwealth Games have been criticised by campaigners as an attempt to “ghettoise” demonstrations.

    The plans, revealed last week in the Sunday Herald, mean that pre-determined sites will be set up “adjacent to” sporting venues to “facilitate protest”, according to Police Scotland. But some protest groups have vowed to ignore the zones, claiming it is anti-democratic and an attempt to “hide” them.

    Glasgow 2014 is expected to be targeted by protesters over its sponsorship by healthcare company Atos, which has attracted controversy over its role in work assessments for disability benefits.

    Other demonstrations are also being held to highlight gay-rights issues across the Commonwealth, while protesters may also target Sri Lankan representatives over human-rights abuses.

    Sean Clerkin, chairman of the Glasgow Against Atos campaign group, said they would be organising protests before and during the Commonwealth Games.

    But he added: “We will not go to protest sites, we will go where we want to go.

    “The bottom line is these protest sites are trying to ghettoise and neuter protests. It will fail because protest groups will not go along with this. They want to go and meet the world’s media and meet people who are coming from abroad.

    “What these protest zones do is marginalise protesters – it is to get them out of the road, away from the Games, so they can’t be seen.

    “Our action will be within the law, but we will do what we want to do, not what the police tell us to do.”

    Clerkin also claimed the group had four athletes who were willing to carry out protests following their events within competition arenas, adding: “They are not going to be able to police that.”

    He added: “The whole point of protest is to be heard and to be seen by everybody. What they are doing by making protest zones is denying democracy and it smacks of a police state, like Vladimir Putin’s Russia.”

    The Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia earlier this year attracted controversy for designating dedicated public zones for protesters in a park in a town seven miles away from the nearest Games sporting arenas.

    However, Dr Graeme Hayes, reader in the school of languages and social sciences at Aston University and UK editor-in-chief of the journal Social Movement Studies, said the origins of such sites go back to the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002, following heightened security in the wake of the 2001 US terrorist attacks.

    He said: “In Britain it is quite interesting as we don’t have a vast history [of events like this] until the London 2012 Olympics.

    “I think this was the first time I was really aware of in Britain there being places you could protest and places you couldn’t protest because we mustn’t disrupt the staging of the event. It is interesting that in Glasgow it seems like it is also happening.”

    Hayes pointed out heightened security measures in recent years meant it was also more difficult for protesters to now get into venues carrying banners, for example.

    But he added that major protests at historical sporting events – such as suffragette Emily Wilding Davison throwing herself under King George V’s horse at the Epsom Derby or the anti-apartheid protests at South Africa rugby matches – were “fundamental to the type of democracy we have now”.

    Hayes added: “When the police or the city council say they facilitate protest, I think we have the right as citizens to be sceptical about that. Really this isn’t about facilitation of protest, this is about managing protest for the convenience of the organisers. It is not about allowing a democratic dialogue to take place.”

    Police Scotland insists the protest zones are aimed at balancing public safety with the upholding the right for individuals to protest.

    Deputy Chief Constable Steve Allen, security director for the Games, said: “Police Scotland will facilitate peaceful, lawful protests and various areas have been identified adjacent to venues where demonstrations or assemblies can take place.

    “This ensures the legitimate right of protesters’ whilst ensuring minimum disruption to people living in the local area. This underlines the principle of the facilitation of peaceful protest, whilst maximising public safety.

    “Police Scotland also has a number of specially trained liaison officers, who have close links with both individuals and groups who intend to protest.”

    He added: “All events will be policed appropriately; however, anyone involved in criminal activity can expect to be arrested.”

    HeraldScotldnd: –
    http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/outrage-as-police-set-up-2014-games-protest-zones.24677342

  56. Stepping Razor says:

    UK Government Outsourcing Doubles Despite G4S, Serco and Atos Scandals – International Business Times 7th July 2014

    Outsourcing in the public sector has rocketed under the coalition government as it tries to drive down state spending under its austerity programme to balance the UK’s finances.

    But outsourcing has been the source of increasing controversy as scandals surround some of the biggest firms, from the fit-for-work assessments by Atos to the electronic tagging of offenders by G4S and Serco.

    Research firm IGS said that since 2010, when the coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats came to power, the value of outsourcing contracts issue by the public sector hit £87.7bn. That is up from £45.1bn in the four years before under the Labour government.

    “The recession and the subsequent focus by the public sector on cost reduction and value for money has driven a renewed interest in outsourcing and its role in helping deliver efficient, cost effective services,” said Luke Mansell, a partner at ISG.

    Cat Hobbs of the We Own It campaign against outsourcing to the private sector claimed that ideology has fuelled the increase.

    “The current government believes in putting public services in private hands, ignoring the dubious record of outsourcing companies like G4S, Serco, Atos and Capita,” Hobbs said.

    “Our research shows these companies are distrusted by 64% of the British public. Despite the ideology of central government, many councils have brought services in-house to improve value for money, quality and flexibility.”

    A report by parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the government had to “get its house in order” over outsourcing.

    The PAC said a handful of large firms run most of the public contracts because small businesses were being crowded out of the bidding process by its unnecessary complexity, bureaucracy and high cost.

    This view is supported by the IGS data, which showed that there had be a drop in the portion of small contracts from 46% of the market in 2010-2011 to 40% in the period since 2012.

    And a number of scandals have gripped some of the UK’s largest outsourcing firms.

    Atos has come under heavy criticism over its contract with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to assess the whether or not the recipients of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), formerly called Incapacity Benefit, are fit to work.

    Between 2010 and 2013, the government, which has the final say on the assessments, reversed 158,300 fit-for-work approvals by Atos.

    In one case, a dying man with a brain tumour and serious heart condition was deemed fit to work by Atos.

    In another, a vulnerable man with Asperger’s Syndrome, a phobia for food and several other health issues was stripped of his ESA after being judged fit to work by Atos. He later died of malnourishment.

    A separate scandal embroiled G4S and Serco when it emerged they had been charging taxpayers for the electronic tagging of criminals who were dead or in prison.

    Both firms are under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and have paid back millions of pounds to the Department of Justice on their electronic tagging contracts, which they were also stripped of.

    International Business Times: –
    https://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2014/06/09/second-court-case-to-challenge-ilf-closure-in-england-and-wales-launched/#comment-99105

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      ATOS, CAPITA, G4S, SERCO, IDS, MIKE PENNING, WELFARE REFORM

      You can`t do nothing your in litigation !!

      1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

        Your comment is awaiting moderation.

        “FOR ALL OF YOU AT THE DWP WHO THINK THAT SANCTIONS WORK”

        ……………a little reminder to put your minds at rest…….

        Single mother died penniless after her benefits were stopped
        http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/disabled-mum-died-alone-penniless-3662850

        Former soldier David Clapson, died after benefit sanctions.
        http://www.theadvertisergroup.co.uk/Daily-News/Stevenage/Lessons-must-be-learned-from-diabetic-former-soldier-who-died-after-benefits-sanction-20140722174205.htm#ixzz38TYzrM00

        Sick benefits claimant has HEART ATTACK during Jobcentre test – and Government axe his payments
        http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/sick-benefits-claimant-heart-attack-3098219#ixzz39KxGjWnj

        A disabled man died penniless when he lost his benefits after being judged fit to work
        http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/Cambridge-microbiologist-Robert-Barlow-dies-penniless-in-Liverpool-after-his-benefits-were-withdrawn-despite-him-needing-a-new-heart-20140409063051.htm

        Linda Wootton: Double heart and lung transplant dies nine days after she has benefits stopped
        http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/linda-wootton-double-heart-lung-1912498#.U19bUv55SVY.facebook

        Mark Wood, 44, starved to death after having his benefits removed.
        http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/28/man-starved-to-death-after-benefits-cut?CMP=twt_gu

        Farmer David coupe was refused benefits after being diagnosed with a bad back, terminal cancer and diabetes.
        http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2474772/Farmer-David-Coupe-refused-Atos-healthcare-reassessment-diagnosed-terminal-cancer.html

        Grandad shoots himself after finding out his benefits were being stopped
        http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/grandad-shaun-pilkington-shoots-himself-2989685#ixzz39L4zeYSQ

        Martin Hadfield, 20 committed suicide 24hours after job-seeker meeting.
        http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/379712/Jobseeker-commits-suicide-after-being-worn-down-by-Job-Centre-bureaucracy

        ……….THE SUCCESS OF PUNITIVE ACTS AGAINST THE WEAK AND DISABLED, laid out for all to see………….

  57. Stepping Razor says:

    The Equality Act 2010 and the United Nations (UN) Convention on Disability Rights – gov.uk & un.org

    Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

    Preamble

    The States Parties to the present Convention,
    a.Recalling the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations which recognize the inherent dignity and worth and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
    b.Recognizing that the United Nations, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the International Covenants on Human Rights, has proclaimed and agreed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind,
    c.Reaffirming the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and the need for persons with disabilities to be guaranteed their full enjoyment without discrimination,
    d.Recalling the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families,
    e.Recognizing that disability is an evolving concept and that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others,
    f.Recognizing the importance of the principles and policy guidelines contained in the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and in the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities in influencing the promotion, formulation and evaluation of the policies, plans, programmes and actions at the national, regional and international levels to further equalize opportunities for persons with disabilities,
    g.Emphasizing the importance of mainstreaming disability issues as an integral part of relevant strategies of sustainable development,
    h.Recognizing also that discrimination against any person on the basis of disability is a violation of the inherent dignity and worth of the human person,
    i.Recognizing further the diversity of persons with disabilities,
    j.Recognizing the need to promote and protect the human rights of all persons with disabilities, including those who require more intensive support,
    k.Concerned that, despite these various instruments and undertakings, persons with disabilities continue to face barriers in their participation as equal members of society and violations of their human rights in all parts of the world,
    l.Recognizing the importance of international cooperation for improving the living conditions of persons with disabilities in every country, particularly in developing countries,
    m.Recognizing the valued existing and potential contributions made by persons with disabilities to the overall well-being and diversity of their communities, and that the promotion of the full enjoyment by persons with disabilities of their human rights and fundamental freedoms and of full participation by persons with disabilities will result in their enhanced sense of belonging and in significant advances in the human, social and economic development of society and the eradication of poverty,
    n.Recognizing the importance for persons with disabilities of their individual autonomy and independence, including the freedom to make their own choices,
    o.Considering that persons with disabilities should have the opportunity to be actively involved in decision-making processes about policies and programmes, including those directly concerning them,
    p.Concerned about the difficult conditions faced by persons with disabilities who are subject to multiple or aggravated forms of discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic, indigenous or social origin, property, birth, age or other status,
    q.Recognizing that women and girls with disabilities are often at greater risk, both within and outside the home of violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation,
    r.Recognizing that children with disabilities should have full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children, and recalling obligations to that end undertaken by States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
    s.Emphasizing the need to incorporate a gender perspective in all efforts to promote the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities,
    t.Highlighting the fact that the majority of persons with disabilities live in conditions of poverty, and in this regard recognizing the critical need to address the negative impact of poverty on persons with disabilities,
    u.Bearing in mind that conditions of peace and security based on full respect for the purposes and principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations and observance of applicable human rights instruments are indispensable for the full protection of persons with disabilities, in particular during armed conflicts and foreign occupation,
    v.Recognizing the importance of accessibility to the physical, social, economic and cultural environment, to health and education and to information and communication, in enabling persons with disabilities to fully enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms,
    w.Realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals and to the community to which he or she belongs, is under a responsibility to strive for the promotion and observance of the rights recognized in the International Bill of Human Rights,
    x.Convinced that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State, and that persons with disabilities and their family members should receive the necessary protection and assistance to enable families to contribute towards the full and equal enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities,
    y.Convinced that a comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities will make a significant contribution to redressing the profound social disadvantage of persons with disabilities and promote their participation in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural spheres with equal opportunities, in both developing and developed countries,

    Have agreed as follows:

    Full Details un.rg United Nations:
    http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      Article 10 – Right to life

      States Parties reaffirm that every human being has the inherent right to life and shall take all necessary measures to ensure its effective enjoyment by persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others.

      1. Stepping Razor says:

        Article 12 – Equal recognition before the law

        1. States Parties reaffirm that persons with disabilities have the right to recognition everywhere as persons before the law.

        2. States Parties shall recognize that persons with disabilities enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life.

        3. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to provide access by persons with disabilities to the support they may require in exercising their legal capacity.

        4. States Parties shall ensure that all measures that relate to the exercise of legal capacity provide for appropriate and effective safeguards to prevent abuse in accordance with international human rights law. Such safeguards shall ensure that measures relating to the exercise of legal capacity respect the rights, will and preferences of the person, are free of conflict of interest and undue influence, are proportional and tailored to the person’s circumstances, apply for the shortest time possible and are subject to regular review by a competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body. The safeguards shall be proportional to the degree to which such measures affect the person’s rights and interests.

        5. Subject to the provisions of this article, States Parties shall take all appropriate and effective measures to ensure the equal right of persons with disabilities to own or inherit property, to control their own financial affairs and to have equal access to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial credit, and shall ensure that persons with disabilities are not arbitrarily deprived of their property.

        1. Stepping Razor says:

          Article 14 – Liberty and security of the person

          1. States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others:
          a.Enjoy the right to liberty and security of person;
          b.Are not deprived of their liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily, and that any deprivation of liberty is in conformity with the law, and that the existence of a disability shall in no case justify a deprivation of liberty.

          2. States Parties shall ensure that if persons with disabilities are deprived of their liberty through any process, they are, on an equal basis with others, entitled to guarantees in accordance with international human rights law and shall be treated in compliance with the objectives and principles of this Convention, including by provision of reasonable accommodation.

  58. Stepping Razor says:

    A GOOD ONE FOR ATOS & THE DWP

    Article 15 – Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

    1. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his or her free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.

    2. States Parties shall take all effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, from being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

  59. Stepping Razor says:

    PRESS RELEASE FROM LISA COLEMAN [ATOS] Twitter page

    DISABILITY SMART – [PLC]

    Stepping up: Bridging local disability
    employment gaps
    July 2014

        1. Stepping Razor says:

          PROOF >>>>

          Executive Summary
          Stepping up: Bridging local disability employment gaps, July 2014 4
          The opportunity for local solutions
          LEPs are preparing to access over £15 billion
          of pooled central funds in the next parliament.
          These new powers and funds available to local
          economic areas represent a major opportunity
          to remove barriers to work faced by people with
          disabilities, health problems and impairments on
          a local level. It is essential that local economic
          areas take full advantage of this opportunity
          to bridge local disability employment gaps; to
          promote a more inclusive society and realise their
          full economic potential.
          Robust policies to improve outcomes

          I Think the disabled are more smart than disability smart PLC.

          1. Stepping Razor says:

            Even cross Rail is £15.9 billion so how comes the Shaw Trust charity [ha ha ha] is getting £15 billion. Charities don`t get that sort of money they would be lucky to get £1 million not £15 billion.

            WAKE UP TO DISABILITY FRAUD ON A HUGE SCALE.

              1. Stepping Razor says:

                Shaw Trust – Ability To Work

            1. Stepping Razor says:

              The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said Universal Credit will cost £12.8bn – not the £2.2bn figure that has previously been claimed – because it needs to run existing benefits in parallel as it brings in the new scheme.

              & the Shaw Trust is getting £15 billion.

              1. Stepping Razor says:

                Channel funds IDS through fake charities in business £15 billion with money laundering as its function. If a disabled charity got £15 billion there would be no more disabled poverty, but the disabled people are going to see none of that £15 billion. Get business back to work not the disabled into work programme.

                UTTER FRAUD.

  60. Stepping Razor says:

    You know they come to Black Triangle to keep up to date with what`s going on !! Wildfire gossip is all the press know as a scapegoat & a diversion from what`s really happening. Don`t forget IDS in your new job away from the Welfare State that your are still in legal litigation so you can`t get away IDS & your Slavery PR.

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      From: A. Clerk

      11 June 2014

      Dear Department for Work and Pensions,
      As you chose to completely ignore my original request…Here it is
      Again!!!

      Under the Freedom Of Information act I would like to request the
      number of recorded deaths of the UK population judged to be fit for
      work following assessments by ATOS/WORK CAPABILITY ASSESSMENTS.

      This should include all deaths including “Suicides.”

      Please also provide details of ongoing legal investigations into
      the deaths of the UK population judged to be fit for work following
      assessments by ATOS/WORK CAPABILITY ASSESSMENTS

      Yours faithfully,

      A. Clerk

      Link to this
      From: DWP freedom-of-information-requests
      Department for Work and Pensions

      11 June 2014

      This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has
      been accepted by the DWP FoI mailbox.

      By the next working day your request will be forwarded to the relevant
      information owner within the Department who will respond to you direct.

      If your email is a Freedom of Information request you can normally
      expect a response within 20 working days.

      Should you have any further queries in connection with this request do
      please contact us.

      For further information on the Freedom of Information Act within DWP
      please click on the link below.

      [1]http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa…

      show quoted sections

      References

      Visible links
      1. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa

      Link to this
      From: DWP IGS FOI
      Department for Work and Pensions

      16 June 2014

      Dear A. Clerk,

      Thank you for your request, it has been logged and your reference number
      is FOI 2014-2581. You should receive a response by 9 July 2014 unless we
      need to come back to you to clarify your request or the balance of the
      public interest test needs to be considered.

      Thank you.

      IGS Freedom of Information Team

      show quoted sections

      Link to this
      From: A. Clerk

      10 July 2014

      Dear DWP IGS FOI,

      You are late with your response and are breaking the law. Please
      have the common decency to respond immediately.

      Yours sincerely,

      A. Clerk

      Link to this
      From: A. Clerk

      12 July 2014

      Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

      Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
      Information reviews.

      I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Work
      and Pensions’s handling of my FOI request ‘Atos Deaths’.

      This is disgusting behaviour from a Government Department. I will
      continue to press for answers.

      A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
      available on the Internet at this address:
      https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a

      Yours faithfully,

      A. Clerk

  61. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “YET ANOTHER CROCK OF SHIT FROM THE DWP”

    THE STATE ASSISTED MURDERS ARE TO CONTINUE…………………….

    The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has awarded Atos a contract worth £10 million a year to continue providing IT services to support work capability assessments after it steps down as the main supplier next year.

    Atos is due to exit its controversial DWP contract for health and disability assessments by February next year, instead of the original end date in August.

    The French multinational has come under fire for the number of work capability decisions that have been overturned and the firm recorded roughly 163 incidents of abuse or assault on staff in 2013.

    Atos offers $845M for Bull to boost its security and HPC service offering
    Cost of DWP’s child maintenance IT more than doubles
    UK government spends £4.2bn a year with six IT suppliers

    The firm announced its intention to walk away from the contract in February and the government confirmed that Atos would exit the agreement early in March.

    However this new contract means the firm will continue to provide the IT for the assessments until at least 2016, with allowances for it to be extended until 2020.

    The contract, which the DWP described as an ‘interim arrangement’, was negotiated and set up without any competition.

    No competition

    The department said that this was for ‘technical reasons’, some of which were set out in the award notice, which was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) at the end of last week.

    The DWP said that an alternative provider would not be able to set up the new services in time without there being “an unacceptable level of service transition and delivery risk failure”.

    In the OJEU notice, the department also claimed: “Another supplier would be unable to provide the IT services using the existing hardware, software, premises, etc, because the physical assets are owned by the current provider of the assessment services rather than the Authority.”

    The DWP said: “Another supplier would be unable to replicate the current IT services because there is insufficient documentation to build them.”

    It also said that another supplier wouldn’t be able to replace the physical assetes on a like-for-like basis because some of the assets were out-of-date and now unavailable.

    ‘Interim arrangement’

    The DWP told ComputerworldUK that although a new provider is expected to take over the contract next year, the IT will be transferred separately and at a later date.

    A spokesperson said: “The DWP is seeking a new provider to help increase the volume of assessments carried out and improve the claimant experience, in particular looking to reduce waiting times and modernise delivery, including looking to replace the current IT.

    “To make sure claimants get a good service during transformation, we are transferring the IT separately, and at a later date, than the rest of the service [which transfers in 2015].

    “We have therefore asked Atos to continue to provide the current IT services for a further year. In the meantime work has started on planning for how we replace the IT.”

    Early exit payment

    In a statement to Parliament in March, disability minister Mike Penning MP said that Atos had paid the department to terminate its contract early.

    He said: “I am pleased to confirm that Atos will not receive a single penny of compensation from the taxpayer for the early termination of their contract, quite the contrary, I can also confirm that Atos has made a substantial financial settlement to the Department for Work and Pensions.”

    However the DWP refused to disclose the figure paid by Atos when contacted by ComputerworldUK.

    The contract for healthcare assessments between the DWP and Atos was awarded in 1998. It was renewed for seven years in 2005 and then extended for a further three in 2010 through to 2015.

    …………………………….WATCH THE MORTALITY RATES SOAR AS THE GOVERNMENT’S HAND PICKED DISABILITY DENIAL MURDERERS FINISH OFF THEIR CONTRACT OF LYING, CHEATING, STEALING FROM THOSE MOST VULNERABLE OR WEAK TO RESPOND………………..

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      THERE IS ONLY ONE REASON THAT THAT ATOS WAS GIVEN THE EXTENDED CONTRACT, THEY OWN THE SOFTWARE RIGHTS USED TO STEAL BONAFIDE BENEFITS FROM DISABLED PERSONS USING UNQUALIFIED CHARLATANS PURPORTING TO BE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS…………………………..

      1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

        A COUPLE OF WEEKS AT DERBY UNIVERSITY AND “VOILA”, INSTANT EXPERTS ON PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WORK CAPACITY EXAMINATIONS.

        HOLDERS OF A CERTIFICATE NOT RECOGNISED BY ANY MEDICAL BODY, JUST THE SECRETARY OF STATE………………………….

        A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN FOR THE LIKES OF THE DWP, THE TREASURY AND THE PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY WHO ARE BRIBING OUR POLITICIANS THROUGH ILLEGAL LOBBYING ACTIVITY.

        BILL GUNNYEON, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER OF THE DWP, THE GUY WHO MADE THE DECISIONS TO END THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS OF DISABLED IN HIS QUEST TO SATISFY THE CRAVINGS OF HIS PAYMASTERS………..

    2. Stepping Razor says:

      ATOS control the DWP. The DWP have broken all the rules. IDS you can`t move in a re shuffle your in litigation.

  62. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “SO STRANGE HOW THE TOTALLY BENT, DWP, SEEK TO WITHHOLD FURTHER INFORMATION ON THEIR FLAGSHIP UNIVERSAL CREDIT FROM THE PUBLIC DOMAIN…………..

    WHAT HAVE THEY GOT TO HIDE, APART FROM THE GROWING MORTALITY RATES AND THE TOTALLY SICKENING AMOUNT OF TAXPAYERS CASH WASTED ON THE DREAMS OF AN IMBECILE, DUNCAN SMITH?.

    From: William

    12 May 2014

    Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

    Under the Freedom of information Act, Can you please supply copies
    of your Four reports on the Universal Credit programme

    I am aware that An information tribunal judge has unexpectedly
    refused consent for the Department of Work and Pensions to appeal
    his ruling that four reports on the Universal Credit programme be
    published.

    The judge’s decision, which is dated 25 April 2014, means the DWP
    will have to publish the reports under the FOI Act – or it has 28
    days to appeal the judge’s refusal to grant consent for an appeal.

    Yours faithfully,

    William Pickersgill

    Link to this
    https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/four_universal_credit_reports#incoming-537342

    John Slater left an annotation ( 9 July 2014)

    William,

    The DWP today submitted a request for an oral hearing in front of an Upper Tribunal Judge to seek reconsideration of Judge Wikeley’s refusal of its application for permission for appeal against the First Tier Tribunal judgement.

    …………………….MEANWHILE, THE SANCTIONS CONTINUE, UNEMPLOYMENT RISES, HOMELESSNESS AND DEPRIVATION FIGURES HIT AN ALL TIME HIGH AS DOES THE USE OF FOODBANKS……………………..

    MAKE YOUR OWN MINDS UP TO WHY THEY SEEK TO HIDE INFORMATION…………

  63. Stepping Razor says:

    “Mike Penning is the new Minister of State at the Home Office and Ministry of Justice. He’ll have responsibility for the police.”

    Useless lump of lard as Minister For The Disabled.

  64. Stepping Razor says:

    Devon MP brands mental health welfare crackdown “unethical, unworkable nonsense”

    Western Morning News [Devon] – 14th July 2014

    An influential Westcountry MP has condemned plans to strip benefits from the mentally ill unless they agree to treatment as “unethical, unworkable nonsense”.

    Totnes Conservative MP Dr Sarah Wollaston, recently appointed chair of the powerful Health Select Committee of MPs, branded the Department fro Work and Pensions proposal as “complete tosh”.

    According to reports in the Telegraph, Iain Duncan Smith’s department is looking at forcing claimants with depression or anxiety to undergo therapy as a condition of getting sickness benefits, and trial schemes have already begun.

    The former Dartmoor GP took to Twitter to attack the proposed policy, and alluded to the plan being briefed to the Press ahead of a ministerial reshuffle that could see former Tory leader Mr Duncan Smith ousted.

    In a series of tweets, she said: “Presumably this complete tosh planted by someone who has no understanding of consent to treatment.

    “Fundamentally flawed as incompatible with principle of consent to treatment and impossible to implement.

    “Just imagining the increase in prescriptions for antidepressants to ‘prove’ compliance with treatment. Unethical, unworkable nonsense.

    “Also (General Medical Council) should take dim view of any doctor who prescribes treatment to patient reporting they need it only to comply with benefit rules.

    “Interesting timing of (mental health) benefits/treatment briefing to Telegraph; almost as if a poison chalice poured for next DWP incumbent #reshuffle.

    “Certainly the first question I’d be asking new minister; do they seriously think any compulsory treatment ethical let alone actually work?”

    According to the Government, 46% of benefit claimants receiving Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), the main benefit for ill and disabled people, have mental health problems.

    The reforms would apply only to those claimants judged to be capable of some work in future, but those judged to be incapable of work due to the severity of their conditions.

    A senior Government source told the Telegraph said “a huge number” of claimants on ESA who cannot work have treatable mental health issues such as “depression and anxiety”.

    “We know that depression and anxiety are treatable conditions. Cognitive behavioural therapies work and they get people stable again but you can’t mandate people to take that treatment,” the source said.

    “But there are loads of people who claim ESA who undergo no treatment whatsoever. It is bizarre. This is a real problem because we want people to get better.”

    “These are areas we need to explore. The taxpayer has committed a lot of money but the idea was never to sustain them for years and years on benefit. We think it’s time for a rethink.”

    Western Morning News: –
    http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Devon-MP-brands-mental-health-welfare-crackdown/story-21461112-detail/story.html

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      And who are the ones to carry out these Mental Health Tests? ATOS.
      The DWP are having to find more work for ATOS.

  65. Stepping Razor says:

    Unemployment is now a Mental Health Issue. or should read Disability is a Mental Health Issue.

  66. Stepping Razor says:

    David Cameron`s Twitter Feed!! Latest – Simpleton

    Ed Miliband trying to mingle in a crowd

    Ed Miliband trying to scratch his head

    Ed Miliband trying to look thrilled

    Ed Miliband trying to stand and clap at the same time

    Ed Miliband trying to look on the bright side of life

    DC Spamming again as a troll.

  67. Stepping Razor says:

    Cancer benefit delays leave 45,000 struggling with finances

    Herald Scotland: –

    Kathleen Nutt

    Monday 16 June 2014

    CANCER patients are struggling to heat their homes and face added money worries due to delays in processing a vital ­disability benefit, a leading ­charity has warned.

    Research commissioned by Macmillan Cancer Support found assessment backlogs have left around 45,000 people with the disease waiting six months or more to find out if they qualify.

    The study revealed the average wait was almost five months and 40 per cent of patients were unable to adequately heat their homes.

    It found more than half of those questioned (56%) had increased financial worries while 51% felt the process caused extra emotional strain. As many as 2% had abandoned their application.

    The charity said Waiting to Benefit exposed the “shattering” impact of problems with the introduction of Personal Independence Payments (PIP), which replaced Disability Living Allowance (DLA) last year, and were designed to help meet extra costs due to long-term health conditions.

    Most people applying for PIP undergo a face-to-face assessment by private contractors.

    The report prompted the charity to call for action by the UK Government to speed up the assessment process and cut waiting times to 11 weeks – the average for DLA.

    The survey of 210 cancer patients found one quarter of claims – which can only be made after three months of the onset of problems with day-to-day activities – are currently stuck in the system.

    Helen Thewliss, 65, of East Kilbride said she had worried about her travel costs to the Beatson clinic in Glasgow while waiting 11 months for the benefit.

    She applied last July and it took 10 months before she was assessed. She was told last week her claim had been successful. Ms Thewliss said: “I’m so angry I had to wait so long. I had almost given up when I finally got an appointment for a nurse to come and see me.”

    Thomas Gorman, Macmillan’s senior welfare right project manager, said: “These delays are a further blow to cancer patients who have to prove that they have been affected by their disease for at least three months before they can even claim this benefit.”

    A DWP spokesman said ­Macmillan’s report was based on a small sample and should be treated with “extreme caution”.

    HeraldScotland: –
    http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/cancer-benefit-delays-leave-45000-struggling-with-finances.24489882

  68. Stepping Razor says:

    “A DWP spokesman said ­Macmillan’s report was based on a small sample and should be treated with “extreme caution”.

    Only 45,000 people a small sample with extreme caution.

    Never a name always a DWP spokesman – WHAT IS YOUR NAME DWP Spokesman oh its the LIMA software talking as the DWP spokesman.

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      THIS RESPONSE FROM THE DWP CONCERNING THE RECORDING OF MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS SHOW THAT NO LAWS EXIST THAT PROHIBIT THE CLAIMANT FROM MAKING A RECORDING.

      IF YOU WISH TO RECORD ANY CONVERSATION THAT INVOLVES YOURSELF, FEEL FREE, IT IS YOUR RIGHT TO DO SO.

      THE DWP HAVE CONSTANTLY TOLD LIES TO TRY AND STOP RECORDINGS.

      In response to questions 1, 3 & 4, there is no law placing a legal requirement for a claimant to use
      recording equipment approved by the Department, nor is there a law or statute which denies a
      person the right to record a conversation in which he is an active participant; we note that there
      is also no law or statute placing the other party to the conversation under an obligation to take
      part in a recorded interview.
      It is Departmental policy that puts in place reasonable restrictions and requirements to ensure
      that claimants who wish to use their own equipment to record their face-to-face assessment
      must use appropriate equipment that can provide two copies of the recording in such a way to
      ensure that the recording is a reliable and accurate record of the assessment.
      If a claimant is found to be covertly recording an assessment, departmental guidelines advise
      that the assessment should be terminated.

      ……………ALL THE CRAP ABOUT DEPARTMENTAL GUIDELINES AND REASONABLE RESTRICTIONS ARE NOTHING BUT CRAP………………

      RECORD WHATEVER YOU WISH………………

      https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/216440/response/536712/attach/html/3/FOI%202613%20response.pdf.html

      1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

        2MAYBE THE HISTORY BOOKS WILL NEED TO BE REWRITTEN?”

        ACCORDING TO THE BBC NEWS THIS MORNING, THE WORST MASSACRE IN POST WORLD WAR HISTORY, WAS THE KILLING OF 7,000 BOSNIANS WHO WERE HANDED OVER BY DUTCH NATO TROOPS TO THE INVADING SERB ARMY………………………

        THIS IS HISTORICAL YET THE AMOUNT OF HUMAN BEINGS KILLED, PALES INTO INSIGNIFICANCE WHEN COMPARED TO THE NUMBER OF DEATHS CAUSED BY OUR PRESENT COALITION GOVERNMENT.

        AN ESTIMATE OF 46,000 HAVE ALREADY DIED AND THE NUMBER SHOULD SPIRAL OUT OF CONTROL NOW THAT THE CHOSEN EXECUTIONER, “ATOS”, HAS HAD IT’S KILLING ABILITY EXTENDED………….

        HIDING MORTALITY FIGURES IS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY OF OUR EVIL, DERANGED, DEPARTMENT OF WORKS AND PENSIONS.
        THEY ARE DOING ALL THEY CAN TO BLOCK LEGITIMATE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUESTS THAT WILL HIGHLIGHT THE TRAIL OF CORPSES THAT ILL THOUGHT OUT PRODUCTS OF ETHNIC CLEANSING HAVE LEFT BEHIND.

        WHILE PEOPLE ARE FED BY FOOD BANKS AND FAMILIES WALK THE STREETS, THE DWP SEE FIT TO SQUANDER COUNTLESS MILLIONS ON A DOOMED PROJECT THAT HAS SEEN SEVERAL MANAGERS DISAPPEAR ALONG THE WAYSIDE…………………………..

        THESE ARE NOT UNFORTUNATE MISTAKES, THEY ARE PRE PLANNED, PREMEDITATED ACTS OF MURDER ON AN ENORMOUS SCALE FUNDED BY THE ACTS OF GIANT HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES WHO LOBBY OUR WEAKEST POLITICIANS.

        THIS IS CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER ON AN EPIC SCALE THAT IS BEING IGNORED BY ALL AND SUNDRY AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, THE COURTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS, THE EUROPEAN COURTS OF JUSTICE AND THE GENEVA CONVENTION.

        THESE CRIMES WILL NOT DISAPPEAR, THEY WILL BE THE FOCUS OF HISTORIANS IN YEARS TO COME…………..

        HOW THE UK GOVERNMENT BUTCHERED IT’S POOR AND DISABLED WHILE EVERYBODY LOOKED ON AND NOBODY DID A THING TO STOP IT……………………………………………………………..

  69. Stepping Razor says:

    Mum Alison Barrett admits siphoning off Department for Work and Pensions cash after three bereavements and payday loan

    KentOnline 12th July 2014

    A mum whose job it was to pay benefits to claimants has narrowly avoided prison – for diverting the cash into her own bank account.

    Alison Barrett, 49, was working for the Department for Work and Pensions as an admin officer when she cooked up the deceitful plan.

    But after she was found out and appeared in court, she told her barrister: “My husband is disgusted with me and I have ruined my life!”

    Now the mum-of-two, of Querns Road, Canterbury, has been sacked from her post at the DWP and is, ironically, dependent on benefits.

    Prosecutor Alison Ginn told Canterbury Crown Court how Barrett had worked at the Canterbury DWP Centre since 2008.

    She said: “As part of her employment she had access to the department’s computer systems, which she was trusted to use to deal with claims.

    “On November 8, last year, it came to light that an arrears payment for Employment Support Allowance was paid into a bank account not belonging to the person entitled to it.”

    Investigators checked with their own employees’ bank details and realised the money had gone into the same account as Barrett used for her salary.

    Ms Ginn added: “She had left a footprint on the computer because she had changed the details to ensure the money was paid into her account and then changed them back.”

    In a two-month period, the thieving admin officer had diverted almost £9,000 of benefits, which should have gone to six claimants, into her own account.

    The prosecutor said that Barrett thought she would get away with it because she knew her victims were not aware they were due the money.

    Barrett said that she had “accidentally” pocketed £4,000 which was a payment due under the Severe Disability Premium, which she later claimed she believed the person was not entitled to.

    She later excused the thieving saying she had “misread” the date and instead of £300 going into her account, £4,000 was transferred.

    The prosecutor added: “When she was arrested she made full and frank admissions.

    She said the idea had come to her when she saw someone’s bank details were very similar to her own,” she added.

    Paul Hogben, defending, said Barrett came from “a close and loving family”, but got into debt after she suffered three bereavements.

    “Sometimes intelligent people can make catastrophic errors of judgement. It was madness, a complete and catastrophic misjudgement,” he said.

    Mr Hogben said Barrett turned to payday loans to manage her increasing debt of £20,000 but it got out of control.

    “She did not mention one word of her financial difficulties to her husband,” he said.

    “He has remained oblivious to all the debt and it was only when she was arrested he found out what had been going on.”

    Barrett said her husband was “as honest as the day is long” and told her that he is now disgusted with her.

    She revealed: “I couldn’t tell him because the problem had arisen through my side of the family. I didn’t know how to tell him. If only I had spoken to him, this would not have happened.

    “I have hurt my family, my friends and my former colleagues. I have ruined my life,” she added.

    Barrett said she wants to repay the stolen money and is now claiming benefits after being sacked.

    She pleaded guilty to fraud and was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for a year, and ordered to do 300 hours of unpaid work.

    She was also ordered to repay the money at £80 a month.

    KentOnline –
    http://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/benefits-worker-siphoned-off-cash-20036/

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      “and ordered to do 300 hours of unpaid work.”

      The ex DWP now working at PoundLand for nothing.

  70. Stepping Razor says:

    Atos continues to supply IT to disability tests

    ComputerWeekly.com: 14 July 2014

    Atos will continue to supply IT to the Department for Work and Pension’s disability testing despite paying compensation to step down as the main supplier to the overall programme.

    In March, Atos Healthcare paid compensation to be released early from the disability testing contract with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), where it assessed whether people were fit for work, 18 months before it was due to end.

    According to Mike Penning, minister of state for disabled people, this was a “substantial amount”.

    But an interim arrangement, worth £10m a year, has been agreed that will see Atos IT Services provide a managed IT service to the DWP and the supplier that will replace Atos Healthcare as the main assessment service provider in 2015.

    The contract could be expended a further four years.

    According to a notice on Official Journal of the European Union website, the DWP had little choice. It said that moving to a new supplier for IT could risk it failing to meet its duty requirements.

    “The technical requirements of the IT services, including hardware, software and premises, mean that another supplier would not be able to build, test and deliver new IT services in time for the new IT assessment services contract without there being an unacceptable level of service transition and delivery risk failure,” it said.

    It also said the current IT is owned by Atos and it would not be feasible to transfer these to a new supplier.

    “Any attempt to physically relocate the assets would introduce a very high degree of service transition and delivery risk failure and also because all the services in the data centre are shared and used by the current supplier to service other contracts,” the department said.

    Atos Healthcare tests disability benefits claimants to determine whether people are eligible. The company has been heavily criticised for the way it carries out tests by campaign groups and a 2011 government report found that tens of thousands of sick and disabled people had been wrongly declared fit for work. Appeals against these decisions cost the taxpayer around £50m a year.

    The supplier uses logic integrated medical assessment (LiMA) software to support medical professionals when assessing claimants. Reports claim there were 163 incidents of abuse or assault on staff each month last year.

    In 2011, two Atos Healthcare employees were investigated over allegations that they made inappropriate remarks on Facebook about the people they assess for sickness and disability benefits.

    Atos defended its role on the programme. “Atos Healthcare do not make benefit entitlement decisions, all of which are made by the DWP directly. Appeals are against a DWP decision not an Atos Healthcare report. The NAO warned that there were dangers in the assumption that a successful appeal was a measure of the quality of the assessment by Atos Healthcare and feedback from the Tribunal Service backs this up showing that less than 1% of successful appeals were due to an inaccuracy in an Atos Healthcare report,” said an Atos spokeswoman.

    “Our healthcare professionals do all that they can to treat people with respect during what we know can be a stressful experience. We have delivered assessments on behalf of the DWP since it was first outsourced in 1998 and our doctors, nurses and physiotherapists are highly trained and qualified individuals.”

    ComputerWeekly.com: –
    http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240224500/Atos-continues-to-supply-IT-to-disability-tests

  71. Stepping Razor says:

    Iain Duncan Smith interview: “Nobody is more supportive of The Big Issue than me”

    Big Issue: 15th July 2014

    Iain Duncan Smith gives his support to The Big Issue – after apparently criticising the organisation last month

    Last month Iain Duncan Smith appeared to take a swipe at The Big Issue. It was reported that he said the magazine was being used “more and more” by eastern European immigrants to claim benefits by working around the UK’s self-employed status rights.

    Not so, he insisted quickly – he was questioning the system itself. However, perception is important and a remark from one of the most senior politicians in Britain can damage The Big Issue and our vendors.

    So The Big Issue editor Paul McNamee and founder John Bird went to see the Minister for Work and Pensions to seek some clarity – and to understand where his plans for a massive benefits overhaul sit.

    The Big Issue: Minister, can you first clarify what you think of The Big Issue?

    IDS: Nobody is more supportive of The Big Issue than me, I can tell you. I think The Big Issue is a brilliant idea. I think what John Bird did was absolutely right. It’s about giving people their self-belief back. It’s to give them a sense that they’re not having to beg or live on handouts, that they are in some part in control of some aspects of their own lives. To get into the process of rebuilding. I think The Big Issue does the right thing.

    My point about work is not just about money, it’s about self-belief and a sense of who you are. In some senses, it’s a more important feature of work – without that focus of achieving something we aren’t able to do all sorts of other things, you just don’t have that focus to do it.

    Work helps you get focus, it creates networks, it creates your friends, as you achieve and succeed it makes you proud of what you do. I see that time and again. And I see that with The Big Issue. If we have a system that allows people to do certain things that aren’t correct, I never blame someone else who’s in the middle of that, I blame that system.

    TBI: Reform of the system is a good aim. Universal Credit in essence is a good idea – even critics admit that. But regardless, there is a problem with public perception and with delivery. It is seen as punishing the poor. Are you so emotionally attached to the big idea that you can’t see the flaws?

    IDS: I see flaws all the time. But we will push ahead with the rollout. Am I emotionally connected? Of course I am. I feel quite emotional about giving people a proper chance. Does that cloud my judgement? I’ve been in business, I’ve been in the army, I know at the end of the day maintenance of the aim is the critical thing.

    Two years ago I was concerned at the way the department was planning to roll out Universal Credit. I asked for a team from outside to come in and see whether I was over-worried. Their report was no, basically you’re right, but you need a different type of rollout.

    So last year we reset, we go to 10 sites, we roll it out to them, we start with the simplest – singles, then couples, then families with children. So the plan was we started with that. Then the rollout for the whole of the northwest region. We do it, evaluate and as a result of real people going through the system we’ll be able to see how people can take control of their lives. And then we roll that out to the rest of the UK.

    TBI: What’s the reality of what you saw in Easterhouse? Did you weep? [IDS visited the Glasgow council estate in 2002. The poverty he saw is said to have led to a Damascene conversion to dedicate himself to beating poverty].

    IDS: It’s very easy to make one point in one place because that’s how journalism works but Easterhouse was an important moment. I remember going to lots of other parts of Britain and being struck by the idea of the disparity between different parts of the same town in a wealthy country – how pockets of Britain get left behind, as a result other elements like life expectancy becoming lower, drugs, alcohol abuse and then other by-products such as abuse of kids and women.

    TBI: Are they not things that had struck you before?

    IDS: Yes, they had but it’s about how I decided this was the only focus of my politics. I remember making a speech about this in the late ’90s just after Labour took over. That there was a problem here – with certain groups of people not playing a part, being isolated.

    TBI: You said you wanted the Conservatives to become “the natural party for those who wanted a better life for themselves and their children” – do you think that has happened?

    IDS: These are things that take time to do. What I think is happening is that the Conservative Party now see this as a very important area.

    TBI: You’re a Catholic from the east coast of Scotland, you’re a military man in a government without any military people, you’re pushing through a very unpopular policy and that doesn’t allow many allies – do you feel you’re an outsider and have always been an outsider?

    IDS: I’m not a political apparatchik, I didn’t grow up with politics all the way through. I’ve earned a living, I’ve been made redundant. I’ve made people redundant. I’ve lived in a bedsit with my wife after I left the army. Is that normal? I don’t know. You are shaped by your experiences, certainly. The only reason I’m in politics is because I want to improve the quality of life for other people. It’s not a glib point, it’s the reason I stay in this game.

    TBI: As a practising Catholic, when the Pope makes comments on poverty, on immigration and for thinking first for those at the bottom of society, do you find yourself absolutely agreeing or the opposite?

    IDS: This is very simple. I agree about trying to alleviate poverty. I sat down with the Cardinal who came to see me the other day. But the belief in wanting to do something and what you actually do about it is a different matter altogether. My view is that we need to encourage those who can, to do.

    My view about church leaders is that they’re quite entitled to say what they think about stuff. I don’t always agree with their view on how to change stuff. I had this debate with the Cardinal, that I’m trying to help improve lives.

    TBI: Does it make it difficult in government when major churches speak out against you? [Cardinal Nichols, Britain’s most senior Catholic, described welfare reform as “a disgrace.”]

    IDS: No. It’s the nature of change. When you start changing things and making things different, they say stop – I’m in favour of change but not this change! My question is always – what change then? And if the answer to that is – we need to spend more money, my answer to that is well fine, that’s a debate but I don’t agree. What we should change is that money spent should transform lives, not park them.

    TBI: You’re almost unique in staying as secretary of state for the lifetime of a parliament [in the nine years previous there had been eight ministers]. Would you be in favour of a minister running a department, without change, for the lifetime of that department?

    IDS: It seems to me to be a reasonable position, for at least a number of years. This department, you need to value it. This is the most complex job in government. I have a pension system to run, I have a benefit system to run, I have an employment system to run and we run all the disability stuff. It’s just tonnes and tonnes of complex things, any number of which could go wrong. Add to that a change in the benefits system. The average time a minister was in this position was nine months. In nine months you can just about discover where some of the lavatories are in the building. You don’t get to the bottom of project running.

    TBI: Is this a more difficult department to run than defence? [IDS was shadow secretary of defence before becoming Tory leader in 2001].

    IDS: It’s more complex, yes.

    TBI: Is the PM behind you?

    IDS: Yes, completely. So is the chancellor – completely signed up. I was just talking to the chancellor a couple of days ago. We were discussing the rollout and he said: “We’re right behind this, we’re going to get this done.” We’re achieving results I thought we’d never achieve within five years. There were one in five workless households in Britain when I took over. That fell by 18 per cent last year.

    TBI: Do you think you will have enough time before the election to get this project satisfactorily rolled out?

    IDS: Yes I do. It won’t get all rolled out.

    TBI: What would be a success by May?

    IDS: It’s not numbers. It’s rollout to scale. I want the whole of the northwest to demonstrate to the whole of the world that Universal Credit delivers fantastic results.

    John Bird: I want to reinvoke the power of The Big Issue. I’ve always had contempt for the way the social security and welfare system are used to stop social mobility. We started 23 years ago to say no to handouts – handouts kill you. We want to find a way where we can buttress that message. I say this and I believe it – you have to fare well on welfare to be able to say farewell to welfare. Welfare has to be a springboard, not concrete boots.

    BIG ISSUE: –
    http://www.bigissue.com/features/interviews/4058/iain-duncan-smith-interview-nobody-is-more-supportive-of-the-big-issue-than

  72. Stepping Razor says:

    More from the Shaw Trust Ability At Work on a pdf

    Stepping up: Bridging local disability
    employment gaps
    July 2014

    Recommendation one. Local authorities and LEPs should carry
    out comprehensive local disability needs
    analyses to identify local barriers to work
    faced by people with disabilities, health
    problems and impairments, in order to
    underpin actions to break them down.

    Recommendation two: LEPs and
    local authorities should take full advantage
    of newly-devolved powers and funding by
    placing robust policies for bridging local
    disability employment gaps at the heart
    of their economic strategies. This will be
    essential to ensure fulfilment of the public
    sector equality duty, as required by the
    Equality Act 2010.

    Recommendation three: The design
    of new local solutions to bridge disability
    employment gaps must involve clear steps
    to integrate and align local and national
    provision, through joint working between
    agencies and co-design of services where
    appropriate. This will be essential to avoid
    service duplication and inconsistencies in
    support for people with disabilities, health
    problems and impairments furthest from the
    labour market.

    Recommendation four: Wide access to
    stepping stone employment opportunities
    at community-based social enterprises
    should be a central feature of new local efforts
    to support more people with disabilities, health
    problems and impairments into work. This
    approach provides a unique opportunity to
    realise a range of interlinked economic and
    social objectives.

    Recommendation five: Public, private
    and voluntary sector organisations should
    commit to further testing and evaluation of
    new approaches to bridge the disability
    employment gap, to build the evidence base
    on ‘what works’. The Government should
    facilitate this through the establishment of a
    best practice sharing database.

    Executive Summary
    Stepping up: Bridging local disability employment gaps, July 2014 4
    The opportunity for local solutions
    LEPs are preparing to access over £15 billion
    of pooled central funds in the next parliament.
    These new powers and funds available to local
    economic areas represent a major opportunity
    to remove barriers to work faced by people with
    disabilities, health problems and impairments on
    a local level. It is essential that local economic
    areas take full advantage of this opportunity
    to bridge local disability employment gaps; to
    promote a more inclusive society and realise their
    full economic potential.
    Robust policies to improve outcomes for
    people with disabilities, health problems and
    impairments must therefore be a central feature
    of new local economic strategies. New local
    solutions must be closely aligned with existing
    and future national specialist disability
    employment support, which remains essential
    as new local services are developed over time.
    community wellbeing and the environment.4
    There is a further opportunity for local enterprises
    to be tailored to address local skills gaps and
    meet the needs of local job markets.
    A number of Shaw Trust Enterprises are
    developing and implementing this stepping stone
    approach across the UK, from Portsmouth to
    Perth. Business activities range from gardening
    and wood recycling to catering and community
    cafés. The early signs are positive: at Shaw
    Trust Enterprise Greater London, a wood
    recycling centre in Bromley, sixty per cent
    of trainees who have undertaken stepping
    stone opportunity have since progressed into
    mainstream employment.5
    Through strong local partnerships with
    local authorities, employers and others, social
    enterprises can make a significant contribution
    to bridging local disability employment gaps,
    promoting community wellbeing an and driving local
    economic growth and prosperity.

  73. jay says:

    tHE REALITY IS:

    What a hypocrite this man is he’s like an ostrich with his head buried in the sand.

    Perhaps IDS would like to take control of his life by refusing handouts from the EU to his family’s estate.
    Perhaps he can take control of his life by refusing parliamentary expenses paid by the taxpayer.

    Pockets of Britain have been left behind because of the overwhelming concentration of wealth in the South.

    The money he’s spent on welfare reforms ie. that taken from the most disadvantaged and poorest people in the UK. Those reforms have certainly transformed lives the only place people have been parked is in the cemetery.

    Social Security is a lifeline, strip it away and people descend into destitution and homeless (oh how ironic him speaking to the Big Issue)

    “We started 23 years ago to say no to handouts – handouts kill you.” IDS

    Really? so that is why it’s ok to fund homes (20% handout courtesy of the taxpayer) for those that can afford to buy them? While those renting are hit with the bedroom tax

    Perfectly OK to give handouts to land owners? OK to give handouts to business? and also supply them with free labour via the tax payer.

    But “handouts kill you”

    APPARENTLY NOT IF YOU ARE RICH

  74. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    THERE CANNOT BE ANY BIGGER ABUSERS OF HUMAN RIGHTS THAN THE PRESENT UK GOVERNMENT………………….

    EVERYTHING THEY HAVE DONE, AND SEEK TO DO, BREACHES SOME PART OF THE PROTECTION AFFORDED BY THIS LEGISLATION.
    IT IS NO SHOCK THAT TODAY, CAMERON ANNOUNCED THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO SUPERSEDE THE CURRENT HUMAN RIGHTS LEGISLATION, WITH ONE OF HIS OWN.

    WHY THE COURT;S OF HUMAN RIGHT;S SIT BACK AND DO NOTHING, MUST BE BEYOND THE OPPRESSED PEOPLE OF OUR ONCE PROUD NATION.

    EACH AND EVERY PART OF THE 2012 WELFARE REFORM ACTS, ENDORSED BY OUR FILTHY RICH MONARCH, IS AN ATTACK OF THE RIGHTS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT US.

    “HOW MANY MORE UK PERSONNEL MUST DIE BEFORE THE TOOTHLESS COMMISSIONERS TAKE STEPS TO REDRESS THE ETHNIC CLEANSING OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE CITIZENS?”

    LYING, CHEATING, STEALING AND STATE ASSISTED MURDER IS ALL TO COMMON ON OUR SHORES, DESPITE THE LIKES OF THE BBC AND SKY NEWS PREFERRING NOT TO PUBLISH THE TRUTH OF WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING…………………………………

    “THE FETID STENCH OF CORRUPTION OVERSHADOWS EVERYTHING OUR POLITICIANS SEEK TO DEBATE”………………….

    LOBBYING BY THE MULTINATIONALS HAS ENSHRINED THAT DEMOCRACY IS A THING OF THE PAST, THE WANT’S OF THE PEOPLE SECONDARY TO THE GREED OF THE CORPORATE GIANTS”.

    STEALING FROM THOSE LESS CAPABLE OF FIGHTING BACK, THE DISABLED, HAS OVERTAKEN POLO AS THE CHOSEN SPORT OF THE ELITE.

    SICK AND SUFFERING ARE THE NEW TARGET OF HATRED, FOXHUNTING RELEGATED TO THE PAST……………………

    ASK YOURSELVES, “HOW CAN A SO CALLED GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT, THE DWP, WITHHOLD MORTALITY STATISTIC’S ON THOSE THAT HAVE SUCCUMBED TO DEATH AS PART OF BOTCHED WELFARE SCHEMES?”

    WE HAVE NO SHAME APPARENTLY?

    NEITHER HAVE THE COURT’S OF HUMAN RIGHT’S WHO SIT BACK, DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING FROM THEIR HIGHLY PAID POSITIONS, IT WOULD SEEM………………..

  75. Stepping Razor says:

    Delayed report finds bedroom tax is failing

    InsideHousing.co.uk – 15th July 2014

    Funders are concerned about the long-term impact of the bedroom tax on ‘tenants, organisations and themselves’, according to an interim report published by the Department for Work and Pensions today.

    In the section entitled ‘Early impact on funders lending to social landlords’, it was reported that funders feel the ‘cumulative impacts of welfare reform’ could lead to a ‘build-up of arrears, reduced liquidity, reduced profitability, more stretched management and less development’.

    Funders also reported there was no positive impact for them from the improved work incentives from the bedroom tax. At the time of writing the report, the researchers found that few tenants affected by the bedroom tax had found work.

    Commissioned by the DWP and carried out by staff at the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research and Ipsos Mori, Evaluation of Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy: Interim Report was originally meant to be published in the spring. Lord David Freud was quizzed at the end of last month about the delay.

    Eviction risk

    The report also highlights ‘widespread concern’ about the impact potential future evictions may have on local services and on landlord finances as well as on the lives of vulnerable people. However, when the report was written there had been few evictions solely based on the bedroom tax.

    Landlords expressed concern about the one in five tenants who had paid nothing towards the bedroom tax in the first six months as that group are ‘likely to face eviction procedures’.

    Article in Full-
    InsideHousing.co.uk: –
    http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/regulation/delayed-report-finds-bedroom-tax-is-failing/7004691.article

  76. Stepping Razor says:

    Tories ‘to challenge European court with British bill of rights’

    Reported plan risks UK’s expulsion from the Council of Europe and could even threaten Britain’s membership of EU

    The Guardian: 17th July 2014

    David Cameron is heading for a huge showdown over Europe with a plan to assert the supremacy of parliament over the European court of human rights to avoid a repeat of the rows over the deportation of foreign criminals, the BBC has reported.

    Nick Herbert, the former Tory justice minister, endorsed the proposed changes in a new British bill of rights, which would mean that parliament would rule on what constitutes a breach of human rights.

    The radical changes, which risk Britain’s expulsion from the Council of Europe, the pan-European human rights watchdog, are possible after the prime minister’s abrupt sacking of the attorney general, Dominic Grieve, in this week’s reshuffle.

    Grieve described the changes as a “legal car crash with a built-in time delay”, according to the BBC, which also reported that William Hague, who lost his job as foreign secretary this week, has expressed doubts.

    The changes, drawn up by a group of Tory lawyers, are expected to be unveiled at the Conservatives’ annual conference in the autumn for inclusion in the party’s general election manifesto. They are designed to encourage a change of behaviour by the Strasbourg-based court, according the BBC.

    The prime minister is determined to avoid a repeat of the prolonged battle to deport the preacher Abu Qatada and the call by the ECHR for prisoners to be given the right to vote.

    Abu Qatada resisted deportation to Jordan for a decade after the ECHR ruled that his human rights would be breached. He was finally deported last year after Britain signed an agreement with Jordan to guarantee him a fair trial.

    The Tory lawyers who have drawn up the bill of rights have reportedly acknowledged that the changes could lead to Britain’s expulsion from the 47-strong Council of Europe. It oversees the European convention on human rights, which was drawn up after the second world war and which is enforced by the Strasbourg court.

    Grieve told the Guardian after his sacking this week that withdrawing from the European court of human rights could threaten Britain’s membership of the EU. EU members have to be members of the separate Council of Europe.

    But Nick Herbert, the former justice minister, supported the change. He told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4: “I don’t think there is anything to fear from saying why don’t we apply the important principles of the convention of human rights, that Britain had a hand in drafting, in our domestic courts. We have a supreme court now. Let it be supreme and let parliament be the final arbiter and take full control over these matters.”

    The Tories cannot introduce the changes in government and can only outline the proposals in their general election manifesto because the Liberal Democrats oppose such radical reforms. Simon Hughes, the Lib Dem justice minister, told the Today programme: “As a matter of policy for the UK it is in our interests – the interests of every single citizen – that we should keep the Human Rights Act, that we should make sure that we continue to be subscribers to the convention and that human rights at the highest standard should be enforced in this country and across the rest of Europe.

    “If we think Strasbourg has got it wrong the present supreme court is clear – we are entitled to say to Strasbourg we take into account what you say but we don’t think you have understood the implication of this in our country and please therefore think again.

    “So the present arrangement is a dialogue – that is the phrase used by the president of the supreme court – between the UK supreme court [and the ECHR]. And the UK supreme court does, in the end, have authority in this country. But we don’t think the principle of having a European-wide standard for human rights is complicated. We think it is a very good thing. Otherwise, how can we tell Ukrainians and Russians that they have got to uphold human rights if we don’t do so ourselves?”

    The Tory lawyers drawing up the changes have faced strong resistance from Grieve and Kenneth Clarke, the former chancellor, who also left the government. Grieve told a parliamentary committee that such changes risked creating anarchy.

    He said: “It seems to me that one has to think very carefully about what the consequences are in deciding that you can cherry-pick the obligations that you are going to accept. Whilst it may be perfectly possible to disregard them you are creating a degree of anarchy in the international order that you are trying to promote.”

    TheGuardian: –
    http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/jul/17/tories-challenge-european-court-human-rights-british-bill-rights

  77. Stepping Razor says:

    “Grieve told the Guardian after his sacking this week that withdrawing from the European court of human rights could threaten Britain’s membership of the EU. EU members have to be members of the separate Council of Europe.”

    The UK trying to get out of it`s own Human rights Breeches against not just the disabled.

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      ………………………if the DWP had the balls to release the true amount of people who have died due to the purely evil welfare reforms, it would make the figures from the malaysian jet atrocity, look like a speck on the horizon……………………

      of course they will continue to refuse the statistics, the campaign of murder with it’s assassination partner, ATOS and the trigger men, the PCS, continues to persecute those in most need and the disabled………………….

  78. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “THE NEW BRITISH BILL OF HUMAN RIGHTS”

    SCHEDULE 1 The Articles

    PART I The Convention Rights and Freedoms
    Article 2 Right to life

    1 Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court, or ATOS following a supermarket, one sided tribunal hearing.

    2 Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this Article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary, with the exception of;
    1, Police brutality
    2, Water Cannon
    3, Death in Custody
    4, State assisted Suicide

    3 The secretary of State may elect, as he or she wishes, charlatans with certificates,not recognised by any medical organisation, parading as Health Care Professionals, who will adjudicate on who has the right to a life. The Disabled and Poor will forfeit the right to a life due to their predicament.(as present rules).

    4 At the behest of the DWP,mortality statistics which highlight the number of deaths caused by ill thought out welfare reforms, can be withheld from the public domain.

    5 Any deaths reported due to sanctions given by members of the P.C.S. Union will be recorded as “CLIENT DECLINED”.

  79. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    NOW THAT NEW LAWS ARE BEING CONSIDERED ON ASSISTED SUICIDE, IT MAKES THE CASE FOR THE LIKES OF ATOS TO BE MORE DESIRABLE TO THE STATE.
    IT ALSO BOLSTERS THE PROFITS OF THE PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY, WHO ARE NO DOUBT, PULLING THE STRINGS………………………….

    IT’S CHEAPER FOR THE STATE, NAMELY THE DWP, TO SEND SOMEONE TO THEIR DEATH VIA A CROCK OF SHIT, WORK CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT, RATHER THAN PAY OUT THE BENEFIT ENTITLEMENTS.

    THERE IN A NUTSHELL, LIES THE CASE FOR POLICY CHANGES TO ASSISTED EUTHANASIA, COST……..

    THE GOVERNMENTS ARGUMENT FOCUS’S ON ONE THING ONLY, HELPING THE INDIVIDUAL FROM A PROLONGED LIFE OF PAIN, YET THE ULTERIOR MOTIVE IS SAVING MONEY.

    IT’S CHEAPER, OBVIOUSLY, TO HAVE YOU PUT DOWN.

    BUT WHERE WILL IT ALL STOP?.

    WITH THE LIKES OF THE TOTALLY UNTRAINED, CERTIFICATE IN HAND AFTER A FEW WEEKS TRAINED CHARLATANS MASQUERADING AS GOD, HAVE ANY INPUT?

    LOOK OUT FOR SELECTED DEATH PROGRAMMES RUN BY FIRMS LIKE ATOS………..

    “YOU MAY ONLY HAVE A SLIGHT LIMP BUT COULD BE A LIKELY CANDIDATE FOR THE CHOP”

    REMEMBER, ANYTHING GOES IN THE UK TODAY, HUMAN RIGHTS WENT OUT AS SOON AS THESE JOKERS WERE SWORN IN……………..

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      JUST HAD A LETTER FROM HER MAJESTY’S COURTS AND TRIBUNAL SERVICE DENYING ME ACCESS TO THE UPPER TRIBUNAL TO CONTEST MY ESA DENIAL FOLLOWING A CORRUPT ATOS TEST.

      STRANGELY THEY HAVE SENT ME A COPY OF A TRIBUNAL DECISION SIGNED BY A CIRCUIT JUDGE, L. MC DONALD.

      ON THE BOTTOM OF THE DECISION NOTICE THERE IS A DATE.

      UPON GOING THROUGH MY VAST PILE OF DOCUMENTATION THAT I HOLD, I CAME ACROSS THE SAME DECISION NOTICE SIGNED BY THE SAME JUDGE, IN FACT IT IS THE SAME DOCUMENT WITH THE SAME SIGNATURE AND THE SAME HAND WRITTEN NUMBERS IN THE CORNER…………….

      IT HAS ACTUALLY THE SAME STAINING IN EXACTLY THE SAME PLACES.

      WHAT IS MOST ODD, IS THE FACT THAT THE DATES HAVE BEEN ALTERED.

      WHY WOULD THE DATES ON AN OFFICIAL DOCUMENT BE ALTERED?

      NOT KNOWING IF TO GET THE POLICE INVOLVED, I HAVE PHOTOCOPIED THE TWO DOCUMENTS SIDE BY SIDE AND SENT THIS TO THE COURTS SERVICE FOR THEIR PERUSAL……………….

      …………….and a copy to the Courts of justice…………………

  80. Stepping Razor says:

    DWP permanent secretary rejects NAO Work Programme findings – CivilServiceWorld.com 18th July 2014

    Robert Devereux, permanent secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions, has rejected the National Audit Office’s conclusion that the Work Programme is no more effective than its predecessors.

    The NAO report, called ‘The Work Programme’ and published on 2 July, said that the programme is “achieving similar levels of job outcomes to previous welfare-to-work programmes for Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants aged 25 and over.”

    Asked by Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chair Margaret Hodge whether this is disappointing, Devereux said: “That is precisely the thing which I have chosen to disagree with the report on,” adding that this is the first time he’s disagreed with a report in his seven years as perm sec.

    At Monday’s PAC hearing, Devereux (pictured above) was asked by committee member Anne McGuire why he hadn’t made the point to the NAO prior to the release of the report. “Believe me, Amyas [Morse, NAO chief] and I have spent hours discussing the report,” he replied. “At the end of the day, though, it is his pen.”

    The report’s findings, Devereux said, are not a “fair reflection of what is actually going on.” He added that “it is not the report I would have expected an auditor to be making.”

    The permanent secretary said the conclusion was unfair because the Work Programme is already achieving better results than those predicted by the NAO in 2012: “When I was here in 2012 the NAO [estimated] that 26% of older jobseekers would get a job outcome over the course of a two-year programme. The report in front of you today says that for the last cohort that actually completed two years in March 2012, the percentage of job outcomes achieved is 32% – not the 26% which they were quoting.”

    Based on this performance, he said, the department expects this number to reach 38% over the programme’s life time.

    Hodge expressed scepticism over the 38% figure, to which Devereux replied: “I am sorry, throughout the report the NAO makes the projections by the department sound as if they are crystal ball-gazing, and they have not taken any account of the fact that actually, I have got 23 months of information for the cohort immediately after March 2012; 22 months for the one two months after.”

    Hodge concluded that “we all too often end up with an argument over figures here”, adding that “since the general election the UK Statistics Authority has sent 47 letters criticising and recommending changes to the use of statistics by government departments or agencies; 16 of those letters have come to the DWP; so you are not using them properly.”

    Devereux defended the figures, saying: “Nothing I have said, chair, is not already published in the document which the National Audit Office produced. I have not invented any number this afternoon which the National Audit Office has not reproduced themselves.”

    For full analysis of this hearing, read our August 15 issue

    CivilServiceWorld.com: –
    http://www.civilserviceworld.com/articles/news/dwp-permanent-secretary-rejects-nao-work-programme-findings

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      Your fired.

      that is why the DWP is in such a war with ATOS that the DWP paid ATOS off with £100 million in compensation for ending the contract 18months early, now to find the DWP hiring ATOS for £10 Million for some cock up at the DWP.

      YOUR FIRED !!

  81. Stepping Razor says:

    PIP Personal Independence Payment has gone very quiet !!

    How the roll out going Atos have their new DWP contract in place !! Evidence is a lie then DWP !! !! That makes is treason of the court of law DWP. The DWP law onto the DWP fraud kept all in house like disabled bingo !! The revelations keep on coming DWP. Evidence – The Onus Is On The burden Of Proof. Dwp says that a lie & now its High Treason with DWP LAWS. Don`t forget DWP you can not change anymore laws because you are in litigation !!

  82. Stepping Razor says:

    That`s what I`ve been saying for years – Shut Down All The Job Centre – Be done with it & privitise the Welfare State & stop pussyfooting about. Now today the senior Tories are saying just that. Shows the Tories read Black Triangle to know what`s happening & how close we are getting to the slave trading of disabled people. Do slaves die? One for IDS to answer !!

  83. Stepping Razor says:

    As a ex professional recording Engineer recording is easy & so are the publishing & copywrite laws about recording ATOS medical fraud. It don`t if you tell them or not the copywrite laws are the person who recorded it – reason the costumer has no evidence that they even went to dodgy dave medical fraud down atos.
    That also covers publishling laws.

    DWP defrauding the copywrite laws again.
    DWP defrauding again !!

  84. Stepping Razor says:

    It is for you DWP to take me to court not me the take you to court DWP with no legal Aid.

    Take Notice DWP – I have been defrauding the disabled benefit for 30 years = £850,00 I owe the DWP !! SO DWP WHY ARE YOU NOT SUEING ME? IT IS OPEN TO HUGE FRAUD. I am disabled but the DWP will say otherwise – Get where I`m going – A Disabled people been found not disabled = the disabled person must of been lieing about being disabled & should be changed for defrauding the DWP. So DWP WHY ARE YOU NOT TAKING ALL THESE DISABLED PEOPLE YOOU FOUND NOT DISABLED & NOT FOR WORK TO COURT?

    That makes the whole thing null & Void Not Worth Thr £10 million new contract with atos or the paper its written on.

    Try & hustle a hustler to uncover fraud at the DWP on lots on levels.

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      the DWP are really really scared now & have gone into hiding which makes the whole welfare reform more open to fraud as the dwp are well aware of in admin at the DWP.

      So rules are there to be broken. The problem comes when you stick by the rules yet one seems to always be breaking the rules by sticking by the rules.

      Rule 1 – its rule fraud.

      Its gets much much worse DWP – It seems no one runs the DWP now – So that`s why it falls under DWP Corporate Manslaughter DWP so **** the DWP Spokesman !!

  85. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “MARVELOUS ATOS REPORTS”

    LETTER FROM DWP 28TH OCT 1997

    THE ADJUDICATING MEDICAL AUTHORITY DECIDED THAT
    -THE INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT ON 8/12/92 HAS CAUSED YOU A LOSS OF FACULTY.
    -THE LOSS OF FACULTY IS IS PAIN AND REDUCED MOVEMENTS OF THE LUMBAR SPINE
    – YOU ARE 20% DISABLED FROM 1/10/97 FOR LIFE BECAUSE OF THE LOSS OF FACULTY.

    BY LOSS OF FACULTY WE MEAN SOME LOSS OF POWER OR FUNCTION TO AN ORGAN OF YOUR BODY

    THE ADJUDICATING MEDICAL AUTHORITY’S ASSESSMENT OF YOUR DISABILITY IS A FINAL ASSESSMENT……………………………………………..

    LETTER FROM DWP IST NOV 2013

    SECTION 5-FACTS OF THE CASE
    PREVIOUS DECISION

    5.1 MR REYNOLDS IS ENTITLED TO THE HIGHER RATE OF THE MOBILITY COMPONENT FROM AND INCLUDING 14/11/2002, BECAUSE HE IS VIRTUALLY UNABLE TO WALK CONSIDERING THE DISTANCE, SPEED, MANNER AND TIME HE IS ABLE TO WALK WITHOUT SEVERE DISCOMFORT.

    MR REYNOLDS IS ENTITLED TO THE LOWEST RATE OF THE CARE COMPONENT FROM AND INCLUDING 14/11/2002 BECAUSE HE CANNOT PREPARE A COOKED MEAL.

    FACTS OF THE CASE

    MR REYNOLDS HAS BACK PROBLEMS, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, HEARING PROBLEMS AND BLADDER PROBLEMS.

    C. IT IS NOT DISPUTED THAT MR REYNOLDS HAS DISABLING CONDITIONS. HOWEVER MR REYNOLDS DISABILITIES ARE NOT AT ISSUE IN THE DECISION UNDER APPEAL.

    ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
    .

    ATOS EXAMINATION BY HCP EMMA BRODRICK

    ZERO POINTS AWARDED

    “I ADVISE THAT A RETURN TO WORK COULD BE CONSIDERED WITHIN 3 MONTHS”

    “THE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT SIGNIFICANT FUNCTIONAL IMPAIRMENT IS UNLIKELY”

    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

    and this is why the DWP and COURTS AND TRIBUNAL SERVICE are trying to stop me escalating my case to the upper tribunal.

    “state assisted theft”

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      LYING, CHEATING AND STEALING,

      “JUST ANOTHER DAY IN THE LIFE OF A DWP DECISION MAKER AND ATOS”

      ………ask yourselves why the Decision makers at our welfare ministry, who have no medical qualifications whatsoever, are allowed to make unfounded, unqualified, statements on peoples medical reports?

      There is only one answer “DISABILITY DENIAL”……………………..

      What was rampant in the states is now rampant on our shores, disability denial is alive and kicking……….

      So how do the uk government manage to pull it off?
      The answer to this is more complex because the COURTS AND TRIBUNALS SERVICE, ATOS AND THE DWP are operating in such a way to steal bonafide claimants benefits.

      HERE ARE SOME EXTRACTS FROM MY OWN MEDICAL REPORT:

      “but he was able to walk from the chair to the couch unaided and get on the couch”

      “was able to get on the couch without assistance”

      “did not appear to have any difficulty using a step to get onto the couch”

      “he was observed to stand in one place for the duration of the interview”

      “used one stick to stand for 33 minutes”

      “bladder problem. He wears pads that he buys himself, not on prescription, and is not on any medication and does not take a change of clothing with him when he goes out”

      “wets himself a little when he gets up. States it is not a lot but he does not know when he is doing it.”

      “he has a history of hearing problems and deafness. He is under the care of his GP. He can talk to others in his club and is able to hear with the use of a hearing aid in his left ear”

      “appeared to hear his name when called from the waiting room”

      “does no walking and does not go out”

      “on sunday’s he can have a game of snooker at his local club”

      “able to fully straighten left knee”

      “client declined bending of left knee”

      “able to fully straighten right knee”

      “client declined bending of right knee”

      “can have a bath by using grab rails and a stool despite back problem and pain”

      “gets out of bed despite pain”

      “I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE LITIGATION TO START”

      EMMA BRODRICK HCP

  86. Stepping Razor says:

    Every thing you told the DWP is a lie [proof from the fake medical] so the DWP should be charging you for trying to defraud the DWP. So not only should they be charging you for fraud but also doing that within 3 weeks. FRAUD IS SERIOUS.

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      “yes sheer professionalism from atos”

      “was seen to get up unaided from a chair, walk to a couch unaided without the use of his stick, get on the couch without using a step provided, decline to be examined on seventy five occasions and was observed to stand in one place for the duration of the interview”

      and this is the basis of being paid £32.30p per week for more than a year.

  87. Stepping Razor says:

    Government to overhaul benefits sanctions process

    Independent report shows systematic failings in the way benefit sanctions are communicated and processed

    TheGuardian – 22nd July 2014

    The government is to overhaul the way it treats benefit recipients threatened by sanctions, after an independent report it commissioned showed systematic failings in the process, including disproportionate burdens placed on the most vulnerable.

    The report found that the way in which the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) communicated with claimants was legalistic, unclear and confusing. The most vulnerable claimants were often left at a loss as to why their benefits were stopped and frequently they were not informed about hardship payments to which they were entitled, the report said.

    It also revealed serious flaws in how sanctions were imposed; providers of the government’s work programme were required to bring in sanctions when they knew the claimants had done nothing wrong, leaving those people “sent from pillar to post”.

    The independent report was written for the DWP by Matthew Oakley, a respected welfare expert who has worked as an economic adviser for the Treasury and for the centre-right thinktank Policy Exchange.

    The report was completed some weeks ago, but publication of its 17 reform proposals was delayed.

    Oakley said that the system was not fundamentally broken, but his criticism was all the more damaging for a government that has consistently described the benefit sanctions regime as fair.

    The DWP responded to the report by saying it would be altering the way it talked to benefit claimants, setting up a specialist team to look at all communications, including claimant letters.

    The sanctions regime, and the confusing way in which it is administered, has been one reason behind the growth in the public’s use of food banks.

    In a new commitment, the DWP promised that if vulnerable claimants claimed for hardship on or before their signing day, they would receive a hardship payment at their normal payment date.

    The department also promised it would take steps to ensure local authorities did not dock housing benefit and that they gave claimants a clear chance to comply with sanctions, and that there was consideration over whether work programme providers could be empowered to make decisions on sanction referrals.

    Oakley’s report said: “No matter what system of social security is in place, if it is communicated poorly, if claimants do not understand the system and their responsibilities, and if they are not empowered to challenge decisions they believe to be incorrect and seek redress, then it will not fulfil its purpose. It will be neither fair nor effective.”

    His terms of reference, he said, were about the way sanctions were administered on mandatory back-to-work schemes (covering a third of those claimants at risk of being sanctioned), but the proposed reforms would be relevant to the entire benefits system.

    The report said sanction letters “were, on the whole, found to be complex and difficult to understand”.

    It added that partly owing to the legal requirements the department had to fulfil when it wrote to claimants, the letters were overly long and legalistic in their tone and content; they lacked personalised explanations of the reason for sanction referrals; and they were not always clear about the possibility of, and process surrounding, appeals or applications for hardship payments. The letters were particularly hard to understand for the most vulnerable claimants – so those most in need of the hardship system “were the least likely to be able to access it”.

    The report said: “Actual and sample letters that the review team saw were hard to understand (even for those working in the area), unclear as to why someone was being sanctioned and confusingly laid out.”

    The review found that many people “expressed concerns that the first that claimants knew of adverse decisions was when they tried to get their benefit payment out of a cash point but could not”.

    The report also said that Jobcentre advisers had highlighted the damage that sanctions imposed on the most vulnerable.

    It stated: “Many advisers also highlighted the difficulties of communicating with particular groups of claimants. In particular, many advisers identified a ‘vulnerable’ group who tended to be sanctioned more than the others because they struggled to navigate the system. This concern for the vulnerable claimants was consistent throughout the visits.

    “For these groups, particular difficulties were highlighted around the length of time it could take to ensure some claimants fully understood what was required of them, and in conveying that a ‘sanction’ could entail the loss of benefit for a prolonged period of time.”

    The report also criticised the failure of Jobcentres to highlight hardship payments. It said: “A more specific concern surrounding the hardship system was that only those claimants that asked about help in Jobcentre Plus were told about the hardship system. Advisers, decision-makers and advocate groups argued that this meant that groups with poorer understanding of the system were less likely to gain access.

    “Since, on the whole, more vulnerable claimants are those with the poorest understanding of the system, this suggests that some of those most in need are also those least able to access hardship.”

    The report also found that providers of mandatory work schemes were unable to make legal decisions about claimants’ reasons for missing appointments and so had to impose sanctions.

    “This means that they have to refer all claimants who fail to attend a mandatory interview to a decision-maker even if the claimant has provided them with what would ordinarily count as good reason, in Jobcentre Plus.

    “This situation results in confusion as the claimant does not understand why they are being referred for a sanction. A very high proportion of referrals for sanctions from mandatory back-to-work schemes are subsequently cancelled or judged to be non-adverse.”

    The Guardian: –
    http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/22/independent-report-failings-benefit-sanctions

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      Matthew Oakley: Tory Stooge Appointed to Independent Welfare Scrutiny Committee
      JohnnyVoid 13th Jan 2013

      A Tory stooge who works for the Policy Exchange think tank has been appointed to the so called independent Social Security Advisory Committee by Iain Duncan Smith.

      Matthew Oakley appears to one of those chinless failures who’s bummed about doing non-jobs at the government and whose only experience of social security is writing sub Daily Mail rants about benefit scroungers and the urgent need for more welfare cuts.

      Despite this he’s now being paid a tidy £256.80 a day of tax payer’s cash to provide ‘expert’ advice on welfare reform.

      The SSAC are a body whose job it is to scrutinise any changes to laws which may affect social security. Whilst they have no formal power, the government must legally consult them on new legislation. Shortly after this Government weren’t elected, the committee issued a scathing report on the plans for mass workfare.

      Not long after this the head of the Committee was replaced by DWP stooge, Paul Gray. Then last year Manpower stooge, Keith Faulkner was appointed to the committee. Faulkner is the former head of workfare company Working Links – a front for the global recruitment firm Manpower who have long been trousering huge sums of cash as part of the welfare reform racket.

      Manpower also fund the Centre for Social Justice, Iain Duncan Smith’s weird Christian think tank who have generated much of the misinformation and outright garbage that is currently spouted about welfare by DWP Ministers.

      The rest of the crap has come from the Policy Exchange, a kind of corporate subsidised employment scheme for rich kids who are too lazy to get a real job and too stupid to be proper academics. Matthew Oakley is their Head of Economics & Social Policy. He was recently behind the Welfare Reform 2.0 document which calls for even more state harassment of people in part time work or on low wages.

      Before working at the Policy Exchange Oakley was an advisor at the Treasury and also worked on the white paper outlining Universal Credit – the sweeping and botched changes to welfare currently being mismanaged by Iain Duncan Smith.

      It appears that Oakley will not leave his lucrative job at the Policy Exchange, meaning he will now be paid by a right wing think tank to propose changes to welfare and then be paid by the tax payer to ‘independently’ scrutinise those changes.

      Much of welfare reform is already unravelling largely because of hare-brained schemes dreamed up by think tanks who couldn’t even be bothered to learn about the very system they were proposing to reform.

      That clueless idiots like Oakley are now being rewarded with tax payer funded jobs for their role in the shambles suggests it’s full steam ahead for yet more crazy schemes at the DWP.

      JohnnyVoid:
      http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/tag/matthew-oakley/

  88. Stepping Razor says:

    So after all that proof –

    The DWP have made a Report about the DWP, which is contradictory. On one hand we got Oakley as the independent DWP person slating the DWP. To me its delaying tactics to get to the 2015 bingo draw. Also a good way of spending £40,000 on a way to money launder money through the DWP.

    The DWP report has a damning report on the DWP. So the improvements are going to cost more money because that £40,000 was only for the report. Now the DWP get a few £ million to sort out more fraud at the DWP money laundering through the DWP.

    SR

  89. Stepping Razor says:

    The latest DWP YT from today DWP Digital where we can intergrate the DWP Digital community.

  90. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    SO THIS MORNING ON THE BBC NEWS A PARTY OF MP’S HAS BRANDED THE DISABILITY BENEFITS SYSTEM AS “GRAVE”,STATING SOMETHING MUST BE DONE ABOUT IT.

    THE WORD GRAVE IS A PERFECTLY APT CHOICE GIVEN THE MANY, MANY THOUSANDS WHO HAVE ALREADY DIED AT THE BEHEST OF FUCKING INCOMPETENT FOOLS.

    NOW THE NEW MAN IN CHARGE OF US SPASTICS, MARK HARPER WILL RIDE INTO THE SUNSET AFTER A BLAZE OF GLORY THAT SET US ALL FREE FROM THE DEMONS OF THE WORK CAPABILITY DEATH TRAP, DREAM’T UP BY THE FRENCH ASSASSINS AND OUR OWN MURDERERS IN PARLIAMENT, THE DWP…………………..

    “YES, THE SAME MARK HARPER WHO EMPLOYS AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT AS HIS CLEANER BUT WAS TOTALLY UNAWARE F THE FACT”
    ONE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE MISERLY AMOUNT OF SALARY HE WAS PAYING SHOULD HAVE RUNG SOME ALARM BELLS IN HIS VACUOUS BRAIN CAVITY…………..

    SURPRISINGLY THE COMMITTEE OF MP’S AND MARK HARPER ARE OF THE OPINION THAT A NEW “PRIVATE” HEALTH SOURCE WOULD BE THE ANSWER TO THE HUGELY EMBARRASSING MORTALITY STATISTICS THAT ARE CAREFULLY BEING HIDDEN FROM PUBLIC VIEW, EVEN AFTER BEING TOLD TO PUBLISH THEM MANY TIMES…………

    THESE MORONS IN WESTMINSTER ESPOUSE THE SAME OLD SHIT, DAY IN, DAY OUT AS OUR NUMBERS HIT THE CEMETERIES AT LIGHTNING SPEED……….

    THE NAME OF THE WORK CAPABILITY SUPPLIER IS COMPLETELY IMMATERIAL IF THE CONCEPT IS EXACTLY THE SAME.

    NEW UNIFORMS USING THE SAME COMPUTER GENERATED LIMA SOFTWARE JUST ACQUIRED FROM ATOS’S EXTENDED CONTRACT IS JUST COMPLETE BULLSHIT, THE SAME OLD BULLSHIT WE HAVE COME TO EXPECT FROM THE STATE RUN EXECUTIONERS……….

    THERE WAS NOTHING AT ALL WRONG WITH THE OLD SYSTEM UNTIL THE LIKES OF BILL GUNNYEON HEAD OF THE DWP MEDICAL DEPARTMENT AND DAME CAROL BLACK, GOT INVOLVED IN MANY TALKS WITH THE PRIVATE HEALTH INSURERS WHO FUNDED SEMINARS TO EKE OUT THEIR OWN GRUBBY AGENDAS DRIVEN BY GREED…………………..

    THESE BASTARDS AND THE FACULTY OF OCCUPATIONAL DECIDED TO SELL YOU ALL DOWN THE RIVER TO THE LIKES OF THE UNUM CORPORATION THAT SPONSORED MANY OF THE MEETINGS THAT SAW THEM MEETING PARLIAMENTARIANS TO THRASH OUT AN AGENDA THAT WOULD HAVE TWO DIRECTIVES, TO SAVE THE TREASURY MONEY, BUT TO GENERATE WEALTH FOR THE PRIVATE HEALTH INSURERS WHO WOULD PICK UP THE PIECES OF THE FAILING SYSTEM.

    UNUM EVEN HAD THE AUDACITY TO PLACE TELEVISION ADVERTS AT THE TIME THE NEW WELFARE REFORMS WERE INTRODUCED, THESE WERE EVENTUALLY DROPPED BECAUSE THE LINK BETWEEN ROBBING THE DISABLED AND THEIR ENDS BECAME TOO APPARENT………….

    Biography

    Dr Bill Gunnyeon was appointed Chief Medical Adviser, Chief Scientific Adviser and Medical Director at the Department for Work and Pensions in June 2005.

    An experienced occupational physician, his previous career highlights include:

    Medical Director of Capita Health Solutions
    President of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine
    Director of Health Services at Aon Health Solutions
    Chief Executive and Director of Occupational Health at Liberty Occupational Health Limited
    Occupational Health at Grampion Regional Council
    Medical Officer with the Royal Air Force

    He was awarded a CBE in the 2009 Queen’s birthday honours list.

    THESE PEOPLE ARE NOTHING SHORT OF CRIMINALS. YOU, THE DISABLED, HAVE BEEN ROBBED OF EVERY OUNCE OF DECENCY, BY THE LIKES OF GUNNYEON WHO HAVE STRIVEN TO BEND BACKWARDS TO ALLOW THE PRIVATE HEALTH INSURERS TO OPEN UP A MASSIVE CHEST OF GOLD……………

    YOU ARE THE GOLD THEY DESIRE, THE SCRAPS THROWN BY THE WAYSIDE IN THE WORLDS LARGEST ORGANISED KILLING SPREE.

    OUR NATIONAL HEALTH, OUR JEWEL IN THE CROWN, THE NEXT VICTIM, MAYBE?

    THE EVIL OF MCVEY HAS ALSO ANNOUNCED THE PRIVATISATION OF REMPLOY WHERE THEY WILL OBVIOUSLY WANT THE DISABLED TO WORK FOR THEIR BENEFITS FOR ABSOLUTELY FUCK ALL………….

    THEIR MOTIVES ARE GLARINGLY OBVIOUS, YOU DO NOT NEED TO EVEN THINK TO SEE WHERE IT IS ALL GOING.

    DISABILITY IS NOW A COMMODITY THAT CAN BE SLAVEDRIVEN TO PRODUCE WEALTH FOR THOSE WHO LEAST NEED IT, THE RICH………….

  91. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    THE COURTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE EQUALITY COMMISSION SHOULD BE DEMANDING A FULL TRANSCRIPT OF THE DWP/ATOS CONTRACT THAT HAS LED TO THE DEATHS OF COUNTLESS THOUSANDS………..

    WITHOUT THIS TRANSPARENCY THE DEATHS WILL CONTINUE TO MULTIPLY…….

    it is about time an online petition was started to bring this evil government to release these sordid details of it’s GENOCIDE programme

  92. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    STRANGE HOW ONE OF THE MAIN SPONSORS OF THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES, ATOS, IS THE SAME COMPANY WHO HAS SLAUGHTERED COUNTLESS NUMBERS OF OUR DISABLED………

    NO WONDER THEY ARE TRYING TO CHANGE THEIR NAME AND HIDE THE FACT FROM THE MEDIA AND PUBLIC ATTENTION…………

    “ATOS, SPONSORS OF DEATH”

    ………….and continuing to kill with government aid……….

  93. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “Not the truly wonderful MARK HARPER, DISABILITY MINISTER, who said this on radio 4:
    Characterisation of people collecting disability benefits”

    On 10 September 2010, Harper stated on the BBC Radio 4 programme Any Questions? that “There are definitely some people in our country, and everyone in every community knows who they are, who are able to work, and don’t.” After chairman Shaun Ley challenged these words as being “outrageous”, Harper repeated the notion, saying, “Everybody knows them, able-bodied people…”[11]
    “Not the truly independent MARK HARPER, DISABILITY MINISTER, who said this on radio 4:
    Characterisation of people collecting disability benefits

  94. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    POOR MARK HARPER, THE DISABILITY MINISTER, NOT REALISING THAT THE SLAVE HE EMPLOYED AS A CLEANER WORKING FOR PEANUTS, WAS REALLY AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT.

    HE COULD NOW REPLACE HER WITH A WORKFARE STOOGE, BENEFITS ONLY, UNDERCUTTING THE LOW WAGE HE PAID HIS OTHER LACKEY…………………….

    WILLIAM WILBERFORCE TURN IN YOUR GRAVE………………..

    INCIDENTALLY, CAMERON, MAY AND ALEXANDER, ALL EMPLOY FOREIGN WORKERS

  95. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “TODAY MUST HERALD THE START OF THE P.C.S. UNION CELEBRATIONS”

    MERELY COINCIDENTAL OR NOT, THE CELEBRATION OF THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES MUST BE OVERSHADOWED BY THE ACTS OF THE MOST VILIFIED UNION IN THE UK, THE P.C.S…………………

    SINGLE HANDEDLY, THEY HAVE ACHIEVED WHAT MUST BE A STEPPING STONE IN UNION HISTORY…………..

    “A RETURN TO VICTORIAN HEALTH VALUES”

    IT IS NO MEAN FEAT, MARK SEWOTKA’S EBONY ANGELS HAVE BROUGHT BACK, THROUGH SANCTIONS, THE DARKNESS AND HORROR THAT THE LAST CENTURY SOUGHT TO ERADICATE FOREVER………

    IT WAS ALWAYS THE CASE THAT EVIL HAD NO BOUNDARIES, NOW THE ACTIONS OF THE HAND PICKED GOVERNMENT BULLY BOYS ARE STARTING TO PAY DIVIDENDS FOR THEIR HEINOUS, TWISTED MASTERS;

    Diseases traditionally associated with the Victorian era are on the rise again in England, experts are warning.

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre highlighted increases in gout, malnutrition and tuberculosis.

    It said while they were not as widespread as they had been in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the fact they were returning needed to be addressed.

    The data showed gout admissions had increased by a fifth since 2009-10, with nearly 5,800 admissions last year.

    If the cases where gout was included as a secondary reason is taken into account, there were more than 86,000.
    Malnutrition

    Tuberculosis rates have also been going up in recent years, particularly in London, which is now seeing 15.3 cases per 100,000 people.

    Meanwhile, hospital admissions for malnutrition had risen from 5,590 in 2012-13 to 6,690 last year, the report said.

    Kingsley Manning, chairman of the centre, said even though rates were still low, the NHS needed to take note about what was happening.

    “We are fortunate that these diseases are not as widespread today,” he said.

    But he added: “Healthcare organisations may be interested in undertaking further study into the trends highlighted in our report.

  96. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    ……………….and across the UK the health workers of the NHS must have some form of showing their excitement at the glowing economic figures generated by the wholly imaginary treasury figures ………………………

    Balloting 400,000 members is no mean feat, but if strike action is what it takes to send a wake up call to our ministers, then so be it……..

    Cameron must be frantically pulling his hair out as his legal departments are pushed to the limit to breach employment laws on the right to withdraw labour………………………….

    “One percent for you, except those on salary increments”

    “Three hundred pounds a day expenses for the house of lords mothball brigade, and fuck all for the hardest pushed profession on our shores”

    ……………..it seems that we value an old fart falling asleep in debate, drinking and eating rich subsidised meals, than we do a person who is faced by everyday health trauma………………….

    The sick society we live in, the dreams of inbred royalty and the Etonian arse lickers of Londons square mile.

  97. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    ………….IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE WORD SWASTIKA AND SERWOTKA ARE INEXTRICABLY LINKED?

    “we were just following orders”

    “we have targets to meet”

    “we may lose our jobs”

    “a sanction is a last resort”

    ………….cowardly words from the lips of the most hated species on earth, the P.C.S. UNION……………………………

    “THE MOST INHUMANE SHOWER OF SHIT THAT EVER WALKED ON THIS PLANET”
    THE SPORTING HEROES OF THE DWP’s BULGING GATES OF THE CEMETERY OF DEATH……………

    EVIL PERSONIFIED……………

    LOWER THAN THE BELLY OF A RATTLESNAKE, NATURALISED ASSASSINS OF A CORRUPT REGIME THAT PUNISHES THE POOR AND DISABLED BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE VULNERABLE THAN THE BANKERS WHO TOOK OUR NATION TO THE BRINK OF COLLAPSE.

  98. Stepping Razor says:

    Workfare charities set to be named after Tribunal rules against DWP

    Kirsty Weakley- CivilSociety.co.uk 23rd Jul 2014

    Charities that are involved in the workfare programme run by the Department for Work and Pensions look set to have their names published following the latest legal ruling on the matter.

    The Upper Tribunal has dismissed DWP’s appeal against an earlier tribunal ruling that it must publish the names of the organisations delivering unpaid work experience schemes.

    In January 2012 three separate Freedom of Information Act requests were submitted to the DWP asking for the names of those involved in its Mandatory Work Activity and Work Programme schemes. The DWP denied the requests arguing that disclosing the names of organisations could make the programme unworkable.

    The Information Commissioner issued three decision notices in October 2012 telling DWP that it was in the public interest to disclose the information.

    The Information Tribunal ruled in May 2013 that DWP must publish the names of organisations involved, and said that big commercial organisations “can be expected to have a thick skin should their names be disclosed”.

    An Upper Tribunal hearing took place in June 2014 and the judgment was published yesterday.

    In the judgment, judge Nicholas Wikeley concluded that the original ruling did not “involve any material error of law” and that the Information Commissioner’s original decision should be complied with.

    A DWP spokesman said: “We are disappointed in the Tribunal’s decision and will be considering their judgment carefully.”

    CivilSociety.co.uk: –
    http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/news/content/17888/workfare_charities_set_to_be_named_after_tribunal_rules_against_dwp

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      “The DWP denied the requests arguing that disclosing the names of organisations could make the programme unworkable.”

      Says it all really.

  99. GEOFFREY REYNOLDS says:

    “HER MAJESTY’S COURTS AND TRIBUNAL SERVICE”
    …………better known as wrinkly lizzies disability denial wing.

    THEY CONTINUE TO TRY AND BLOCK MY APPEAL GOING TO THE UPPER TRIBUNAL…………………..

    9TH JULY 2014

    DEAR MARTIN BRADFORD;

    WITH REGARD TO THE LETTER YOU SENT ME ON THE 25/ 6/ 14, WHICH I PERCEIVE AS JUST ANOTHER FUNCTION OF YOUR DISABILITY DENIAL PROGRAMME IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE DWP.

    BEING DISABLED I HAVE A RECOGNISED STATUS UNDER THE TERMS OF THE EQUALITY ACT, IT IS CALLED PROTECTED CHARACTERISTICS.

    FURTHER TO THIS, I HAVE ALSO THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL AND LEGAL AID AS SET OUT IN ARTICLE SIX OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT.

    IT IS NO GOOD TRYING TO BLOCK MY APPLICATION TO APPEAL TO THE UPPER TRIBUNAL BECAUSE I WILL JUST PROCEED TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COURT MYSELF.

    HAVING CORRUPTED JUDGES AT EVERY LEVEL IS NEITHER FAIR, IMPARTIAL OR INDEPENDENT.
    SUPERMARKET JUSTICE AS THE BASIS OF A FAIR HEARING IS JUST A JOKE.

    THEREFORE I AM REQUESTING MY CASE BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE UPPER TRIBUNAL OR FAILING THAT, CROWN COURT, WHERE MY CASE WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO A JURY.

    I AM NOT AFRAID TO TAKE MY CASE TO THE VERY TOP WHERE I WILL EXPOSE THE LYING, CHEATING AND CONTINUAL DISABILITY DENIAL / ETHNIC CLEANSING OF THE POOR AND DISABLED.

    IT COMES AS NO SHOCK THAT THE HEAD OF THE DWP, DUNCAN SMITH, IS TRYING TO COVER UP THE LEVEL OF DEATHS ATTRIBUTED TO WELFARE REFORMS…

    ONE THING IS FOR CERTAIN, THE ATOS EXAMINATION RESULTS WERE DEEMED TO BE UNNACCEPTABLE AND POOR BY YOUR OWN GOVERNMENT, I WISH TO CHALLENGE MY MEDICAL REPORT IN A COURT OF LAW AND EXPOSE THE LIES SENT TO ME BY THE DWP THROUGH SEVERAL FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUESTS.

    EVEN MORE SINISTER, IS HOW PREVIOUS MEDICAL REPORTS FROM THE DWPS OWN DOCTORS HAVE BEEN SUPERCEEDED BY A CHARLATAN POSING AS AN EXPERT HAVING GAINED A WORTHLESS CERTIFICATE ONLY RECOGNISED BY OUR SECRETARY OF STATE AND NO OTHER MEDICAL ORGANISATION.

    THE MEDICAL REPORT AFFORDED TO ME DEFIES BELIEF AS THE CONTENT CONTRADICTS ITSELF.

    YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU ALL MY FACTS ABOUT HOW I WAS AWARDED A DISABILITY FOR LIFE BY DOCTORS HAVING A HOST OF LETTERS AFTER THEIR NAMES THEN SUBSEQUENTLY STOLEN BY A LIAR AND A CHEAT WORKING FOR A DISCREDITED COMPANY GUIDED BY THE DWP TO REDUCE DISABILITY COSTS.

    I HAVE SENT A COPY OF ALL YOUR CORRESPONDENCE TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS / EQUALITY COMMISSION.

    I AWAIT YOUR RESPONSE……………………..

    FOR AND ON BEHALF OF, G. REYNOLDS.

  100. Stepping Razor says:

    Watchdog launches probe into Seetec fraud claims

    by John Pring – Disability News service 25th July 2014

    The public spending watchdog has launched an investigation into claims of fraud by a company paid to find jobs for disabled people.

    Only last week, MPs on the Commons public accounts committee quizzed Robert Devereux, permanent secretary in the Department for Work and Pensions, about the way his civil servants had dealt with the allegations against Seetec.

    Now, as a result of that evidence session, the National Audit Office (NAO) has decided to investigate the claims, which were first made by two whistleblowers to Disability News Service last year.

    They claim Seetec artificially inflated the number of jobs it said it was finding for disabled people through the specialist Work Choice jobs programme.

    But the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) completed its investigation into the claims and cleared Seetec of fraud without interviewing either of the whistleblowers.

    Margaret Hodge, who chairs the public accounts committee, told Devereux last week that that there were “definitely issues with Seetec”, and pointed to evidence from a third whistleblower who has raised concerns – also investigated by the NAO – about the company’s performance on the mainstream Work Programme.

    Now the NAO plans to meet Perveen Sud to discuss the issues that she and the other Work Choice whistleblower have raised.

    Sud said: “It is very encouraging that the NAO has made a decision to investigate such serious matters.

    “This is a very important step forward as Margaret Hodge… clearly identified that there are very serious issues with Seetec.”

    A spokeswoman for the NAO said: “It is a matter of private correspondence and we can’t really say anything else.”

    24 July 2014

    DisabilityNewsService: –
    http://disabilitynewsservice.com/2014/07/watchdog-launches-probe-into-seetec-fraud-claims/

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      PIP judicial review: Court rules against us but vindicates our case

      Latentexistence – 22nd July 2014

      We lost. The judge ruled that in the end the consultation process for PIP was not unfair.

      However that is not the whole story. You see, the judge found that it was the second consultation that made things right. The first consultation, he had some harsher words for. Words such as:

      “Unfortunately mind-bogglingly opaque.” (Paragraph 105 part ii)
      “At best ambivalent” (Paragraph 105 part vii)
      “Convoluted, inherently unclear, ambiguous and confusing. No construction allows for full coherence.” (Paragraph 106)

      Not exactly a ringing endorsement of the way the government chose to do things, I think you’ll agree. The government’s legal team also agreed, and in fact they have accepted that they must share a portion of the costs of this judicial review in the face of evidence that it was indeed justified.

      Not only that, but the government made it perfectly clear that they know exactly how much their policies will hurt people but want to do it anyway.

      “… [T]his was recognised from the outset. In developing the PIP assessment we were aware that the vast majority of recipients of DLA were individuals with genuine health conditions and disabilities and genuine need, and that removing or reducing that benefit may affect their daily lives. However, we believe that these impacts can be justified as being a logical result of distributing limited resources in a different and more sustainable way…”.
      (Paragraph 80)

      Let’s see that again:

      “we were aware that the vast majority of recipients of DLA were individuals with genuine health conditions and disabilities and genuine need, and that removing or reducing that benefit may affect their daily lives.”

      And again:

      “genuine need”

      So we have the government’s lawyers arguing that the DWP and the government ministers know full well that they are removing vital support from hundreds of thousands of people who have few other options and who will suffer as a result. And they are doing it to save money.

      The judge agreed with the DWP that taking money from physically disabled people to allocate to other PIP claimants achieves “substantive equality between physically and non-physically disabled.” I argue that this has reduced the equality of physically disabled people compared to not-yet-disabled people, purely because of budget.

      This is Lowest common denominator equality.

      This is your government. This is what the society that we live in is prepared to accept.

      The court’s findings and what’s next

      The judge was persuaded by Dr Bolton’s evidence that the government could have changed their decision had they decided to listen to the overwhelming opposition to the 20m rule in the second consultation, and so it was not unfair. My legal team and I disagree. We still argue that the decision had long since been made and that the secretary of state had a closed mind by this point, and so the second consultation was not at a formative stage.

      Although the judgment went against us I feel that the judge’s analysis of the first consultation is vindication for our bringing this case to court. Don’t forget that the second consultation only came about after this case was given permission to proceed and the DWP realised that they could not get away with such a shambles.

      I hope that the admission by the government that they know exactly what they are doing will make people wake up to what is happening. Meanwhile, this is not the end. The legal team and I are considering our options to appeal this result.

      Latentexistence.me.uk: –
      https://www.latentexistence.me.uk/pip-judicial-review-court-rules-against-us-but-vindicates-our-case/

  101. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “EACH AND EVERY DECISION OF ANY JUDGE, FEATURED AT WHATEVER LEVEL, IN ANY CASE CONCERNING THE DWP, IS JUST A PAPER EXERCISE.”

    THE OUTCOME IS KNOWN EVEN BEFORE THE CASE SETS FOOT IN A COURTROOM…………

    “OUR UK LEGAL SYSTEM IS NOTHING MORE THAN A CAREFULLY ORCHESTRATED SHAM TO DECEIVE THE CLAIMANT AND PUT MONEY BACK INTO THE TREASURY.

    WE HAVE A PROTECTED STATUS UNDER NUMEROUS DISABILITY LAWS.

    THEY CONTINUE TO FLOUT LEGISLATION TO PUNISH THOSE IN MOST NEED, BENDING RULES TO FIT THEIR TWISTED AGENDA OF KOWTOWING TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES WHO CROSS OUR EMINENT POLITICIANS PALMS WITH GOLD TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE…………………..

    “LET THE LITIGATION BEGIN AND THE LEVEL OF CORRUPTION BE EXPOSED”

  102. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    Max Power | July 28, 2014 at 2:45 am | Reply

    It works like this, you go to the lower, the judge fucks up, you apply to the lower to go to the higher, you give reasons, an alternative judge tells you to fuck off, you apply direct to the higher and give reasons, the higher consider it and if they think you have a case they contact the DWP and ask if they object, they might or might not object, the higher either take it on or tell you to fuck off.

    As IDS has just been told, the higher tribunal is all about a fuck up in the letter of the law from the lower judge, not somewhere you go when you just don’t like what the lower judge said/judged or you don’t like the laws he/she was working to.

    P.S. I’ve been to the higher, I won, it’s a slow process, you need support to properly identify if you have a case and if so support to win it, and then trust me, just because you won, it don’t mean shit to the DWP, I’m still at war with them over a year later, over exactly the same shit, the spinning plate bastards, I’m working hard to smash them fucking plates. That was a lot of “fucks” but its an emotive subject

  103. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONERS SHOULD START TO TWITCH WITH GUILT AT THE GROWING MORTALITY STATISTICS THAT ENSHRINE UK GOVERNMENT WELFARE POLICY”

    Jul 27, 2014 22:36
    By James Lyons

    Diabetic David Clapson, 59, died with just £3.44 left in his account after his Jobseeker’s Allowance was axed because he missed an appointment

    Struggle: David died hungry and penniless with no way to pay his bills

    A diabetic ex-soldier died starving and skint after officials axed his benefits.

    David Clapson, 59, was stripped of the cash after missing an ­appointment under harsh Coalition reforms.

    He died in Stevenage, Herts, with just £3.44 left in his account.

    David once faced death on a daily basis as he served his country loyally in the terror hell of Northern Ireland.

    And when he left the Army he went straight into the ­workplace with BT before becoming a full-time carer for his sick mother.

    After she went into a home, diabetic David turned to the state for help while he looked for work.

    But under the Coalition’s callous new benefits rules he had his £71.70 a week Jobseeker’s Allowance axed – merely because he missed an appointment with an adviser.

    Stripped of his income, the 59-year-old could not afford food or electricity and died starving, ­penniless and alone at his home.

    His death was from diabetic ­ketoacidosis – caused by not taking his insulin.

    Daily Mirror Gill Thompson
    Tears: Gill with picture of her brother as a soldier

    Tonight his distraught sister Gill Thompson told how she believes he may have stopped injecting himself with the life-saving drug after becoming so desperate over his lack of cash and work.

    Choking back tears, she said: “I think he just gave up. I want the lessons to be learned. I don’t want anybody else to die. He shouldn’t have died like that. You wouldn’t let an animal die like that, would you?

    “I just, I look at food now and think, ‘My brother didn’t have any.’

    “My brother was not a scrounger. He was getting £71.70 a week. He was not living on ­champagne and caviar. They should have taken into account his past work and his condition.”

    Stevenage council leader Sharon Taylor slammed Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith over David’s ­treatment.

    She stormed: “He should hang his head in shame. David served his country. Treating him like this is disgusting.

    “This tragic death is a direct result of Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reforms.”

    When David died he had just £3.44 to his name, six tea bags, a tin of soup and an out-of-date can of sardines. His electricity card was out of credit meaning the fridge where he should have kept his insulin chilled was not working.

    A coroner also found he had no food in his stomach.

    A pile of CVs for job applications were found near David’s body.

    Gill, 57, demanded a change to the welfare system she believes caused her brother’s death. She said officials knew he was diabetic as he nearly died when his benefits were stopped once before.

    Reuters Iain Duncan Smith
    Penalties: Duncan Smith

    David, of ­Stevenage, Herts, had his benefits axed last summer for missing the ­appointment. There have been more than a million stoppages since the ­Coalition came to power in 2012.

    David joined the Royal Signals Corps at 17 and served for two years in Belfast at the height of the Troubles in the 70s. He left as a lance corporal then worked for BT for 16 years.

    He later had different jobs until he became his mum’s carer when she got dementia. That ended when she got too ill to stay at home. David took two unpaid ­placements but was denied a third.

    Officials wrote to him on June 28 saying his Jobseeker’s Allowance would be stopped from July 12 until August 8. A last payment of £122.10 went in to his account on July 2.

    David was found dead on July 20. Gill, from London, wrote to ­officials after his death. She said: “The answers came back, ‘Oh well, we followed procedures.’ Well I’m sorry to say the procedures don’t work if people die.”

    Gill also told how David was also ­sanctioned in 2010 after not putting enough information down on a claim form. He fell ill but was rescued by a neighbour.

    The DWP insisted he would have been told payments would still be available after sanctions.

    A spokesman said: “Claimants can get financial support through the ­hardship fund. People can also appeal against sanctions.”
    Comment: Repeated calls for a sanctions inquiry ignored

    Debbie Abrahams meets Paul Routledge (Pic:DM) By Debbie Abrahams MP, Work and Pensions Committee (pictured with Paul Routledge)

    For this poor man to die in such a disgraceful way is a scandal. But it is sadly not a surprise to hear that the sanctions regime has cost another life.

    I have repeatedly warned ministers about the disproportionate effects of sanctions on the poorest and of the inappropriate use of sanctions in Jobcentre Plus. The system has gone dangerously wrong.

    At a Work and Pensions Select Committee meeting in November, I demanded Esther McVey launch an independent inquiry into their use. She appeared to agree but the Government has since backtracked.

    Instead, on the last day before recess – preventing a discussion – a limited inquiry was published that failed to address many concerns. This was disgraceful arrogance.

    If Iain Duncan Smith and Esther McVey have nothing to hide, they should not fear a focused, independent inquiry.

    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/killed-benefits-cuts-starving-soldier-3923771#ixzz38kyg5Ck2
    Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

  104. Stepping Razor says:

    Anger as rule change set to cost disabled £35 a week

    DISABLED people in Glasgow and west Scotland are among those losing out after rule changes on benefits.

    Evening Times Glasgow – 28th July 2014 Peter Swindon

    A change from Disability Living Allowance to Personal Independence Payments means many could lose as much as £35 a week.

    Anyone who can walk more than 20 metres (65ft) will no longer be entitled to the £56.75 enhanced weekly mobility allowance and could be offered the standard rate of just £21.55.

    Before UK Government welfare reforms, a distance of 50 metres was used as a measure of significant mobility impairment.

    A group of 50 charities known as the Disability Benefits Consortium launched a High Court challenge based on claims that a UK Government consultation was unfair.

    Lawyers for disabled Steven Sumpter argued the consultation did not mention the new limit would be reduced to 20 metres.

    However, Mr Justice Hickinbottom ruled the process had been lawful.

    Karen Ashton, Mr Sumpter’s solicitor, described the judgement as “very disappointing”. She added: “We will be looking carefully at the possibility of an appeal.”

    It has been estimated as many as 80,000 working age disabled people in Scotland will lose some or all of the mobility allowance as a result of the changes.

    Iain Workman, from Greenock, a 52-year-old father-of-three who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis two years ago, said: “They are talking about phasing this in, but I do not know how long it will take. It will be something I will be up against in the coming months.

    “It has the potential to affect every single person on Disability Living Allowance. We are going to have to jump through hoops for them and be performing monkeys. It’s terrifying.”

    Claire Nurden, co-chairwoman of the Disability Benefits Consortium, said: “Personal Independence Payments are intended to help those most in need, but it is exactly these people that are set to lose.

    “The benefit is alifeline for people – many use it to pay for their mobility scooter or adapted car so they can remain independent and travel to work, education or medical appointments.

    “We would strongly support an appeal of this decision.”

    A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “We are pleased with the judgment and welcome the clear statement that how public money is distributed is a matter for the Secretary of State and Parliament and not for the courts.”

    peter.swindon@ eveningtimes.co.uk
    http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/anger-as-rule-change-set-to-cost-disabled-35-a-week-173419n.24846956

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      The DWP Spokesperson = Not worth the paper its written – Auto person DWP spokesman. Of course no one is taking responsibility & giving their name. The DWP spokesman said we like making disabled people lose their jobs with a mobility cut, & we like to get them on our books as unemployed disabled cash cows.

  105. Stepping Razor says:

    The cornered in a corner is getting to be a more & more smaller corner to hide in.

    THE ONUS IS BURDEN OF PROOF – – – – – not gibberish & gobbledygook fraud from the DWP.

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      “YOU CAN’T BEAT A BIT OF BIAS FROM YOUR OLD DEPARTMENTS WHEN MAKING A DECISION”

      Sir Gary Robert Hickinbottom (born 22 December 1955), styled The Hon. Mr Justice Hickinbottom, is a British judge. In 2008, he became the fourth solicitor to be appointed a High Court judge, after Michael Sachs in 1993, Lawrence Collins in 2000, and Henry Hodge in 2004.

      He was admitted as a solicitor in 1981, and later became a partner at McKenna & Co (now part of CMS Cameron McKenna). He became a recorder in 1994 and then a circuit judge in 2001. He became Chief Social Security Commissioner and Child Support Commissioner in 2003, and Chief Pension Appeal Commissioner. He has also sat as a deputy High Court judge.

  106. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “GARY HICKINBOTTOM, THE DWP’S NEW NODDING DOG”

    Appointed a High Court Judge in January 2009, Gary was formerly Chief Social Security, Child Support and Pensions Appeal Commissioner and Designated Civil Judge for Wales from 2003-2007. He is now the first President of the new Administrative Appeals Chamber of the Upper Tribunal. Educated at University College, Oxford, he was admitted as a Solicitor in 1981. He was a Partner at McKenna & Co (subsequently Cameron McKenna) from 1986-2000, and also a lecturer at University College, Oxford from 1987-1989. His wife is also a Middle Temple member.

  107. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “STRANGE QUOTE FROM A SO CALLED INDEPENDENT JUDGE, OR WAS IT REALLY?”

    “IT IS A KNOWN FACT THAT THE GOVERNMENT OFFICES OF COMPLAINT DO NOT ACT ON BEHALF OF THE PUBLIC”
    QUOTE BY THE DISHONOURABLE JUDGE GARY HICKINBOTTOM CHIEF SOCIAL SECURITY COMMISSIONER

  108. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “ROTTEN TO THE CORE”

    The judge concluded this week that the overall process had been lawful, even though only five individuals out of the 1,142 organisations and individuals who took part in the second consultation agreed with the government that the walking distance criteria should be set at 20 metres.

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      A QUESTION FOR JUSTICE HICKINBOTTOM, EX CHIEF SOCIAL SECURITY COMMISSIONER”

      “WHEN DID A SANCTION BECOME PREMEDITATED MURDER?”

      ANSWER/

      ……………..upon your last decision it would seem…….

      THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF A HIGH COURT JUDGE…………….

      TO HOLD THE POWER TO DECIDE WHO LIVES AND WHO DIES……….

      “GOD IN A POWDERED WIG”

    2. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      “SO THAT MEANS, JUSTICE HICKINBOTTOM,DWP NODDING DOG, IGNORED THE VIEWS OF ONE THOUSAND,ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY SEVEN AND CONCLUDED THAT THE VIEWS OF FIVE, WERE ACCEPTABLE…………………………..

      THIS GUY SHOULD HANG UP HIS ROBES AND WIG, HE IS NOTHING SHORT OF A STATE ENLISTED CONTRACT KILLER, PUTTING THE LIVES OF THE DISABLED SECONDARY TO THE WISHES OF THE PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY AND THE TREASURY COFFERS.

      HE IS NOT FIT TO BE A JUDGE………..

      THE WHOLE SPECTRUM OF THE UK JUDICIAL SYSTEM IS BLOATED WITH CORRUPT DECISIONS FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM.

  109. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    …………………taken from johnny void site

    “Michael | July 29, 2014 at 8:58 am | Reply

    A friend of mine who works for Samaritans and was formerly a Welfare Rights Officer responded to this article today, but cannot publish it in their own name because of Samaritans being non-political, so I agreed to post it for them. I hope you find it interesting.

    Sadly, I think there will be a lot more suicides to come from 2015-18. I say this because people who are currently getting DLA will be migrated over to PIP, and most people will find that they do not qualify. There were loads of suicides when DWP migrated people over from Incapacity Benefit to Employment Support Allowance, whilst that was bad, I suspect what will come will be much worse. Let me show you some sums to show you how scary it is:

    If someone has their DLA cut, the axe does NOT stop there. Many income related benefits are subject to DLA/PIP entitlement. Using ESA as an example, when getting DLA a single person without savings has their Income Related ESA it is calculated as follows:

    (Personal Allowance £72.40, Support Group Premium £35.75, [or Work Related Activity Premium £28.75], Enhanced Disability Premium £15.55, Severe Disability Premium £61.10) TOTAL ESA PER WEEK £184.80

    If they get high rate DLA it is worked out like this: (DLA High Rate Mobility £81.30 DLA High Rate Care £56.75). TOTAL DLA PER £138.05

    TOTAL WEEKLY BENEFITS £322.85 (excluding Housing Allowances and Council Tax Allowances)

    As soon as the DLA is removed it means that their ESA will be cut, they will no longer be entitled to the Enhanced Disability Premium or the Severe Disability Premium. This means that they will have their weekly benefit go from £322.85 to £108.15 which is a weekly cut of £214.70. Or in other words their annual benefit income will be cut from £16,788 to £5,623 a total yearly cut of £11,165

    I have not included any Council Tax or Housing Allowances in the sums above because the actual calculations vary area to area. However, if one has been getting extra monies in Housing Allowances due to needing an overnight carer, they would no longer be entitled to this as their DLA was cut so that means an even bigger cut as now they’d be subject to Bedroom Tax.

    In terms of my own circumstances, I am already at breaking point financially, so if something like this were to happen to me, I would surely go bankrupt it is hard to pay bills as it is. At present, I do get High Rate Mobility, I am unable to walk very far so I am totally reliant on either using a car or a taxi – if I were to lose my mobility payments it would mean I would become totally housebound – even in my wheelchair I cannot get to my corner shop as it would involve climbing a flight of stairs, nor would I be able to get to my local bus stop as it would involve using my wheelchair on the subway under the A58 and the gradients are very steep so I would not be able to push myself in my chair.

    AND WORST OF ALL…. My local polling station is next door to my corner shop, so I would NOT be able to get there either – this means I cannot re-elect Ian Duncan Smith!!

  110. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    voidseeker | July 29, 2014 at 2:54 am | Reply

    Technically every appeal tribunal that upholds a 100% 4 week JSA sanction is finding that zero income is sufficient to live on each week.

    1. AL says:

      And oddly enough generally it seems to be, else there would be more deaths. It must be a real disappointment for the powers that be that poor people so tenatiously cling to life, no matter how miserable it becomes. The deaths we have heard of are still very much a minority of claimants.

      I interpret sanctions as meaning that it is no longer unacceptable for folks not to pay their bills. For anyone being evicted, having services removed etc they should point out that the government, backed up by the courts endorse this behaviour, preferring that folks should live on fresh air and sponge off those still with money.

  111. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “Upon being questioned, the ebola virus stated that it will not be coming to the uk in the near future”………………………..

    …………………how can i honestly compete with the likes of the DWP, the PCS and ATOS, when it comes to taking lives?

  112. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    1. ATOS yearly for PIP assessments

    The PIP assessment providers are paid an output fee per assessment report delivered
    to the Department. The assessment providers are only paid for the work they deliver
    and the amount of referrals the assessment providers receive depends in part on the
    number of PIP claims received by the Department. Consequently, it is not possible to
    provide an annual fee. The Department has published the estimated lifetime contract
    values on Contracts Finder. In Lot 1 (North of England and Scotland), this is
    £206,703,507. In Lot 3, (South of England and London), this is £183,894,556.
    ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

    ……………..ROUGHLY TRANSLATED, THIS MEANS THAT THEY ARE PAID BY RESULTS.
    PROFITS ARE TIED TO HOW MANY THEY CAN ROB, STEAL AND CHEAT AT ANY GIVEN TIME.

    “HENCE THE MOTIVATION TO FAIL AS MANY AS POSSIBLE”.

  113. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    Disability activists spread ‘Atos kills’ message at Commonwealth Games
    Jul
    2014
    Thursday 31st
    posted by Rory MacKinnon in Britain

    HUNDREDS of Commonwealth Games tourists were surprised in Glasgow’s George Square yesterday as disability activists cried shame on sponsor Atos.

    A clutch of demonstrators backing campaign group Glasgow Against Atos held banners and placards aloft — reading “ATOS KILLS” — in front of sports fans who were viewing the Glasgow 2014 sculpture and queueing for Games merchandise.

    IT giant Atos has sought to boost its public profile by sponsoring database software for international sporting events, but campaigners have fought to expose its role in deadly cuts to disability benefits under a lucrative contract running “work capability assessments” for the Department of Work and Pensions.

    Demonstrator Ronnie Swinton told the Morning Star he had come all the way from Dundee to voice his anger at Atos.

    Mr Swinton said he had spent seven weeks “without any money,” depending on friends as he fought to appeal a decision that he was fit for work despite chronic depression.

    Mr Swinton said he had eventually won his appeal but the stress had taken a further toll on his health.

    “I was afraid of losing my flat.

    “It would’ve given me a mental illness if I didn’t have one in the first place,” he said.

    And a government proposal to simply switch contractors won’t solve the problems either, he added: “The whole system’s got to be stopped before any more people die.”

    Several suicides have been linked to benefits being denied following Atos’ assessments, including “Miss DE” in 2011, whose identity remains protected, and blind agoraphobe Tim Salter, who took his own life in September last year.

    The department says it does not record mortality rates for those deemed “fit for work.”

    But figures released in 2012 suggested that 2,200 people had died before Atos had even completed their assessment — and 1,300 had died within six weeks of being shunted into “work related activity.”

    In 2012 Paralympic athletes hid their branded lanyards at London’s Olympic opening ceremony, while Sport Disability Scotland told MSPs in April of athletes who could no longer afford to continue their sporting careers after losing out to an assessment.

    Games organisers have repeatedly said they remain “very proud” of Atos’ involvement, while Atos maintains that its assessments merely offer information to DWP officials who decide on access to benefits.

  114. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “PLACING TINSEL ON THE GRAVES OF THE DISABLED THE DWP HAVE ALREADY MURDERED”

    ………………….ARSEHOLES MUST BE PUCKERING IN THE THE FRONT BENCHES AT THE THOUGHT OF THE HUGE LITIGATION SCANDAL THAT IS DRAWING EVER CLOSER……………………

    KILLING HUMAN BEINGS WITH MENTAL OR PHYSICAL DISABILITIES, HAD TO BE THE BRAINCHILD OF SOME SICK FUCK FROM WITHIN THE WALLS OF A NAZI EXTERMINATION CAMP, NOT TWENTY FIRST CENTURY THINKING.

    AS THE MORTALITY RATES INCREASE AT AN UNPRECEDENTED SCALE, THE GOVERNMENT ARE DOING ALL THEY CAN TO PRETEND THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO HELP US “INCOMPLETE, UNWORTHY PEOPLE”.

    TODAY ON THE BBC NEWS THEY ARE TRYING TO HERALD A NEW DAWN FOR THE DISABLED, TRUMPETING THE IDEOLOGY THAT WE CAN LESSEN THE BURDEN OF OUR DISABILITY IN THE WAY WE SHOP AROUND……………

    SOME FACELESS BASTARD WITH A DOUBLE BARRELED NAME CAN SUGGEST WAYS TO SHOP THAT WILL ALLEVIATE THE BURDEN OF OUR SUFFERINGS.

    “IT IS NOTHING SHORT OF PLACING TINSEL ON THE GRAVES OF THE DISABLED THE DWP HAS ALREADY MURDERED”……………………………..

    ATOS WAS JUST A PIECE OF CLEVERLY ACQUIRED CAMOUFLAGE FOR THE REAL ASSASSINS IN OUR DEPARTMENT OF WORKS AND PENSIONS, WHO ACT ON INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE LIKES OF THE AMERICAN PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE GIANT, UNUM.

    DRESSING MURDER UP AS A WELFARE REFORM AND SELLING IT TO OUR QUEEN TO AUTHORISE, IS NOT THE ACT OF SANE PEOPLE, IT IS AN ACT OF GENOCIDE, CULPABLE HOMICIDE, MASS MURDER……………….

    “STATE EXECUTION”

    I AM NOT AFRAID TO SPEAK OUT, NEVER HAVE BEEN, NEVER WILL BE, THE ONLY ONES WHO WILL NOT BE ABLE TO VENT THEIR ANGER ARE THOSE ALREADY IN THE GROUND, THE ONES HIDDEN FROM FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUESTS.

    THE ACT OF NON DISCLOSURE IS AN ACT OF GUILT. IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY INNOCENT OF ANY CHARGE THAT MAY BE BROUGHT AGAINST YOU.

    OUR DWP AND IT’S TRIGGER MEN, THE PCS SPECIALLY PROMOTED SANCTION SQUAD ARE THE NEW GOD………….

    THEY HAVE THE DIVINE RIGHT TO DECIDE IF A PERSON LIVES OR DIES, THE RIGHT TO REMOVE THE MECHANISM THAT SUSTAINS LIFE, MONEY………..

    LIFE OF HUMAN BEINGS HAS REPLACED FOX HUNTING AS THE TOFFEE NOSED ELITES NUMBER ONE SPORT.
    WHY CHOOSE TO SEE A FOX RIPPED TO SHREDS IN A FEW MOMENTS WHEN YOU CAN WATCH A DISABLED SUFFER IN DESTITUTION WHILE STRUGGLING TO HANG ON TILL THE LAST BREATH?.

    THEY SAY EVIL HAS NO BOUNDARIES BUT THIS COALITION GOVERNMENT WENT OVER THAT BOUNDARY WHEN THEY CHOSE TO DO BATTLE WITH THOSE WHO WOULD GIVE THE LEAST RESISTANCE, THE DISABLED.

    WE MIGHT NOT BE A PRETTY SIGHT, NOT THE STUFF OF CATWALKS, BUT WE ARE NEVERTHELESS, HUMAN BEINGS, LIKE IT OR LUMP IT…………………………..

    AS FOR MY THIRTY TWO POUNDS PER WEEK THAT YOU HAVE PAID ME AND MY FAMILY FOR OVER 13 MONTHS, I WILL TRY AND SPEND IT WISELY TO MAKE SURE EVERY PENNY DOES NOT GO TO WASTE!

  115. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “ONLY 153,800 ERRORS, AND OF THOSE, HOW MANY ARE PUSHING UP DAISIES, MR. SMITH?”

    Between 2010 and 2013, the government, which has the final say on the assessments, reversed 158,300 fit-for-work approvals by Atos.

    In one case, a dying man with a brain tumour and serious heart condition was deemed fit to work by Atos.

    In another, a vulnerable man with Asperger’s Syndrome, a phobia for food and several other health issues was stripped of his ESA after being judged fit to work by Atos. He later died of malnourishment.

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      “CAPITA TREATS IT’S OWN DISABLED WORKFORCE LIKE SHIT”

      01
      Aug 2014
      Capita ignores reasonable adjustments, and then sacks disabled worker

      By john pring

      newslatestOne of the companies responsible for assessing disability benefit eligibility failed to make its own workplace accessible for a disabled employee for more than three years, and then sacked her when she became too ill to work.

      http://disabilitynewsservice.com/2014/08/capita-ignores-reasonable-adjustments-and-then-sacks-disabled-worker/

      1. Stepping Razor says:

        “She is now taking Service Birmingham to an employment tribunal, claiming disability discrimination and unfair dismissal. She says the company made her life “hell” while she was working there.”

        Capita fuck, Atos fuck up.

        What the difference between Atos & Capita ? There are both breaking the Disability Equality Act. = Disabled Slave Trade.

  116. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “WE ARE ALL AWARE THAT THE EBOLA VIRUS HAS TAKEN THE LIVES OF OVER 700 PEOPLE IN WEST AFRICA, BUT HOW MANY LIVES HAVE BEEN TAKEN BY THE DEPARTMENT OF WORKS AND PENSIONS IN THE UK?”

    WITHHOLDING THIS INFORMATION FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD IS NO MEAN FEAT.

    THE CONSPIRACY TO HIDE THE SHOCKING REVELATIONS OF THE WAR AGAINST THE POOR AND DISABLED WILL MAKE THE EBOLA DEATH COUNT FIZZLE INTO OBSCURITY WHEN THE ACTUAL FIGURES FALL INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

    MEANWHILE, THE JUDICIARY WILL BE TRYING TO DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM THE HORRORS THAT THEY HELPED PERPETRATE…………………

    “we are all in this together, you certainly are”

  117. Stepping Razor says:

    Minister caught misleading government’s benefits advisors

    By john pring 1st Aug 2014 Disability News Service

    A work and pensions minister has been caught giving misleading information to the government’s own benefits advice body about the possibility of assessing the overall impact on disabled people of its sweeping welfare cuts and reforms.

    Lord Freud, minister for welfare reform, is just the latest in a line of Conservative ministers to be embarrassed by the coalition’s increasingly frantic attempts to defend its refusal to carry out a cumulative impact assessment (CIA).

    In a letter to the social security advisory committee (SSAC), Lord Freud insisted that it was not possible to carry out a CIA for disabled people, and claimed that this was a view “shared by the authoritative Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)”.

    Ministers have repeatedly made this claim. But earlier this month, the IFS published research which included a CIA looking at the impact of 35 benefit and tax changes on disabled people in Wales.

    The IFS insisted that such cumulative assessments were possible, and told Disability News Service (DNS) that it was unclear where the government’s view about the IFS position on CIAs had come from.

    Paul Gray, the SSAC’s chair, told DNS: “The committee has made clear its position that an inability to produce a perfect study on the cumulative impact of the government’s welfare reforms should not prevent the highest priority being given to produce the best possible combined analysis as the reforms are progressively implemented.

    “I would strongly encourage the government to explore with the IFS – and Landman Economics and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, whose report on cumulative impact was published today – what might be possible in this respect.”

    A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokeswoman said: “We believe that the arguments in the letter to the SSAC are valid, with the reference to the Institute of Fiscal Studies being made in good faith.

    “We will continue to look at this issue, drawing on IFS expertise and analysis where appropriate.”

    But she has been unable to explain why ministers kept saying IFS agreed with their position on CIAs when it did not.

    And she declined to say whether Lord Freud would apologise for misleading the SSAC.

    But she said that ministers still believed such an assessment was not possible, because survey data was “limited”, while there were “a number of overlapping reforms coming in at different points up to 2017-18″, and benefit caseloads were “dynamic”.

    She added: “The real cumulative impact of our welfare reforms is to make work pay and for those who can’t work [to] target support at those in need.”

    Disabled activists and other campaigners have been demanding since at least 2011 that DWP carries out a CIA. They say ministers fear that such research will show clearly how disabled people have borne the brunt of the coalition’s spending cuts.

    Pat Onions, founder of Pat’s Petition, which began calling for a CIA in 2011, said: “Lord Freud has never believed a CIA to be possible and we have said before that he doesn’t give a damn.

    “Perhaps he might now listen to advisors such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission, [the Labour peer] Baroness Hollis, [the disabled Labour MP] Dame Anne Begg and the social security advisory committee, and many more, including disabled people and carers themselves.

    “Listening to those at the sharp end of these cuts might have prevented him from offering intentionally misleading responses. But now he must act to ensure that the worst impacts of his reforms stop here.”

    Blogger and campaigner Sue Marsh said Lord Freud had “lied at every stage and every debate in the House of Lords”, so it was “very important to me that his lies are seen, even if nothing changes”.

    Lord Freud joins three other Tory work and pensions ministers who have previously ridiculed the idea of a CIA.

    Mark Hoban, at the time the Conservative minister for employment, said last July that a CIA would be “so complex and subject to so many variables that it would be meaningless”.

    Esther McVey also dismissed the idea, telling DNS that the information gathered would be “incoherent and inconsistent”.

    And Mike Penning, her successor as minister for disabled people, told MPs that a CIA was not possible because there were “no real results that can be broken down and are reliable enough to show the effect on disabled people”.

    Disability News Service: –
    http://disabilitynewsservice.com/2014/08/minister-caught-misleading-governments-benefits-advisors/

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      ” Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokeswoman said: “We believe that the arguments in the letter to the SSAC are valid, with the reference to the Institute of Fiscal Studies being made in good faith.”

      Yet again no DWP name – DWP spokeswoman said Lord Fraud !!

  118. Stepping Razor says:

    DISLABLED SLAVE TRADE IS KEEPING THE COUNTRY AFLOAT, IT IS ALSO GOING TO BE A VOTE WINNER.

    THE UK SLAVE TRADING OF DISABLED PEOPLE 2014 !!

    NO OTHER WORD FOR IT DISABLED CASH COWS IN SLAVERY. NOT LET`S TRADE DISABILITY CONFIDENT. OH DEAR DISABILITY OVER CONFIDENT.

  119. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    WHO WILL TAKE OVER THE HELM OF THE TOTALLY BIASED, MINISTRY OF DISINFORMATION, ALSO KNOWN AS THE BBC?

    IT’S EASY TO ASSUME THE PERSON CHOSEN WILL BE A FOREGONE CONCLUSION, IT CERTAINLY WILL BE, BUT WHOEVER GETS THERE FIRST WILL HOLD THE POWER OF THE GREATEST PROPAGANDA MACHINE EVER INVENTED.

    THEY GATHER THE HEADLINES FROM FAR AND WIDE AND THEN DISSECT IT AND REASSEMBLE IT TO FOCUS ON WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO HEAR.

    A MODERN DAY SPIN DOCTOR, VERY SIMILAR TO MY ATOS EXAMINATION REPORT………

    IN WHAT RESPECT YOU MAY ASK?

    ATTENDING MY EXAMINATION I WAS COVERED IN CUTS AND BRUISES TO MY FOREHEAD MY ARMS AND HANDS……………

    THE TRAINED,(PLEASE DON’T LAUGH) HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL, EMMA BRODRICK, ASKED ME WHY I WAS IN SUCH A STATE AND I TOLD HER I HAD FALLEN FROM A BUS IN YORK AFTER MY WALKING STICK GOT STUCK IN THE STEPS………………

    LO AND BEHOLD, THE NEWS WAS TOTALLY REWRITTEN TO SAY THAT MR REYNOLDS COULD TRAVEL TO YORK ON A BUS UNAIDED…………………

    “written three times on my reports”

    NO MENTION OF THE CUTS AND BRUISES!

    THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE POLITICIANS DO WITH THE BBC, TWIST THE FACTS TO SUIT THE DIRECTION OF SPIN……………

    “CANNED BULLSHIT”

  120. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    GEOFF REYNOLDS | August 4, 2014 at 11:26 pm | Reply

    ……………….IF A CAR MANUFACTURER PRODUCED A VEHICLE THAT HAD A FAULT THAT RESULTED IN HALF A DOZEN LIVES BEING LOST, THEY WOULD BE FORCED TO RECALL ALL THE REST OF THE VEHICLES AND REMEDY THE FAULTY PART………………..

    THE DWP, HOWEVER, HAVE DECIDED TO CARRY ON WITH THE FAULTY PARTS AND WATCH THE MORTALITY RATES INCREASE.

    IGNORANCE OF THE FACTS IS NO DEFENCE, ASK THOSE WHO FELL THROUGH TRAPDOORS AT NUREMBERG, HEADS SHOCKED TO ONE SIDE AS THE WEIGHT OF THEIR BODIES SEALED THEIR FATE………………….

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      “HS2, THE NEW RAILWAY OF DEATH”

      FORGET THE OLD DEATH RAILWAY THAT RAN ON THE BURMA THAI SYSTEM AND CONCENTRATE ON THE LATEST CONTROVERSIAL MINDSET OF A GROUP OF HIGHLY PAID IDIOTS………………….

      THEY USED TO RECKON THAT FOR EVERY SLEEPER LAID, IT REPRESENTED THE REMOVAL OF A PERSONS LIFE………………..

      NOTHING HAS APPARENTLY CHANGED.

      WHILE FAMILIES SEEK TO FIND CRUMBS HURRIEDLY SWEPT OFF THE TABLECLOTH OF THE ASHES OF THE WELFARE STATE, DISABLED AND THE POOR ARE SENT TO EARLY GRAVES AND THE LEVEL OF RICH / POOR DISCONTENT REACHES FEVER PITCH, ONLY THE MENTALLY INSANE DARE DREAM THIS UP……………………….

      COUNTLESS BILLIONS SQUANDERED ON A ROAD TO NOWHERE?

      “HOW MANY LIVES DOES IT TAKE TAKE TO KNOCK A FEW MINUTES OFF A TRAIN JOURNEY?”

      “HOW MANY BENEFITS STOLEN FROM THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED, THE DISABLED AND POOR”

      THE ABUSE OF WEALTH AND POWER HAS REACHED A SICKENING CRESCENDO………

      OUR HALLS OF GOVERNMENT ARE FILLED, EVERY INCH, WITH THE INCREASING STENCH OF CORRUPTION.
      WHO IS REALLY REPRESENTING THE VIEWS OF THE ELECTORATE AND WHO IS REALLY REPRESENTING THE VIEWS OF THE SECRET HANDSHAKE, UNDER THE TABLE, BIG BROWN ENVELOPE CONSORTIUMS?.

      THEY ARE TAKING THE PISS, BIG TIME!

      ANOTHER RAIL NETWORK WILL NOT BRING PROSPERITY TO ANYONE UP NORTH, MOST TRANSPORT IS DONE BY ROAD………………………

      MY FAMILY AND I CANNOT HARDLY AFFORD TO GO ON THE EXISTING RAIL NETWORK, LET ALONE THE PROPOSED “GLITZY EXPRESS”

      THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO STAND TO GAIN FROM THIS DISGRACEFUL SHOW OF OPULENCE ARE THE ONES PULLING THE STRINGS, THE LOBBYISTS WHO RUN RINGS ROUND OUR PARLIAMENTARIANS GREED.

      AN INQUIRY SHOULD BE MADE IMMEDIATELY INTO WHO IS TO GAIN FROM THE CONTRACTS AND THE SLIMY LINKS THEY HAVE TO INFLUENTIAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEES.

      GRANTED THERE ARE A FEW ON THE BENCHES WHO PURPORT TO CHAMPION THE OLD SOCIALIST VIEWS, BUT THIS IS A REHEARSED RHETORIC TO KEEP THEM AFLOAT OF THE PUBLIC THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT.

      OUR GOVERNMENT IS NOTHING SHORT OF A GENTLEMENS CLUB OF SECRET HANDSHAKES TO ELEVATE PERSONAL FINANCES.

      I HAVE SEEN IT AT LOCAL PLANNING LEVELS IN MY OWN TOWN OF LONELY SCARBOROUGH. BROWN ENVELOPES STUFFED WITH CASH TO BRING ABOUT FORTUNE TO THE INTERESTED PARTIES.

      WESTMINSTER IS NO DIFFERENT, THE STAKES AND THE GAMBLE ARE MUCH HIGHER.

      ASK THE TORY PARTY DONORS WHO ARE BEING REWARDED BY PEERAGES AS WE SPEAK?

      “YOU CROSS MY PALM WITH SILVER AND I WILL CROSS YOURS”

      THE FALLOUT FROM THIS HARE BRAINED RAILWAY FIASCO IS APPARENT ON EVERY MAIN STREET OF EVERY TOWN OR CITY IN THE UK……….POVERTY…..

      IS A SHINY NEW RAILWAY THAT CUTS MINUTES OFF A JOURNEY TIME, PARAMOUNT TO PUTTING A MEAL ON A PLATE AND HAVING A ROOF OVER OUR HEADS?

      THESE JOKERS SEEM TO THINK SO!

      GIVE A WAVE FROM YOUR BEAUTIFUL NEW CARRIAGES TO THE REAL FACE OF THOSE AT THE SIDE OF THE TRACKS, THE UNDERPRIVILEGED, THE HOMELESS AND THE SICK……………………………

      GREAT BRITAIN, WHAT A FUCKING HUGE JOKE, HELL ON A SHOESTRING……………

      “YOU GO TO THE DINING CAR AND WE WILL GO TO THE FOOD BANKS”

  121. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “A LIVING TRIBUTE TO THE WORK OF THE DWP AND THE PCS UNION”

    ……………a little reminder to put your minds at rest…….

    Single mother died penniless after her benefits were stopped
    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/disabled-mum-died-alone-penniless-3662850

    Former soldier David Clapson, died after benefit sanctions.
    http://www.theadvertisergroup.co.uk/Daily-News/Stevenage/Lessons-must-be-learned-from-diabetic-former-soldier-who-died-after-benefits-sanction-20140722174205.htm#ixzz38TYzrM00

    Sick benefits claimant has HEART ATTACK during Jobcentre test – and Government axe his payments
    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/sick-benefits-claimant-heart-attack-3098219#ixzz39KxGjWnj

    A disabled man died penniless when he lost his benefits after being judged fit to work
    http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/Cambridge-microbiologist-Robert-Barlow-dies-penniless-in-Liverpool-after-his-benefits-were-withdrawn-despite-him-needing-a-new-heart-20140409063051.htm

    Linda Wootton: Double heart and lung transplant dies nine days after she has benefits stopped
    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/linda-wootton-double-heart-lung-1912498#.U19bUv55SVY.facebook

    Mark Wood, 44, starved to death after having his benefits removed.
    http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/28/man-starved-to-death-after-benefits-cut?CMP=twt_gu

    Farmer David coupe was refused benefits after being diagnosed with a bad back, terminal cancer and diabetes.
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2474772/Farmer-David-Coupe-refused-Atos-healthcare-reassessment-diagnosed-terminal-cancer.html

    Grandad shoots himself after finding out his benefits were being stopped
    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/grandad-shaun-pilkington-shoots-himself-2989685#ixzz39L4zeYSQ

    Martin Hadfield, 20 committed suicide 24hours after job-seeker meeting.
    http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/379712/Jobseeker-commits-suicide-after-being-worn-down-by-Job-Centre-bureaucracy

    ……….THE SUCCESS OF PUNITIVE ACTS AGAINST THE WEAK AND DISABLED, laid out for all to see………….

  122. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “DISABLED CASH COWS PAYING FOR TONY AND GEORGES PRIVATE WAR”

    OBAMA HAS HINTED AT RENEWED AIR STRIKES AGAINST MILITANT FACTIONS IN IRAQ, MEANING THAT CAMERON, BEING THE LOYAL LAPDOG THAT HE IS, MUST FOLLOW SUIT…………..

    IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS HE WILL BE ON THE BLOWER OFFERING UNCONDITIONAL AIR SUPPORT, SHOULD OUR PARLIAMENT PERMIT IT.

    IF THEY HAVE ANY SENSE THEY WILL REJECT IT OUT OF HAND.

    BUT GIVEN THAT OUR GOVERNMENT ARE STILL LOATHE TO SUSPEND WEAPONS EXPORT LICENSES TO THE ISRAELIS, EVEN AFTER WORLD CONDEMNATION, WHO WILL FOOT THE BILL?

    THE ANSWER IS SO OBVIOUS, IT HITS YOU BETWEEN THE EYES………………

    “LETS CARRY ON ROBBING THOSE WHO ARE LEAST LIKELY TO FIGHT BACK”

    THAT’S RIGHT, THE DISABLED AND POOR………………………

    THE ONLY TRUE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION ARE OUR UK GOVERNMENT AS THEY TRY TO HIDE THE EVER GROWING MORTALITY STATISTICS AGAINST THEIR OWN PEOPLE……

    FOR EVERY BULLET FIRED THERE IS A PRICE, SOMEONE HAS TO PAY, UNFORTUNATELY THE BILL IS BEING PAID, NOT BY THE BANKERS WHO CAPITALISE ON WAR, JUST THE PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY INFIRM.

    PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE PAYMENT OR PIP, ALLOWS THE AUTHORITIES TO LOAD THE WEAPONS WITH THE BENEFITS THEY HAVE STOLEN AND INTEND TO ROB BLINDLY.

    WHEN MCVEY ADDRESSED PARLIAMENT AND SAID THAT SOME 600,000 WOULD LOSE OUT ON PIP TESTS, IT WAS AN ADMISSION THAT THEY ALREADY KNEW 600,000 WOULD BE STRIPPED OF THEIR BENEFITS……………..

    “THIS WAS NOT AN EXAMINATION IT WAS A FOREGONE CONCLUSION, THEFT ON AN EPIC SCALE”

    STRANGELY, THE VERY PEOPLE WHO THEY SEND TO FIGHT, OUR MILITARY, ARE HAVING TO WAIT UNPRECEDENTED LENGTH’S OF TIME TO GET COMPENSATION DUE THE INJURIES THEY HAVE SUSTAINED……………..

    THE MOD HAS QUOTED THAT THE “CLAIMS CULTURE” IS THE BEHIND THE RISE IN COMPENSATION……………

    MIND YOU, ATOS ARE STILL PLAYING AN ACTIVE ROLE IN DISABILITY DENIAL TO OUR LIMBLESS, WAR TORN PERSONNEL.

    FANCY HAVING TO FIGHT FOR KING AND COUNTRY AND END UP FIGHTING ATOS FOR BENEFITS THAT SHOULD BE PAYABLE…………………

    “I SUSPECT THAT ATOS WOULD BE WORSE THAN THE TALIBAN”

    WHO IS WORSE, SHARIA LAW OR THE LAW ACCORDING TO THE DWP AND IT’S SIDEKICK, THE COURTS AND TRIBUNALS SYSTEM?

    CLEGG IS NO PROCLAIMING NEW FUNDING FOR THE PEOPLE WITH MENTAL PROBLEMS, SHOULD HE BE ELECTED……………..

    THE PRE ELECTION HYPE IS STARTING TO GATHER MOMENTUM…………

    PROPAGANDA IS CHEAP, ASK THOSE DISABLED WHO HAVE BEEN STRIPPED OF THEIR ABILITY TO LIVE A NORMAL A LIFE AS POSSIBLE………….

    “WARS ALWAYS MAKE PROFIT, BUT THE WAR AGAINST THE DISABLED PRODUCES ONLY VICTIMS, HIDDEN FROM VIEW ON DUNCAN SMITHS DIARY OF DEATH, WELFARE REFORMS”

  123. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “DISABLED CASH COWS PAYING FOR TONY AND GEORGES PRIVATE WAR”

    OBAMA HAS HINTED AT RENEWED AIR STRIKES AGAINST MILITANT FACTIONS IN IRAQ, MEANING THAT CAMERON, BEING THE LOYAL LAPDOG THAT HE IS, MUST FOLLOW SUIT…………..

    IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS HE WILL BE ON THE BLOWER OFFERING UNCONDITIONAL AIR SUPPORT, SHOULD OUR PARLIAMENT PERMIT IT.

    IF THEY HAVE ANY SENSE THEY WILL REJECT IT OUT OF HAND.

    BUT GIVEN THAT OUR GOVERNMENT ARE STILL LOATHE TO SUSPEND WEAPONS EXPORT LICENSES TO THE ISRAELIS, EVEN AFTER WORLD CONDEMNATION, WHO WILL FOOT THE BILL?

    THE ANSWER IS SO OBVIOUS, IT HITS YOU BETWEEN THE EYES………………

    “LETS CARRY ON ROBBING THOSE WHO ARE LEAST LIKELY TO FIGHT BACK”

    THAT’S RIGHT, THE DISABLED AND POOR………………………

    THE ONLY TRUE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION ARE OUR UK GOVERNMENT AS THEY TRY TO HIDE THE EVER GROWING MORTALITY STATISTICS AGAINST THEIR OWN PEOPLE……

    FOR EVERY BULLET FIRED THERE IS A PRICE, SOMEONE HAS TO PAY, UNFORTUNATELY THE BILL IS BEING PAID, NOT BY THE BANKERS WHO CAPITALISE ON WAR, JUST THE PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY INFIRM.

    PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE PAYMENT OR PIP, ALLOWS THE AUTHORITIES TO LOAD THE WEAPONS WITH THE BENEFITS THEY HAVE STOLEN AND INTEND TO ROB BLINDLY.

    WHEN MCVEY ADDRESSED PARLIAMENT AND SAID THAT SOME 600,000 WOULD LOSE OUT ON PIP TESTS, IT WAS AN ADMISSION THAT THEY ALREADY KNEW 600,000 WOULD BE STRIPPED OF THEIR BENEFITS……………..

    “THIS WAS NOT AN EXAMINATION IT WAS A FOREGONE CONCLUSION, THEFT ON AN EPIC SCALE”

    STRANGELY, THE VERY PEOPLE WHO THEY SEND TO FIGHT, OUR MILITARY, ARE HAVING TO WAIT UNPRECEDENTED LENGTH’S OF TIME TO GET COMPENSATION DUE THE INJURIES THEY HAVE SUSTAINED……………..

    THE MOD HAS QUOTED THAT THE “CLAIMS CULTURE” IS THE BEHIND THE RISE IN COMPENSATION……………

    MIND YOU, ATOS ARE STILL PLAYING AN ACTIVE ROLE IN DISABILITY DENIAL TO OUR LIMBLESS, WAR TORN PERSONNEL.

    FANCY HAVING TO FIGHT FOR KING AND COUNTRY AND END UP FIGHTING ATOS FOR BENEFITS THAT SHOULD BE PAYABLE…………………

    “I SUSPECT THAT ATOS WOULD BE WORSE THAN THE TALIBAN”

    WHO IS WORSE, SHARIA LAW OR THE LAW ACCORDING TO THE DWP AND IT’S SIDEKICK, THE COURTS AND TRIBUNALS SYSTEM?

    CLEGG IS NO PROCLAIMING NEW FUNDING FOR THE PEOPLE WITH MENTAL PROBLEMS, SHOULD HE BE ELECTED……………..

    THE PRE ELECTION HYPE IS STARTING TO GATHER MOMENTUM…………

    PROPAGANDA IS CHEAP, ASK THOSE DISABLED WHO HAVE BEEN STRIPPED OF THEIR ABILITY TO LIVE A NORMAL A LIFE AS POSSIBLE………….

    “WARS ALWAYS MAKE PROFIT, BUT THE WAR AGAINST THE DISABLED PRODUCES ONLY VICTIMS, HIDDEN FROM VIEW ON DUNCAN SMITHS DIARY OF DEATH, WELFARE REFORMS”

  124. Stepping Razor says:

    Atos net profit down 34%; reaffirms targets

    MarketWatch.com 29th July 2014: –

    By Inti Landauro

    PARIS–Atos SA (ATO.FR) on Tuesday said its first-half net profit fell 34% on the year, reflecting staff restructuring costs of 82 million euros ($110 million), but the French computer service company reaffirmed its full-year financial targets.

    Net profit fell to EUR76 million from EUR116 million reported in the same period a year earlier. Revenue fell to EUR4.18 billion from EUR4.29 billion reported a year earlier.

    Chief Executive Thierry Breton was upbeat about the company’s outlook despite the fall in profit. In a statement, Mr. Breton said the company booked several orders during the second quarter that will generate strong cashflow in the future.

    The company reaffirmed its targets of higher revenue in 2014 than in the previous year, higher free cashflow and an operating margin at between 7.5% and 8% up from 6.6% in the first half of this year.

    Last month, Atos spun off its unit Worldline through an initial public offering, which brought in EUR384 million to the parent company that still controls 70.4%. Atos divested the payments unit to focus on areas such as cloud computing, or technology that allows data to be accessed remotely.

    Atos is in the process of buying its smaller French rival Bull SA (BULL.FR) through a friendly all-cash offer for about EUR620 million, to gain critical technology in big data and cybersecurity.

    MarketWatch.com: –
    http://www.marketwatch.com/story/atos-net-profit-down-34-reaffirms-targets-2014-07-29

    1. Stepping Razor says:

      Atos Kills Disabled Cash Cows For Targets Of Witch Hunts For Scrounging Scum.

      AKDCCFTOWHFSS.

      DWP Vs ATOS !!

  125. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    IF 153,800 ATOS MEDICAL REPORTS HAVE BEEN OVERTURNED ON APPEAL, WHAT DOES THAT REALLY TELL YOU?

    A, THEY ARE NOT WORTH THE PAPER THEY ARE WRITTEN ON.

    B. THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL IS NOTHING OF THE SORT.

    C. SAVING MONEY WAS THE GOVERNMENTS MAIN AIM.

    D. POLITICIANS HAVE HABITUALLY LIED TO INTRODUCE THE POLICIES.

    E. PEOPLE WITH MENTAL DISABILITY STOOD NO CHANCE OF EVER STAGING AN APPEAL.

    F. MANY OF THE PHYSICALLY DISABLED WERE DISADVANTAGED AT PREPARING AN APPEAL.

    G. THE JUDICIARY FROM THE TRIBUNAL UPWARDS ARE CORRUPT AT EVERY LEVEL, WORKING WITH THE DWP IN DISABILITY DENIAL.

    H. ATOS LIMA COMPUTER SOFTWARE WAS USED TO OVERRIDE THE PROFESSIONAL REPORTS OF ACCREDITED MEDICAL PERSONNEL.

    I. PATIENTS OWN GP’S HAVE BEEN BLACKMAILED INTO SUPPORTING BOGUS MEDICAL REPORTS.

    J. LAWS WERE OVERHAULED TO CHEAT LIFETIME AWARD HOLDERS.

    K. EQUALITY LAWS HAVE BEEN BREACHED CONTINUALLY.

    L. HUMAN RIGHTS LAWS HAVE BEEN BREACHED CONTINUALLY.

    M. DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION LAWS ARE BEING IGNORED.

    N. UK BENEFITS ARE 40% LOWER THAN THE RECOMMENDED NORMS.

    O. IMPACT ASSESSMENTS ON THE INTRODUCTION OF WELFARE REFORMS WERE NEVER DONE PROPERLY.

    P. DESCRIPTORS ARE NOTHING MORE THAN DISABILITY DENIAL TECHNIQUES.

    Q. THE QUEEN GAVE HER ROYAL ASSENT TO THE UNFOLDING CARNAGE.

    R. RECORDING OF ASSESSMENTS WAS REFUSED, THE DWP LIED ABOUT CLAIMANTS MAKING THEIR OWN RECORDINGS.

    S. THE DWP LIED ABOUT TERMINATING THE ATOS CONTRACT, ONLY TO EXTEND IT TO CAPITALISE ON ITS FLAWED SOFTWARE.

    T. OUR GOVERNMENT MADE A REPORT THAT STATED 20% OF ATOS REPORTS WERE SUBSTANDARD, NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE.

    U. OUR GOVERNMENT HELD TALKS WITH MEMBERS OF THE DISGRACED UNUM PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY WHO WERE FINED AND DISGRACED IN THE USA FOR RUNNING A DISABILITY DENIAL SCAM.

    V. THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE DWP AND ATOS HAS BEEN WITHHELD FROM THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

    W. BILL GUNNYEON CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER OF THE DWP AND DAME CAROL BLACK HAD NUMEROUS MEETINGS WITH PRIVATE HEALTH INSURERS, PAVING THE WAY FOR WELFARE REFORMS THAT WOULD FAVOUR THE INDUSTRY.

    X. THE NUMBER OF DEATHS ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES TO WELFARE REFORM IS BEING WITHHELD, DESPITE INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION COMMISSIONERS AND COURTS TO DO SO. MORTALITY STATISTICS KEPT SECRET.

    Y. MONEY STOLEN FROM THE DISABLED AND POOR HAS BEEN SQUANDERED LIKE CONFETTI ON MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS. THE UNIVERSAL CREDIT FIASCO, APPEALS, TRIBUNALS AND LEGAL FEES.

    Z. THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE OLD SYSTEM WHATSOEVER, NOBODY DIED, NOBODY STARVED AND NOBODY WAS HOMELESS, DESTITUTE OR RELIANT ON FOOD BANK HANDOUTS……………………………………………………..

  126. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “SOLD DOWN THE RIVER TO THE PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE GIANTS”

    Association of British Insurers in partnership with UNUM and AXA PPP Healthcare.

    BUILDING A RESILIENT WORKFORCE

    Dialogue panel includes;

    Dame Carol Black
    James McGarry CEO UNUM
    Bill Gunnyeon CBE (DWP)

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      “SURELY NOT THE DISGRACED UNUM INSURANCE IN TALKS WITH ATOS”

      …………..what a coincidence?

      Unum has been lobbying, sitting on expert groups and hosting meetings at party conferences of all colours ever since. And lo and behold, in May this year, Unum’s then medical officer Prof Michael O’Donnell jumped ship to become chief medical officer at Atos. He barely had time to catch his breath before giving evidence to the Commons committee looking at the welfare reform bill.

      1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

        “yet another coincidence?”

        Health and Wellbeing at Work Conference
        5-6 march 2013
        Venue; NEC Birmingham

        Speakers include;

        Dame Carol Black

        Bill Gunnyeon CBE

        Professor Sir Mansel Aylward

        SUPPORTED BY ATOS HEALTHCARE

        1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

          ………..and again

          Simon Burns (Minister of State (Health), Health; Chelmsford, Conservative)

          We are not aware of any meetings between officials and UNUM. However, Dame Carol Black, expert adviser on health and work to the Department, met them on three occasions in January 2012 to discuss the positive relationship between work and health.

          1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

            …………obviously another coincidence

            Commenting, Professor Michael O’Donnell, Chief Medical Officer at Unum said:

            “Dame Carol Black’s ‘fit note’ will be a major step forward in addressing attitudes towards sickness and the sooner we can introduce it, the better. Changing the mindset and therefore attitudes is the critical first step in bringing about a real and effective change in approach by all parties.

            1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

              “CONFLICT OF INTEREST OR JUST THE SEEDS OF DISABILITY GENOCIDE IN THE UK?”

              “EXECUTIVE SUMMARY”

              Two years of detailed research has drawn to a natural conclusion with the exposure of two memorandums by Unum Provident Insurance, to the Work & Pensions Select committee, dated 2002 and 2006.

              Whilst government rhetoric continues to suggest concern for people left on disability benefit for years, and the ‘opportunities’ available for the long-term sick and disabled population once removed from long-term benefit and directed into work, detailed evidence from the President of the Appeal Tribunals and all the national welfare charities have been consistently overlooked by successive governments. These planned welfare reforms are mainly a cost cutting initiative, by successive governments since 1994, as the UK moves ever closer to the American style healthcare system funded by insurance.

              Unum Provident Insurance, now known as Unum Insurance following yet another name change, have a notorious reputation in the US and were identified as “an outlaw company” in 2005 and, by 2007, they were identified as the 2nd worst insurance company in the entire United States. This then begs the obvious question as to why the UK government have been in partnership with this discredited corporate giant since 1994?

              The evidence exposed within this research is cause for serious concern.

              The promotion of an unelected government adviser to ministerial office, with apparent unlimited authority to destroy the UK welfare service whilst masquerading as reform, should be challenged when the Minister’s experience is in finance, not welfare.

              The only priority is a cost reduction, with no concern for the stress and distress caused using an assessment system that’s identified as being unfit for purpose, and with the latest proposal to remove benefits from claimants if they choose to challenge the Atos medical assessment via the appeals service. Given that the appeals service is close to collapse, with claimants waiting up to 12 months for an appeal, the latest suggestion is that benefit will be removed until after the appeal decision.

              This latest threat is used by an unelected government Minister, as a form of intimidation against the most vulnerable in society, to guarantee a reduction in the numbers of appeals that generate a 70% success rate when the claimant has representation. How much more evidence is needed before the assessment system, funded at a cost of £100million per annum, is confirmed as being totally compromised and unacceptable? Yet, the Atos contract has just been extended for three years…..

              The identified medical tyranny of the totally compromised medical assessment system, as conducted by Atos Healthcare, will now be supported by enforced poverty to dramatically increase the fear and anxiety of all chronically sick and permanently disabled people who are at the mercy of the State when forced to depend on welfare payments.

              1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

                PLEASE NOTICE THE LINKS TO UNUM, ATOS, GUNNYEON AND LITCHFIELD AND FINALLY MANSEL AYLWARD…

                Sadly, guess who is the independent scrutineer for ATOS,

                The one and only PAUL LITCHFIELD…..

                Labour partys ASSESSMENT IN MENTAL HEALTH TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP….

                Sue Godby, UnumUK
                Dr Angela Gra­ham, Atos Origin
                Dr Paul Litch­field, Fac­ulty of Occu­pa­tional Medi­cine (Bill Gunnyeon, now the chief Med­ical Advisor to DWP was the pres­id­ent of the FOM)

                In Phys­ical Tech­nical Work­ing Group included:

                Dr Angela Gra­ham, Atos Ori­gin Med­ical Services
                Dr Peter Dewis, Dis­ab­il­ity Ana­lyst and Cus­tomer Care Dir­ector, UnumUK
                Dr David Hende­r­son Slater, yet again

                The former Chief Med­ical Advisor to the UK gov­ern­ment, Pro­fessor Mansel Ayl­ward, was instru­mental in advising the UK gov­ern­ment to set up med­ical assess­ment centres based on the model in Amer­ica, and he is still fun­ded by the same Amer­ican com­pany used in his example, with his research centre in Wales. The company’s name: UnumProvid­ent (UK). Indeed, his research centre for Psychoso­cial and Dis­ab­il­ity Research is based at Cardiff Uni­ver­sity (Pro­fessor Ayl­ward is the Dir­ector) is named the“UnumProvident Centre.” Pro­fessor Ayl­ward was also instru­mental in how the recent Wel­fare Reform Act was to be imple­men­ted by the DWP. 8

                ATOS AND ITS TWISTED CHILDREN…….

                Link to this

  127. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “NOTICE HOW HOBAN DUCKED ANSWERING THE QUESTION”………………………………..

    Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether Unum Ltd or any subsidiary companies of Unum Ltd had a role in designing the work capability assessment; what relationship there has been between his Department and Unum over the last 10 years; what payments have been made by his Department to any Unum companies in that time period; and for what reason this question originally tabled by the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion on this matter on 23 April 2013 did not receive an answer. [166645]

    Mr Hoban: I can confirm two Unum employees, a doctor and an occupational therapist, were part of the technical working groups which carried out reviews of the personal capability assessment. As with all members of the technical working group they were appointed as recognised experts in benefit assessment and in supporting return to work for people with disability.

    The Department consults on a range of policy issues and with various external bodies. As the Department does not maintain a central register of all meetings with external organisations, I am unable to provide detailed information for the last 10 years of it’s interactions with Unum. However, the Department has a record of two meetings with Unum officials since May 2010. In October 2010, a Unum representative met with the Minister for Welfare Reform and Departmental officials as part of a delegation from the UK Rehabilitation Council. Further to this on 14 February 2011, Unum representatives met

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      “circa 216,000 paid to UNUM.”

      WHAT FOR YOU MAY ASK?

      THE ANSWER IS EASY……………………………….

      “FOR EDUCATING THE DWP ON HOW TO RUN THE SAME DISABILITY DENIAL SCAMS IN THE UK THAT THEY WERE HEAVILY FINED FOR IN THE USA”

      2 Sep 2013 : Column 254W

      with departmental officials as part of Professor Harrington’s Independent Review of the Work Capability Assessment.

      Over the last 10 years, the Department has made payments of circa £216,000 to Unum companies.

      The reason the hon. Member did not receive an answer on this matter in April 2013 was because named day questions cannot be answered before the named day given by the Member and since the named day for the hon. Member’s question number 153540 was 29 April 2013, by which date the House had prorogued, it could not therefore be answered.

  128. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “A RESEARCH PAPER FROM UNUM TO GRAYLING AND DUNCAN SMITH”

    Photo of Chris Grayling

    Chris Grayling (The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions; Epsom and Ewell, Conservative)

    In January 2011 representatives from Unum approached both the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend Mr Duncan Smith, and the Minister for Welfare Reform, my noble Friend Lord Freud, to discuss a research paper. Neither Minister met with Unum representatives, but did forward the details of departmental officials involved in the independent review of sickness absence in Great Britain. Following this, on 14 February 2011 representatives of UNUM met with these officials.

    In addition, on 18 October 2010 a UNUM representative—as part of a delegation from UK Rehabilitation Council—met with the Minister for Welfare Reform and Department for Work and Pensions officials. A full list of ministerial meetings with external organisations is available at

    http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/corporate-publications/ministers-meetings-overseas.shtml

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      “typically vague answer from Grayling”

      An extensive search of records has not found any further discussions between the Department’s officials and representatives of Unum. However, it should be noted that there are approximately 100,000 officials within the Department and it would not be possible, except at disproportionate cost, to ask each of them whether they have engaged in any such discussions.

  129. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “and this is how the giant private health insurer, UNUM, brought their USA style DISABILITY DENIAL POLICIES to the uk via the DWP”……………………………

    Memorandum submitted by Unum Provident to UK Government (EDP 03) From December 2002
    Posted on November 11, 2011 by Holmey

    Proof of Unum influencing Government policy?

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    UnumProvident has been operating in the UK for over 30 years, and is the UK’s leading provider of income protection insurance. At the end of 2001 in the UK alone, it protected over 737,000 lives and paid benefits to people with disabilities totalling some £116 million. As such, it brings a unique perspective to assist the Committee in its inquiry.

    UnumProvident believes that the current welfare, tax and benefits systems can make it difficult for disabled people to return to work. They are overly complex, can provide strong disincentives for disabled people to look for work, for example in terms of structure, payment criteria and terminology, and are in need of radical reform.

    It is UnumProvident’s contention, and our commercial experience, that acquiring or developing a disability does not necessarily make you incapable of work. In our experience, most disabled people are capable of some work, would like to work and crucially, have an expectation that they will return to work in some capacity.

    We believe that the terminology and the structure of benefits make it both difficult to look for work, and reinforce the mindset that the claimant is too sick to work. Return to work should be regarded as a continuum ranging from an hour’s therapeutic work to full-time employment. Many disabled people in receipt of incapacity benefit have not worked for a long time, and may even suffer relapses when at work. Consequently, the benefits system needs to be changed so that it is flexible enough to cope with people moving in and out of work, and adjusting the amount of work they do over time.

    The welfare system needs to be flexible enough to ensure that work always pays more than benefits and is clearly seen to. Many disabled people are put off looking for work because they are worried about the financial impact to them if they found and then subsequently lost work.

    UnumProvident believes that there is a significant role for the private sector to play in helping to return disabled people to work. UnumProvident is working on a variety of initiatives and projects which we believe will be of interest to the Committee and which might offer alternative approaches or models to the solution of encouraging and enabling disabled people back into work.

    UnumProvident would welcome the opportunity to discuss its work with the Committee in greater detail and/or provide any additional information or evidence that the Committee might feel pertinent to its inquiry.

    I. Introduction

    1. UnumProvident has been operating in the UK for over 30 years, and is the UK’s leading provider of income protection insurance. UnumProvident is a wholly owned subsidiary of the UnumProvident Corporation, our US parent and the world’s largest provider, with assets of over US$40 billion. At the end of 2001 in the UK alone, UnumProvident protected over 737,000 lives and paid benefits to people with disabilities totalling some £116 million.

    2. As a specialist provider of income protection, UnumProvident has a unique understanding of this marketplace, and of the difficulties and obstacles that disabled people face in attempting to return to work in some capacity. Consequently, we are delighted to have the opportunity to give evidence in response to the Committee’s inquiry.

    3. According to the Government’s own statistics, there are over 6.9 million disabled adults of working age in the UK. [1]Less than half of them have a job. Yet of the roughly 3.6 million who do not have a job, less than 300,000 are classified as being unemployed under the internationally recognised International Labour Organisation definition. This means that around 3.25 million disabled adults of working age are classified as economically inactive. This makes them the single largest inactive group in the UK.

    4. Helping these people return to work is key to building a society which can enjoy the benefits of sustainable growth and genuine social inclusion. However, we believe that the current welfare, tax and benefits systems can make it difficult for disabled people to return to work. They are overly complex, can provide strong disincentives for disabled people to look for work, for example in terms of structure, payment criteria and terminology, and are in need of radical reform. UnumProvident believes that there is a strong case for a fundamental review of, and reform to, the current welfare system. The Government must ensure both that work always pays more than benefits, and more importantly that it is clearly seen to do so. This is not the case at present, as our experience seeks to demonstrate.

    II. Do the high numbers of people on incapacity benefit (IB) represent hidden unemployment?

    5. It is UnumProvident’s contention, and its commercial experience, that acquiring a disability does not make one incapable of work. In our experience, most disabled people are capable of some work, would like to work and crucially, have an expectation that they will return to work in some capacity. Indeed many disabled people would be capable of some work, albeit perhaps not enough to support themselves. We attach a series of case studies[2] which show how we have been able to work with our claimants to achieve a successful return to work.

    6. Consequently, UnumProvident believes that the high numbers of people on IB do constitute hidden unemployment. Indeed there are over one million disabled adults who do not have a job but who want one, most of whom we would contend from our commercial experience, would be able to do some work. This group at least must surely constitute hidden unemployment.

    7. Our commercial experience leads us to believe that there are two key developments needed to return these unemployed inactives to work. The first is to set the expectation of a return to work (and in this respect, the language around IB and inactivity is particularly important, and currently, unhelpful). The second is a requirement for a flexible welfare system that supports the disabled person in work, both financially, and through access to training and support. Both these proposals are contained in UnumProvident’s policy paper “Diversity in Employment” (not printed).

    8. In our policy paper we propose a flexible benefit system whereby disabled people capable of some work would be placed on a form of JSA, thus reflecting their status as jobseekers and sending an appropriate signal to employers. Like UnumProvident claimants, they would move through a graduated return to work programme, supported by a flexible benefits system that allowed the partial payment of benefits. This would both protect their income, and allow them to replace benefit income with earned income, always ensuring that they are better off in work than out of it.

    III. The role of JobCentre Plus (JCP)

    9. UnumProvident has engaged with JCP in recent months, particularly through a joint project to launch a best practice guide for employers entitled “The Knowledge”. The guide is particularly important as it is our experience that employers who would be willing to consider employing disabled people often fail to do so because they do not know how to. The Knowledge changes all this, providing them with a good practice toolkit for the recruitment and retention of disabled people. It is to be rolled out through Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) nationally. We have produced 8,000 copies so far, which are currently being used by DEAs and their client employers to help recruit and retain disabled people. In our dealings with JCP, we have been impressed by the professionalism of the JCP disability services teams, and their commitment to helping disabled people find and keep work.

    10. The idea of a one-stop shop to help disabled people back into work is an excellent one. However, the journey back to work for a disabled person can be long and complex. It may take them through interactions with the health service and through education and retraining. They may also have to cope with the barriers to work present in the transport system and at the workplace. Understanding the unique needs of disabled people at each stage of this journey, to help get them back to work and crucially, remain in employment, is a highly specialised job. The key to the success of JCP in the long-term will be to ensure that they as an organisation are both sufficiently focused on disability matters and resourced sufficiently well enough to do the job. UnumProvident would urge the Committee to ensure that this is the case.

    IV. The role of the Private Sector

    11. UnumProvident firmly believes that there is a significant role for the private sector to play in helping to return disabled people to work. As the UK’s leading provider of income protection insurance, UnumProvident is particularly well-placed to share with the Committee examples of projects and initiatives that might be of assistance to the Government. Like the Government, UnumProvident:

    — insures people against the risk of not being able to work through acquiring a disability; and

    — assesses all claims made, paying all valid ones.

    12. However, as part of its product offering, UnumProvident goes one stage further and actively works with the claimant to help return them to work. UnumProvident recognises the value of early intervention, active case management and rehabilitation. We are convinced that our approach works, and currently around 15% of all our claimants are able to return to work, a rate which we believe is far in excess of that achieved with recipients of incapacity benefit.

    13. UnumProvident is actively engaged with the Government, policy-makers and large employers to share best practice and to see where our systems and approaches might be applied more widely. We are currently working with the Department of Work and Pensions on this, and have had discussions with officials in HM Treasury and the Prime Minister’s office. We have met with officials to help better understand the nature of the IB casebook, and to discuss how our commercial experience and expertise might be more widely applied. In addition, we will shortly be supporting the National Employment Panel in its work on the New Deal for Disabled People through a secondment of one of our senior managers.

    14. UnumProvident is confident that its policies and approach to claim management and rehabilitation can be replicated more widely for those on IB. Whilst we are more than happy to share our commercial expertise and proven ideas, we would particularly welcome the opportunity to put them into practice.

    15. One of our proposals concern a genuine public-private partnership between the State, UnumProvident and Working Links based on the current Working Links[3] model. The partnership would seek to move disabled jobseekers through a series of supported stages until it was possible for them to return to work. Once placed in appropriate work, both the client and the employer would be supported for a defined period. UnumProvident would envisage that whilst there may be small payments throughout the return to work programme, the majority of the payment would come, as it does currently for Working Links, when the desired outcome is achieved, ie when the client has both found a job and been supported in it for 13 weeks.

    16. Of course the other role for the private sector is as employers of disabled people. UnumProvident is committed to diversity and believes firmly in the business case for including disabled people amongst your workforce. It is the responsibility of those employers who have recognised the value of employees with disabilities to act as champions and persuade other employers of the business case for doing the same. UnumProvident takes this responsibility very seriously indeed and has won awards for its work in promoting the rights of disabled people and encouraging and facilitating their return to work in a very practical and real sense. We do not claim to have all the answers, but we do attach a document[4] which outlines our experience and practice in recruiting disabled people.

    17. Through its leadership of the New Beginnings initiative, UnumProvident is currently leading a coalition of Government, leading employers (for example HSBC, Barclays Bank, the Institute of Directors) and organisations of and for disabled people (eg RADAR—the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation—and the Shaw Trust) to remove the barriers that prevent disabled people finding and keeping work. As part of this initiative, UnumProvident have been closely and actively involved with the Employers’ Forum on Disability and JobCentre Plus, amongst others, to promote disabled people to employers, and to help employers recruit and retain disabled people in the workplace. Recent work in this area has included the launch of The Knowledge, and work looking at gender and disability which was carried out for us by the Fawcett Society.

    18. More recently, the Advisory Group and our Large Employers’ Group have concluded that we could make a valuable contribution in the area of welfare reform. We are currently planning work streams in this area and hope to be able to report on progress soon.

    V. Tax Credit and Benefit Systems

    19. It is our belief that the current tax and benefits system is overly complex, can provide strong disincentives for disabled people to look for work, and is in need of radical reform. UnumProvident put forward a blueprint for welfare reform in its paper “Diversity in Employment”. In brief, and as outlined at paragraph 8, our proposal is that those disabled people capable of some work should be moved from IB to a form of JSA. Here they would be properly supported in their search for and transition into work.

    20. However, we also recognise the specific and unique costs incurred by individuals in relation to disability, and so would propose that in addition to JSA they would be paid an additional and single benefit (JSA Plus). As they find work, the combined level of benefit income forms an income guarantee, as they earn more, they replace benefit income with earned income, with the “plus” element perhaps converting to a tax credit in a similar way to the current Child Tax Credit.

    21. We believe that our proposals have the beauty of simplicity, set the correct financial incentives and send the right signals to employers and job seekers with a disability. We now go on to explain some of our thinking around the proposal.

    22. It is UnumProvident’s experience that most disabled people are capable of some work. We would contend that this is the case even where those people are already in receipt of incapacity benefit. What is key is that the individual has an expectation of a return to work. In this respect, the terminology and eligibility criteria for claiming incapacity benefit are particularly unhelpful. First, the very term “Incapacity Benefit” suggests that it is a benefit that is paid to those who are incapable of work. This is both derogatory and obstructive. In fact, most disabled people are capable of some work, in some capacity or other, so why label them as being “incapable”?

    23. Labelling someone as incapable of work not only sends them the wrong signal, it sends employers the wrong signal too. Someone on JSA applying for a job is to all intents and purposes capable of work, whereas someone on IB has already been found “incapable” of work, and consequently less likely to be considered by the employer. We would contend that labelling people as incapable presents a significant barrier to them finding and keeping work.

    24. Second, those people in receipt of IB are classified as economically inactive. They are not required to search for work in order to continue to receive this benefit, and not all of the Job Centre Plus return to work programmes are available or accessible to those classified as economically inactive, unless they are referred by a DEA of course. This in turn raises issues around the profile and resourcing of DEAs. In any event, we would contend that the terminology and the structure of benefits can make it difficult to look for work, or access work-based opportunities, as well as reinforce the mindset that the claimant is too sick to work.

    25. UnumProvident would propose that IB should be retained for those disabled people who are genuinely incapable of undertaking any work whatsoever. The remainder should be transferred to a form of Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) which is sufficiently flexible to recognise that they have limited capacity to work. JSA claimants are required to look for work, and indeed are supported in that process by JCP. This simple administrative move sets the expectation of a return to work both for the individual and also for potential employers.

    26. There is a further issue around flexibility of benefits. In UnumProvident’s view, return to work is a continuum of options, which can range from an hour’s therapeutic work to full-time employment. At any one time, an individual disabled person can be anywhere on that continuum and move both up and down it over time as their disability improves or worsens, for example. The welfare benefit system/welfare safety net needs to be sufficiently flexible to deal with these changing circumstances. At present, it does not, and so treats the decision to work as a binary one—ie one is either fit to work or one is not.

    27. In contrast, UnumProvident deploys a system of graduated return to work. Claimants are slowly reintroduced to work; as their capacity to work develops and increases, then so too do their hours of work. Whilst claimants are in this programme of graduated return, UnumProvident pay partial benefit, gradually reducing benefits as the claimant earns more income. It is conceivable that the individual may never return to full-time employment or to their former level of insured income. Where this is the case UnumProvident will continue to pay partial benefit. It is this flexibility in approach that allows us to move clients back into work and help them to fulfil their potential. UnumProvident would recommend that the Select Committee looks closely at a flexible benefit approach and would be delighted to discuss this solution further.

    28. The concept of return to work as a continuum is an important one, as it makes it clear that some claimants may not ever be able to work sufficient hours to financially support themselves fully. That does not mean that their contribution is any less valid. Many disabled people on incapacity benefit have not worked for a long time, and may even suffer relapses when at work. Consequently, the benefits system needs to be flexible enough to cope with people moving in and out of work, and be able to adjust the benefit level according to the amount of work they do. At present, it does not do so, and some disabled people can be worse off in work than out of it. [5]

    29. The system needs to be flexible enough to ensure that work always pays more than benefits and is clearly seen to be doing so. UnumProvident proposes a simple benefit, linked to a guaranteed minimum income, which recognises the cost of disability. UnumProvident’s proposal for a tax credit outlined in our “Diversity in Employment” paper seems to be close to the proposal for a tax credit in the Department of Work and Pensions’s current Green Paper, and UnumProvident welcome this development.

    30. However, it is not enough to simply ensure that work always pays. Many disabled people are put off looking for work because they are worried about what would happen if they found and then lost work. Their distance from the labour market can make them nervous of work. This is compounded by the operation of the benefits system. Because one has to qualify for higher rate IB, those currently on it can worry that if they take a job and lose it, they will return to IB on the lower rate and have to re-qualify, thus making them worse off than before. Admittedly, there is the 52 week linking rule, but UnumProvident would contend that is far too complex. We would recommend a system similar to the US where benefit levels are effectively protected and it is therefore easier to move in and out of work.

    31. We hope that you find these comments and observations both useful and informative of our experience, and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss them further with the Select Committee.

    Joanne Hindle

    Corporate Services Director

    13 December 2002

  130. Stepping Razor says:

    Unum increases group disability sales

    LifeHealthPro.com: – 31st July 2014 | By Allison Bell

    Unum Group Corp. pulled U.S. employers away from health benefits seminars long enough in the second quarter to sell them some group disability insurance.

    Group long-term disability (LTD) insurance increased 43 percent, to $47 million, and group short-term disability (STD) insurance sales increased 25 percent, to $23 million.

    Unum (NYSE:UNM) published those figures Wednesday in an earnings announcement. The company is best known for U.S. disability insurance sales but also owns Colonial Life, a large voluntary benefits insurer, and a disability insurance business in the United Kingdom.

    The company is reporting $242 million in net income for the latest quarter on $2.7 billion in revenue, compared with $219 million in net income on $2.6 billion in revenue for the second quarter of 2013.

    The U.S. disability business generated $74 million in operating income for the quarter on $524 million in revenue, compared with $73 million in net income on $524 million in revenue for the comparable quarter in 2013. Claim incidence rates were stable, and the benefit ratio fell to 81.9 percent, from 83.9 percent.

    Colonial Life sales increased 7.7 percent, to $91 million. Operating income increased 5.9 percent, to $75 million.

    The performance of the company’s long-term care insurance (LTCI) business also improved. The company no longer sells LTCI coverage, but it collected $157 million in LTCI premium revenue from holders of in-force policies in the latest quarter, down from $158 million.

    The interest-adjusted LTCI loss ratio fell sharply — to 80.8 percent, from 89.4 percent.

    LifeHealthPro.com: –
    http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2014/07/31/unum-increases-group-disability-sales

  131. Stepping Razor says:

    “Unum (NYSE:UNM) published those figures Wednesday in an earnings announcement. The company is best known for U.S. disability insurance sales but also owns Colonial Life, a large voluntary benefits insurer, and a disability insurance business in the United Kingdom.”

    Change names a lot !! Avoiding paying tax a lot !!

  132. Stepping Razor says:

    So DWP working with UNUM & UNUM is part of ATOS. OH PORTIAL. So of course LIMA Software is used owned by UNUM & ATOS. The DWP are fucked playing with the big boys of business. IDS is fucked in business & the Government are screwed in international corporate fraud which the UK is part & parcel to Disability Denial.

    DWP you have lost there is no more Welfare State or perhaps that’s what the DWP wants & get £ Billions in backhanders in fraud.

    RIP OFF BRITAIN & ITS TAXPAYERS FOR CORPORATE GAIN.

    SR

  133. Stepping Razor says:

    Change.org — 72,702 Target 75,000 – 2,297 needed
    Petitioning David Cameron

    Hold an inquiry into benefit sanctions that killed my brother

    My brother, David Clapson, a diabetic ex-soldier, died starving and destitute because he was penalised by the Job Centre for missing a meeting.

    David had his £71.70 weekly allowance stopped meaning that he couldn’t afford food or electricity. He was penniless, starving and alone. His electricity card was out of credit meaning the fridge where he should have kept his diabetes insulin chilled was not working. Three weeks after his benefits were stopped he died from diabetic ­ketoacidosis – caused by not taking his insulin.

    David wasn’t a “scrounger”. He had worked for 29 years; 5 years in the Army – including two years in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, during the height of the troubles – 16 years with British Telecom, eight years with various other companies, and in recent years was a carer for our sick mother. When mum went into a home, David turned to the state for help, receiving benefits while he looked for work and taking unpaid work placements.

    When he died he had just £3.44 to his name, six tea bags, a tin of soup and an out-of-date can of sardines. A coroner also found he had no food in his stomach.

    People turn to the state when they are in need – that is what the system is for – a safety net for hard working people like my brother when they need a bit of support. That £71.70 a week was his lifeline. To withhold it from him for missing one meeting is cruel. And the heartbreaking thing is that he was really trying. CVs for job applications were found near David’s body. He had been on work placements, passed his fork lift truck certificate and had been on a computer training course.

    Like many others I believe that benefits sanctions (penalties by the government for things like missing Jobcentre meetings) are completely out of control and putting those most in need at risk. A million people have been sanctioned in the last year – many of them are extremely vulnerable like my brother was.

    I want to know how the Department of Work and Pensions can justify welfare sanctions that are driving people to foodbanks and leading to starvation and death. The DWP were aware of my brother’s diabetes and insulin dependency, and, if as they say, they followed procedures and no errors were made, then why did my brother die?

    Questions need to be asked of how Iain Duncan Smith is justifying benefit sanctions. What is the full impact of these sanctions? Are they working or simply putting the vulnerable further at risk?

    I don’t want anybody else to die like this.

    Please sign my petition for a full independent inquiry into the DWP’s sanctions regime.

    Change.org
    https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/david-cameron-hold-an-inquiry-into-benefit-sanctions-that-killed-my-brother?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=107815&alert_id=DfOReWJLkl_W8QEtKESvw86Xfqt7SCCQDV7bU2fL9BYFdmH%2FCyrhz9%2FahEwvxAuffzU

  134. Stepping Razor says:

    A national scandal: 4 million people face chaos in this country and are ignored by the media

    DPAC 11th Aug 2014: –

    This is an unreported national scandal….

    It is only the mainstream media’s failure to bring this state of chaos to the public’s attention which prevents it from being plastered all over the front page of every single national newspaper.

    If this was people stuck in NHS waiting lists, awaiting their passports, unable to travel by train, stranded abroad,struggling to get money out of cash points, marooned in the channel tunnel, affected by adverse weather conditions or by striking public service workers the national newspapers would ensure it was in print for all to see.

    Yet here in the UK we have a crisis of unprecedented proportions as thousands upon thousands wait month upon month to get the benefits to which they are entitled to and hardly a word appears in any of the big hitting papers. The British public are being deceived into believing that government’s welfare reforms are achieving the desired results with no unnecessary human suffering.

    The mainstream media has a duty to report the mayhem which exists within the chaotic Department for Work & Pensions and must expose this mass maladministration of thousand of benefit claims. What makes this all the more deplorable is the victims are by and large thousands of sick and disabled people who desperately need the right amount of cash to live on.

    1 million delayed assessments/decisions, 1.7 million appeals & 1.3 million put through the sanction regime is a collective 4 million exposed to some degree of benefit decision related chaos. How can 4 million people locked in government backed chaos not be a national chaos? we could say:
    1 million delayed assessments/decisions, 1.7 million appeals and 1.3 million put through the arbitrary sanction regime is a collective 4 million people plunged into chaos by DWP incompetence and IDS arrogance. Why is it not a national scandal and why are the media not talking about the huge waste of money and the terrible human costs of the Welfare reform?
    Chaotic Department for Work & Pensions fails to process people’s claims, leaving tens of thousands of claimants destitute & impoverished for months on end…..

    On the 23rd June 2014, the then disability minister Mike Penning admitted in Parliament that the number of claimants awaiting an assessment for Employment & Support Allowance had stood stood at a staggering 766,000.

    On the 5th June 2014 the DWP quietly produced statistics relating to the government’s new Personal Independence Payment statistics which showed that from April 2013 to March 2014 out of 349,000 new claims made, just 83,900 had reached the stage where a formal decision had been made on the applicant’s claim – a backlog of 265,100 claims where the claimant hasn’t received one single penny of the benefit for which they have applied.

    Between the two benefits, Employment & Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payments, an eye watering 1,031,100 claimants have yet to receive the legal decision which determines their claim. It leaves claimants in absolute turmoil and completely unable to access the help they need.

    Problems aren’t limited to ESA & PIP assessment chaos

    This one million claimants does not include those who have had a decision, but are in embroiled in thousands of disputes with the DWP & Local Authorities over long drawn out battles which need independent determination by one of Her Majesties’ Courts & Service’s Tribunals.

    Since April 2010 no less than 1,698,321 benefit appeals have been lodged with Tribunals, of which 939,100
    relate to the Employment & Support Allowance. Nearly 1.7 million benefit appeals is just part of this much bigger chaos.

    In March 2014, 78,347 benefit appeal cases remained outstanding. In 2012/13 the number of benefit appeals received by formal tribunals was 507,131 against 465,497 cases which had been dealt with. By 2013/14, whilst the number of appeals had fallen to 401,197 against 545,843 disposals, the fact remains that thousands are still trapped in a chronic backlog of appeal cases which saw 77,931 adjournments and a further 44,021 postponements, collectively accounting for some 22% of all benefit cases. It’s mayhem on a scale which has spiralled out of control. The DWP’s answer is to implement restrictive measures to access Tribunals with the introduction of its new ‘mandatory internal review’ procedure; a procedure which has come under fire for causing even further delays with thousands in limbo awaiting decisions.

    One MP in particular stands out, Sheila Gilmore is to be commended for her non stop persistence in calling for government to publish the figures relating to thousands of disputed decisions which are subject to the DWP’s internal review procedure. Sheila Gilmore MP (with a little help from ilegal) has pressed this issue time and time again. Following several complaints to the UK Statistics Authority and calling the government to account at several debates which she has called, she got the then disability minister to admit how he would “love the data to be published now, but it is not ready. As soon as it is ready, I will publish it.” – seemingly we will need to wait until the end of the year to see whether Government keeps its word.

    Meanwhile, thousands of sick and disabled people await the right decision for months on end, often having to rely on food banks to survive.

    On top of the one million awaiting assessments, who knows how many more thousands are stuck in a cruel and heartless system, having to wait week after week for the DWP to resolve their disputes? – my guess is many thousands await decisions; it’s in the nature of the chaotic epidemic which has broken out in the DWP.

    The chronically stretched Department is quite obviously under resourced to deal with reforms of this magnitude. The Public and Commercial Services Union are saying, in the wake of staffing cuts within the Department, that the DWP“needs more staff, not less.”

    On top of all this, the DWP have been applying sanctions on a level never seen before. As refute report: “Under the new sanctions regime, introduced on the 22nd October 2012, a total of 1.35 million sanction decisions have been made up to June 2013, of which, 580,000 were adverse decisions”.

    Local Councils in meltdown

    What few people outside of the benefits system appreciate is how all of these delayed assessments, appeals and sanctions impact upon cash starved Local Authorities. Councils such as Birmingham are struggling, to put it mildly, to see how they can come up with a budget plan when they know they are expected to make of 28% cuts from central government funding by 2015.

    1 million delayed assessments, 1.7 million appeals and nearly 600,000 adverse sanctions all have a knock on effect as local councils grapple with revised Housing Benefit awards, Council Tax Support and decide how best to administer limited Discretionary Housing Payment awards. Every delayed assessment can affects other benefits, sometimes tax credits and the worst nightmare begins when an appeal leads to everything being retrospectively awarded. It means going through umpteen awards and re – revising them to reflect the new entitlement. There is also the knock on effect of the bedroom tax, localism of Council Tax support as well as the social fund now being dealt with at Local Authority level.

    Few Council’s will speak out for fear of having their funding cut further or being labelled as ‘inefficient’ when compared against authorities in more prosperous areas where deprivation is less of a problem.

    A national scandal

    The mainstream media is doing no one any favours by glossing over the worsening chaos within the DWP and Local Authorities. Failing to print a the real story as to the true extent of this crisis doesn’t make the crisis go away, the media owes a duty to the wider public to give way to propaganda and needs to out this scandal for what it is.

    1 million delayed assessments/decisions, 1.7 million appeals & 1.3 million put through the sanction regime is a collective 4 million exposed to some degree of benefit decision related chaos. How can 4 million people locked in government backed chaos not be a national chaos?

    Government’s answer is something it has the raw nerve to call ‘Universal’ Credit. By April 2014, the Secretary of State had promised that 1 million claimants would be on the new ‘single streamlined benefit’ system. He has consistently misled his fellow Parliamentarians and the British public in to believing his flagship benefit system is ‘on track’ to transform the lives of 8 million households. The reality is that the latest DWP figures confirm how between May 2013 and April 2014 6,960 claimants have made a new Universal Credit claim with 5,880 remaining on benefit – an overall reduction of just 1,080. As always with the DWP, there’s no indication as to how many of them found work.

    What should worry us all is how the mainstream media, particularly the right wing tabloids, continue to pretend this crisis doesn’t exist.

    Burying this outrageous crisis behind good news is no answer, the media has a duty to tell the truth. They should do so without any sense of allegiance to those who have got these welfare reforms so horribly wrong.

    With thanks to Nick @Mylegalforum and apologies for tampering a little with the headline

    see more from Nick at ilegal.org.uk

    DPAC: –
    http://dpac.uk.net/2014/08/a-national-scandal-4-million-people-face-chaos-in-this-country-and-are-ignored-by-the-media

  135. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    JUST RECEIVED MY THIRTY FIRST LETTER FROM THE DWP REGARDING MY ESA THAT WAS REFUSED……………………

    MOST PEOPLE WOULD HAVE GIVEN IN BY NOW, AND MOST PROBABLY HAVE, BUT I AM LIKE A DOG WITH A BONE…………………

    “I JUST WON’T LET GO”

    TO KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN CHEATED, LIED TO, SUBJECTED TO CRUELTY AND TORTURED, JUST TO SAVE THE TREASURY MONEY, IS THE LOWEST OF THE LOWEST.

    OUR POLITICIANS DECIDED TO STEAL FROM THOSE LEAST LIKELY TO FIGHT BACK.

    YOU THE DISABLED, AND THE POOREST IN SOCIETY.

    BULLYING THOSE AT THE BOTTOM SEEMS TO BE THE NEW SPORT OF THE TOFFS.

    TO STOP ME APPEALING TO THE UPPER TRIBUNAL I HAVE BEEN REBUFFED BY FOUR DIFFERENT JUDGES UP TO NOW,

    JUDGES, WALL, CRACKNELL, McDONALD AND BIRD……………..

    “EACH ONE HAS NOT ONE IOTA OF FEELING FOR THE CLAIMANT, OF THEIR PREDICAMENT, DISABILITIES OR LIFESTYLE”

    THEY HAVE BEEN CAREFULLY CHOSEN TO UPHOLD THE DECISIONS OF CHARLATAN HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS, PLEASE STOP LAUGHING!!!!

    JUSTICE AND LAW WENT OUT OF THE WINDOW YEARS AGO, THESE PEOPLE ARE NOTHING SHORT OF PARASITES WHO LEECH OFF THE MISERY THEY DOLE OUT EACH DAY.

    EVERY TIME THEY PUT THEIR MONICKER ON A DWP STRUCTURED STATEMENT, THEIR POCKETS BULGE EVEN FURTHER.

    YOU ARE SUPPOSED, IN UK LAW, TO BE HEARD BY YOUR PEERS.

    LOOK UP THE DEFINITION OF PEER IN THE DICTIONARY. IT STATES “A PERSON OF EQUAL RANK OR MERIT”.

    OUR JUDICIARY IS NOTHING OF THE SORT, STATE CONTROLLED YES MEN………………………..

    ALL THE DECISIONS AGAINST THE POOR AND DISABLED ARE SO CLEARLY BIASED, AS TO BE BEYOND BELIEF………………………

    …………………..EVEN YEARS AGO I WAS TALKING TO A LOCAL MAGISTRATE OVER A BEER.
    I ASKED HIM IF THE JUDICIAL PROCESS AT A LOCAL LEVEL WAS INFLUENCED IN ANY WAY?

    HE REPLIED THAT THE JOB OF A LOCAL MAGISTRATE WAS MORE OF A SHOW FOR THE ACCUSED, TO LET THEM THINK THAT THEY WERE SEEING JUSTICE IN ACTION.

    HE SAID HIS JOB WAS EASY BECAUSE MOST DECISIONS WERE ALREADY PROMPTED BY THE CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE BEFOREHAND. HE JUST DID AS HE WAS INSTRUCTED.

    TO THIS DAY I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN WHAT HE TOLD ME………………..

    ODDLY, THE ZERO MARKS THAT I WAS AWARDED BY EMMA BRODRICK HCP, DO NOT ECHO THE EIGHT DOCTORS STATEMENTS THAT I UNCOVERED IN MY FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST FOR ALL DOCUMENTS THAT THE DWP HELD ON ME………….

    I WOULD URGE ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO IS HAVING A DING DONG WITH THE DWP, TO REQUEST ALL INFORMATION THAT THEY HOLD.

    IT COSTS NOTHING AND WILL GIVE YOU THAT VITAL BIT OF AMMUNITION TO FIGHT YOUR CORNER………………..

    MY PERSONAL INFORMATION WAS OVER SEVEN INCHES DEEP AND CAME IN THREE GIANT ENVELOPES!

    SO ONWARD I MARCH, CONFIDENT THAT I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG OTHER THAN CHALLENGING THE STATE SPONSORED THEFT OF MY BONAFIDE BENEFITS…………..

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      “TO ILLUSTRATE WHAT A CROCK OF SHIT THE GOVERNMENT TELL US, COMPARE THE STATEMENT GIVEN BY MARK HOBAN TO THE ONE GIVEN BY THE DISGRACED UNUM INSURANCE COMPANY”

      THE HUGE INSURANCE GIANT WHO WAS FINED MILLIONS IN THE STATES FOR RUNNING A DISABILITY DENIAL SCAM ARE NOW RUNNING OUR DWP DISABILITY POLICIES……………………………..

      Mr Hoban:
      I can confirm two Unum employees, a doctor and an occupational therapist, were part of the technical working groups which carried out reviews of the personal capability assessment. As with all members of the technical working group they were appointed as recognised experts in benefit assessment and in supporting return to work for people with disability.
      An extensive search of records has not found any further discussions between the Department’s officials and representatives of Unum. However, it should be noted that there are approximately 100,000 officials within the Department and it would not be possible, except at disproportionate cost, to ask each of them whether they have engaged in any such discussions.

      UNUMS STATEMENT OF INTENT

      13. UnumProvident is actively engaged with the Government, policy-makers and large employers to share best practice and to see where our systems and approaches might be applied more widely. We are currently working with the Department of Work and Pensions on this, and have had discussions with officials in HM Treasury and the Prime Minister’s office. We have met with officials to help better understand the nature of the IB casebook, and to discuss how our commercial experience and expertise might be more widely applied. In addition, we will shortly be supporting the National Employment Panel in its work on the New Deal for Disabled People through a secondment of one of our senior managers.

      “THE CORRUPT AMERICAN PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE GIANT IS CONTROLLING OUR GOVERNMENT IN THE PRIVATISATION OF THE NHS AND WELFARE REFORMS”

      GEOFF REYNOLDS | August 12, 2014 at 12:33 am | Reply

      “OVER TWO HUNDRED PEERS IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS HAVE LINKS TO PRIVATE HEALTH INSURERS AND HOSPITAL SERVICE PROVIDERS”

      THERE SHOULD BE AN OFFICIAL INQUIRY INTO CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.?…………………………….

      WHO IS SET TO GAIN FROM RECENT GOVERNMENT POLICY?

      WHY ARE THESE PEOPLE VOTING ON INTERESTS THAT WILL CREATE PERSONAL WEALTH?

  136. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    From: GEOFFREY REYNOLDS (Account suspended)

    15 April 2013

    Dear Department for Work and Pensions,
    You recently quoted the following paragraph in a FOI response;

    The assisted text phrases that may be used to construct the medical
    history were drawn from
    many sources including the Incapacity Benefit Handbook, medical
    text books, examples of high
    quality Personal Capability Assessment report and discussions with
    experienced approved
    Healthcare Professionals (HCP). They have been quality assured by
    panels of experienced
    HCPs and deemed appropriate for constructing good quality relevant
    clinical and functional
    histories and were agreed in consultation with the DWP Health and
    Benefits Division (formerly
    Corporate Medical Group).

    COULD YOU STATE, CATEGORICALLY, THAN UNUM CORPORATION HAD NO
    INFLUENCE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LIMA BASES BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL
    SOFTWARE USED IN ESA EXAMINATIONS?

    DID MEMBERS OF THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY HAVE INPUT INTO THE
    CONSTRUCTION OF THE LIMA SOFTWARE THAT IS USED DURING AN ESA
    EXAMINATION?

    DID MANSEL AYLWARD HAVE LINKS TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SOFTWARE.
    IF SO PLEASE STATE, AND DESCRIBE HIS INPUT?

    Yours faithfully,GEOFFREY REYNOLDS

    RESPONSE FROM DWP
    In response, I can advise that neither the Department nor Atos Healthcare hold any
    documentation that links the LiMA software, used for Work Capability Assessments, with Unum,
    the insurance industry or Mansel Aylward.
    If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number
    above.

    Yours sincerely

    Business Management Team
    Health & Disability Assessments (Operations)
    [email address]

Leave a Reply