British soldiers in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Controversial UK welfare reforms will not apply to the military. Photograph: Omar Sobhani/Reuters
Before reading the Guardian article below please consider the following and ask yourselves if Cameron’s policy is not a matter of discriminatory public policy?
If the assessments were just, fair and made on evidence-based medicine rather that ‘Biopsychosocial’ tick-box babble, there would be no call for these exemptions as everyone could reasonably expect to be treated scrupulously fairly.
We all know that all expectation of justice and fairness for disabled people is lost under this fascist, un-elected, ConDem dictatorship and that only a complete boycott of this government and its early demise can offer us any hope of redemption.
By this announcement, Camoron hopes to save his skin and avoid the wrath of the Sun and Daily Heil reading masses.
As sickening reports keep filtering through into the public’s blinkered consciousness as outrage after outrage is perpetrated by the DWP on people whose only crime is to be sick and/or disabled, the poisoned chalice will return to commend itself to Cameron’s own lips for all the bloody instructions he and his predecessors have issued.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUESTS
From: L S McKnight 18 May 2012
To the Department for Work and Pensions
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/new…
I notice in the above report that troops who are injured are to be
given lifetime guaranteed disability benefits and would like to
ask:
1 Does this mean that Disability needs are no longer to be
exclusively decided by a ‘fair and rigorous’ assessment process?
2 Why is it guaranteed only for military personnel and not, for
example, police officers, firemen or others?
3 Is this not evidence that disability needs are now subject to
political and ideological tests that are not part of the Welfare
Reform Act?
Yours faithfully,
L S McKnight
From: DWP Adelphi Freedom-of-Information-Request Department for Work and Pensions 18 May 2012
This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has been received at the DWP Central FoI Team.
We will forward your request to the relevant information owner within the Department who will respond to you direct.
Should you also 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…
References
Visible links
1. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa…
From: DWP Adelphi Freedom-of-Information-Request Department for Work and Pensions 18 June 2012
Our Ref: VTR2078
Dear L S McKnight,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request of 18 May 2012. You stated:
I notice in the above report that troops who are injured are to be given lifetime guaranteed disability benefits and would like to ask:
1 Does this mean that Disability needs are no longer to be exclusively decided by a ‘fair and rigorous’ assessment process?
2 Why is it guaranteed only for military personnel and not, for example, police officers, Firemen or others?
3 Is this not evidence that disability needs are now subject to political and ideological tests that are not part of the Welfare Reform Act?
Firstly, as I am sure you will appreciate newspaper reports are just that and do not constitute a statement of Government policy.
It may therefore be helpful if I set out the latest position on how the Government plans to assess individuals for eligibility for Personal Independence Payment.
The detailed design of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is still being considered and finalised.
The Department for Work and Pensions has consulted disabled people and their representative organisations at all stages of the development of Personal Independence Payment and is continuing to do so.
Entitlement to the benefit will be based on an assessment of individuals’ need.
The work to develop the assessment criteria is ongoing and they have not yet been finalised. The consultation on the 2nd draft of the criteria closed on 30 April.
We received around 1,000 responses and we are now evaluating whether further improvements need to be made.
On 26 March 2012 we launched a separate consultation on the detailed design of Personal Independence Payment, which is open until 30 June and available at
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2012….
We will publish our responses to both these consultations later this year and will also finalise draft regulations. No final decisions on the assessment criteria have been made.
As part of our ongoing work, we are examining how injured service personnel will be supported in the light of the reforms to Disability Living Allowance (DLA). The current consultation on the detailed design referenced the ongoing work in paragraph 5.4 where it stated:
“In developing and designing Personal Independence Payment, the Department has taken account of the Military Covenant agreement that recognises the unique and important role played by the UK Armed Forces and ensures that they continue to receive fair treatment, are valued and respected as individuals.
We are working with the Ministry of Defence to explore how we ensure that those injured as a result of service are able to access the right support and are able to live full, active and independent lives. As part of this, we will consider how veterans who are injured during active service should be assessed.”
This work is ongoing and no decisions have been taken. If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely,
DWP Central FoI Team
L S McKnight left an annotation (18 June 2012)
Have passed this information on to various people and organisations including the Black Triangle Campaign to ensure the situation is monitored.
JGC left an annotation (30 June 2012)
So, injured military personnel will be treated differently than civilians ...”they continue to receive fair treatment, are valued and respected as individuals”
~ meaning that civillians don’t get treated that way!!!
I also wonder if the couragous injured servicemen that underetake various arduous acts of endurance to raise funds for other injured service colleagues will NOT be BARRED from receiving PIP as they can mobilise more than 50 yards ???
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request
We continue to monitor the situation and are looking into the legality of this policy.
NO DISABLED PERSON IS A SECOND-CLASS CITIZEN!
MILITARY OR CIVILIAN!
Severely injured soldiers are to be exempted from tough new disability tests as David Cameron moves to ensure that controversial welfare reforms do not apply to the military.
Downing St has persuaded the Ministry of Defence to ensure only the results of existing military tests – covering the most badly wounded troops – will be needed for assessments for the new disability benefits.
Seriously injured troops will also be given a guaranteed disability payment worth around £131 a week under the reforms.
Senior military figures have been protesting that injured personnel would have to take two tests when the personal independence payment (PIP) replaces the disability living allowance (DLA) in April.
The MoD had indicated it would expect all injured troops to undergo the new tests covering PIP claimants in addition to the military tests for the armed forces compensation award.
Officials had feared the MoD would be liable for administering the payouts.
In Camp Bastion, Cameron said: “The reform of DLA will go ahead with a special carve-out for the military so they get a really good deal.”
The Sun was briefed on the change in May. It means troops with serious mental illness, those who have lost both legs or arms, and those with total deafness or blindness, will have to take the military medical test.
A Downing St source said: “The prime minister was very clear when Help for Heroes raised this issue that he wanted to find a solution. He felt it was important to stand by commitments by the military covenant.”
The government will also disregard any payments made to injured veterans when they are being considered for the universal credit benefit, being introduced from April. Income from war pensions will also be disregarded.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010
Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.
7 Responses
This policy is in clear contradiction of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995/2005, The Equality Act 2010, European Equal Treatment Directives, European Union Convention On Rights Of Disabled People, United Nations Convention On Rights Of Disabled People, Moral & Ethical Best Practice and infringes on the Human Rights of those who are denied such equal recognition…this policy will undoubtedly be criticised by various Select Committees and Disability Rights Groups and goes to further show just how much respect that the ConDems have for UK Disabled Community…Adam
“In developing and designing Personal Independence Payment, the Department has taken account of the Military Covenant agreement that recognises the unique and important role played by the UK Armed Forces and ensures that they continue to receive fair treatment, are valued and respected as individuals.”
Is that an admission that all other disabled people are receiving UNfair treatment and are NOT valued and respected as individuals?
I hope this clearly discriminatory move will not divide us as disabled people. We need to stick together and fight together and i hope we can approach Help for Heroes and ask for their support to promote Help for Disabled Citizens.
If a fair system was in place, as is claimed by Ministers, what need would there be for a new divisive tier to be put in place? None of course. This is one for the European Court of Human Rights. By stating “We are working with the Ministry of Defence to explore how we ensure that those injured as a result of service are able to access the right support and are able to live full, active and independent lives” they are admitting that this is not currently the case in their treatment of disabled people in the UK- which is in contravention of European Law.
Reckon they’ve got their fat little hands full with this!
Having read the comments above I’m shocked. The armed forces are deployed across the world as a consequence of the UK governments Policy decisions and, as a result of being deployed in hostile environments, often end up disabled or dead.
To then decry the governments decision to recognise what disabled servicemen and women have done on behalf of their country by recognising their disability does not need periodic review is, at best churlish and at worst downright disgusting.
Seems it’s OK to champion the armed forces one day per year but that’s all you want to do!
So civilian disabled people are less deserving, is that what you’re saying? We’re saying that everyone deserves to be treated well, with dignity and respect for their human rights. What’s ‘downright disgusting’ about that? Oh, and to give you an update – the ConDems lied about this anyway!
See:
https://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/12/05/cancer-stricken-ex-raf-pilot-becomes-victim-of-benefits-cuts/
WE champion and treasure ALL life, ALL disabled people EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR!!!
And we have ALWAYS advocated exemption from DWP/AtoS assessments for veterans – just to set the record straight!