carerwatchdotcom.myfineforum.org

admin · Site Admin Joined: 05 Jan 2008 Posts: 40

It's been a mixed picture from Labour MPs. The vast majority of Labour MPs loyal to the government have supported the Welfare Reforms. But the rebel left wing MPs led by Jon McDonnell have strongly opposed the reforms and are supporting our campaign.

frances · Carerwatcher Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 1150

Roma Mills is a Labour PPC who has signed to support the ESA campaign. However she makes it clear that she is only supporting the protection we are asking for for seriously and enduringly sick people. She still wants the 'workshy' sanctioned and driven in to work.

This is NewLabour and most Labour candidates iin the election will be NewLabour.

Alan Wheatley - The Green Party Disability spokesperson and himself a disabled person suffering under ESA 'back to work' pressure at the moment has challenged her on this. What do you all think?

Dear Roma Mills

I read your comment at the CarerWatch website
<http://carerwatch.com/needs/?p=10#comments> with great concern.

You wrote:

"I support this campaign [to restore unconditional benefits to all
people with severe and enduring illness....] It's important to
distinguish between people who are 'work shy' and those who by virtue of
severe and enduring illness are unable to maintain paid employment. It
is quite wrong to put such people under pressure.

"Roma Mills, Labour Parliamentary Candidate, St Albans"

It seems that you are well-inducted into the rhetoric of the workfarist
welfare reformers. But I wonder if you have properly read the evidence
available at the CarerWatch website and elsewhere, that people with
severe mental illnesses or just months left to live are being forced
into 'work related activity' in order to receive benefits?

Also, what do you know about depression and invisible disabilities?

From my own perspective, as well as volunteering at being a voluntary
ICT Coach at a local community centre, I am an ESA claimant who won a
Level 1 tribunal on 16 December 2009. That tribunal raised my
eligibility points scoring from the zero points awarded to me by an Atos
'Examining Medical Practitioner', to 21 points -- ie, 6 points above the
15 points minimum threshold. My entitlement was backdated to 12 July
2009, and after more than three decades of unsuccessful venturing toward
paid work, I was even put into the support group meaning an extra £5 a
week and less 'conditionality' [bullying].

So, bearing in mind how much the system has consistently let me down,
and the fact that the Atos 'doctor' who scored me zero eligibility
points conveniently omitted mention of my decades of unwaged status
before my last paid job [that was only part-time], I resent your trite
rhetoric.

But I must also ask you,

1. How will you ensure that people are protected from inappropriate
assessment?
2. How will you ensure that people are not kept in limbo and forced
into 'work related activity' even after winning a Level 1 tribunal?
3. Will you ask in Parliament for a full breakdown of the figures
given out at http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/lfi/410417 ?
I would be particularly interested to know how many of that
158,400 UNASSESSED first-wave ESA claimants:
1. died waiting for 'assessment' to be completed?
2. have won a Level 1 tribunal?
3. were taken to a Level 2 tribunal?
4. What is the lead time between a person a) passing a Level 1
tribunal and z) the Disability Benefits Centre assessments
and appeals section getting through the 'sandbags' of
backlog in order for their claim to be 'fully assessed'?

Perhaps you could post those answers to CarerWatch or in response to my comment on Mike McNabb's blog about dodgy use of statistics
<http://www.communitycare.co.uk/blogs/social-policy-blog/2010/02/teenage-mums-lies-damned-lies.html>?

Yours sincerely

Alan Wheatley
aka Green Party of England & Wales Disability Spokesperson

PS: I am fortunate to be able to channel my rage constructively into
politics and volunteering to attempt to make the system better. I
believe that Green Party Citizen's Income is the best way forward in
helping people engage in economic activity while protecting people from
being worked to death.

Dugsie · Carerwatcher Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 1287

I agree with Alan. This attitude, which we both seem to deplore, is all too typical of New Labour. I first joined the Labour Party in January 1950. How things have changed since those exiting post-war days. For the worse.