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Post by Admin on Oct 22, 2021 16:21:10 GMT
Disabled people’s organisations have launched a fresh bid to hold the govt to account over its implementation of the UN disability convention, four years after their previous efforts helped lead to ministers being accused of causing a “human catastrophe”. Disabled people urged to provide evidence for UN on government’s record on rights By John Pring on 21st October 2021 Category: Human Rights www.disabilitynewsservice.com/disabled-people-urged-to-provide-evidence-for-un-on-governments-record-on-rights/Disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) have launched a fresh bid to hold the government to account over its implementation of the UN disability convention, four years after their previous efforts helped lead to ministers being accused of causing a “human catastrophe”. A partnership of DPOs from across England are leading work to collect evidence from disabled people and their organisations on how the UK government has met its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PDF). That evidence is likely to include repeated and continuing breaches of many of the convention rights, including rights to independent living, to accessibility, to education, to an adequate standard of living, to participation in public and political life, to work, to health, and to life. The evidence collected will be included in a report that will be sent to the UN’s committee on the rights of persons with disabilities. This shadow report, alongside other evidence, will eventually play a part in a public examination of the UK government’s progress in implementing the convention. Four years ago, that examination resulted in public humiliation for ministers after the committee’s chair, Theresia Degener (pictured), told the UK delegation that the UK government’s cuts to social security and other support for disabled people had caused “a human catastrophe”. The committee later told the government in a report to make more than 80 improvements to the ways its laws and policies affect disabled people’s human rights, raising concerns on all but three of the 33 treaty articles it could have breached. The committee is believed to be keen to see how the UK government has responded to the recommendations it made in 2017. Yesterday, a partnership of DPOs, led by Inclusion London on behalf of the Reclaiming Our Futures Alliance (ROFA), launched a call for disabled people, DPOs and allies across England to submit evidence that can be used in a “shadow report” that will eventually be submitted to the UN committee. Svetlana Kotova, director of campaigns and justice at Inclusion London, said: “Hearing from Deaf and disabled people from a range of backgrounds and different experiences is an important part of the committee’s examination process. “Too often non-disabled people are talking on our behalf – whether it’s non-user led charities giving comments to the media or people being denied choice and control in their own lives. “This is an internationally-important exercise, and we should lead it.” Ellen Clifford, lead author for the report, said: “We’re hoping that the end result will be a report that Deaf and disabled people across the country feel genuine ownership over. “It’s a steep task, given that the word limit for the report is just 5,350 words and we know people will have a lot to say, but collectively Deaf and disabled people can do great things when we come together in a spirit of unity.” The UN committee will use the shadow report to help draw up a “list of issues”, a series of questions it will ask the UK and devolved governments to answer in their own reports on how they have made progress under the convention. The UK and devolved governments will later be examined in public on these issues. Over the next month, DPOs across England will hold more than 20 events that explain the UN process and accept evidence on the most crucial issues to include in their shadow report. There will also be targeted work to capture views among seldom heard groups, such as disabled refugees, sex workers, and members of the gypsy and traveller community. DPOs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – led by Disability Wales, Inclusion Scotland and Disability Action Northern Ireland – are compiling their own reports, which will be combined with the England version into a single UK shadow report that will be submitted to the UN. A key part of the process will involve consulting on the priority issues to be included in the UK shadow report, as the UN will only allow a maximum of 10,700 words. Other organisations working with Inclusion London are ROFA, DPO Forum England, Disability Rights UK’s Our Voices group of member DPOs, Disabled People Against Cuts, and experts from the University of York’s Centre for Applied Human Rights and the London School of Economics. The shadow report is due to be formally launched next March.
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Post by Admin on Oct 22, 2021 19:51:06 GMT
#UniversalCredit #DisabledPeople 📢High Court hearing for severely disabled benefits claimants, 19-21 October 2021 Three severely disabled benefits claimants will have a hearing in the High Court in London on Tuesday 19 October to Thursday 21 October 2021 in their challenge to the loss of income caused by a move from legacy benefits on to Universal Credit. Claimants TP, AR and AB have been granted a judicial review of Regulation 63 and Schedule 2 of the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014. Under the regulation, TP and AR have been granted just £120 a month transitional payment and AB has been given the couple rate transitional payment of £405 per month, to make up for the loss of income caused by a move onto Universal Credit due to a “trigger event” in their personal circumstances. In fact the loss of income for TP and AR is £180 a month and for AB and her partner is £800 a month. The claimants are all severely disabled people living without a carer, and who were entitled to Severe Disability Premium under the Legacy Benefits regime. TP and AR have brought several successful legal challenges against the government in relation to transitional payments. Claimants TP and AR are represented by Tessa Gregory, Lucy Cadd and Carolin Ott of Leigh Day and Zoe Leventhal and Jessica Jones of Matrix Chambers. Claimants AB and her child F are represented by Rachel Lovell of Southwark Law Centre and Zoe Leventhal and Darryl Hutcheon of Matrix Chambers.
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Post by Admin on Nov 3, 2021 12:39:01 GMT
DWP: Wrong disability benefits decisions are overturned ‘every minute of the working day’ A mistaken benefits decision is overturned every minute of the working day, the charity Scope said 3 November 2021 www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/dwp-wrong-disability-benefits-decisions-are-overturned-every-minute-of-the-working-day/Disabled people applying for benefits should have the option to have a specialist assessor examine their case to avoid millions of pounds being wasted on fixing wrong decisions, campaigners have said. A mistaken benefits decision is overturned every minute of the working day, the charity Scope said, with thousands of disabled people fighting to access the main disability benefit, Personal Independence Payment (PIP). More than 10,000 campaigners have backed the disability charity’s petition calling for claimants to have the right to request a specialist assessor when they apply through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The DWP said it gets the decision right for the majority of PIP claims, and that all healthcare professionals employed by assessment providers are trained in evaluating how someone’s condition affects their daily life. PIP can help people with the extra living costs associated with their long-term condition and is split into two parts: mobility and daily living. Applicants who are unhappy with a decision can appeal through mandatory reconsideration, where a different DWP adviser looks at the case again and decides if the outcome should be changed. If it is not changed, they can then appeal at a tribunal which is independent from the DWP. Scope analysed Government data on mandatory reconsiderations and tribunals which shows more than 12,000 disabled people are overturning wrong PIP decisions every month. Between July 2019 and June 2021, on average there have been 12,579 successful appeals every month. This equates to 1.3 decisions per minute of the working week, based on five eight-hour days. The charity has launched a campaign, Disability Benefits Without The Fight, calling on the Government to make sure disabled people get the right decision the first time around. James Taylor, executive director of strategy at Scope, said the system leaves disabled people facing months of “unbearable stress” and anxiety over not being believed. He said: “These wrong decisions throw a person’s life into turmoil. Having to fight for financial support puts a huge toll on disabled people’s mental and physical health and can plunge families into poverty. “Disabled people must be able to get disability benefits without the fight. “Disabled people are being systematically failed. The benefits system should work for disabled people, not against them. “We’ve heard from huge numbers of disabled people who felt their assessors did not understand their condition or how it affects their life. The system is getting it wrong far too many times.” He said millions of pounds are being wasted on fixing wrong decisions and disabled people must be assessed first time around by someone with specialist knowledge who can understand the impact of their condition. Figures obtained by The Independent show the Government spent more than £120 million on disability benefit claim appeals for PIP and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) between 2017 and 2019. Carol Vickers, from Leeds, has multiple health conditions, including connective tissue disorder hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) and osteoarthritis, which make walking painful. Following her most recent reassessment, the 44-year-old was told she could no longer receive the mobility element of PIP as well as the daily living portion. She said her assessor had appeared not to think pain was a factor and had produced a “wildly inaccurate” report, so she challenged the decision. But she was unsuccessful and did not proceed to appeal at tribunal because she felt exhausted and distressed by the process. She said: “It would have really helped having an assessor who understands my conditions. “The assessment feels like you’re being interrogated and they’re trying to catch you out. “And that’s incredibly distressing when you’re somebody who’s proud that they try so hard to overcome all the barriers they face on a daily basis. “The whole system makes me anxious, makes me worry for my future security, and makes me feel like a lesser human.” The DWP said that, of 4.4 million initial decisions between April 2013 and March 2021, 9% had been appealed and 5% overturned at tribunal. A spokeswoman said: “For the majority of PIP claims, we get decisions right and all assessments are carried out by healthcare professionals trained to consider the impact of someone’s health condition or disability, but we are exploring what more we can do so the welfare system better meets the needs of disabled people through our Health and Disability Green Paper.”
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Post by Admin on Nov 3, 2021 17:14:39 GMT
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Post by Admin on Nov 13, 2021 7:53:24 GMT
Families outraged after government hands ‘sickening’ award to DWP safeguarding team By John Pring on 11th November 2021 Category: Benefits and Poverty www.disabilitynewsservice.com/families-outraged-after-government-hands-sickening-award-to-dwp-safeguarding-team/The government handed its own disability benefits safeguarding team an “outstanding contribution” award, just weeks after a coroner found that flaws in the disability benefits system had caused the death of a young disabled mum. The award was made by the cross-government Operational Delivery Profession (ODP), which is headed by Peter Schofield, permanent secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The decision to present the award to DWP’s Disability Services Customer Experience and Safeguarding Team was described this week by the sister of Philippa Day, the disabled benefit claimant who died in October 2019, as “sickening” and “abhorrent”. Safeguarding specialists within DWP were shortlisted by senior civil servants across three categories of the inaugural ODP awards. The award winners, announced in an online ceremony on 11 March, included the disability and safeguarding team, who won the Outstanding Contributor of the Year Award. That award was announced just six weeks and one day after a coroner ruled that flaws in DWP’s disability benefits system were “the predominant factor and the only acute factor” that led to Philippa Day taking her own life. Gordon Clow, assistant coroner for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, had highlighted 28 separate “problems” with the administration of the personal independence payment (PIP) system that helped cause the death of the 27-year-old, from Nottingham. He concluded that there were “deficiencies in the system’s ability to process PIP claims without causing unnecessary distress to claimants”, including problems with training for call handlers, DWP’s record-keeping, guidance on additional support for claimants, and inaccurate DWP correspondence. But despite those conclusions, senior civil servants decided just a few weeks later to recognise DWP’s disability services customer experience and safeguarding team with an award for its “significant and lasting contribution to improving the lives of others”. Imogen Day, Philippa’s sister, said she was left “physically sickened” when she was informed by Disability News Service (DNS) of the award. She said it showed DWP “patting themselves on the back” just six weeks after she and her parents had had to listen to Clow detail the 28 separate mistakes by DWP and its contractor Capita that had led to her sister’s death. She said: “It doesn’t suggest that they have learned anything. “This is a public body that has been found to have made so many mistakes that it has killed somebody.” She added: “I understand it is important for staff morale and job retention [to recognise staff with awards] but there is a time and a place for that, and that time is not just after your department has been found responsible for somebody taking their own life.” The disability and safeguarding team had also been shortlisted in the “collaboration” category, while DWP’s safeguarding operational delivery lead was shortlisted in the “leader of the year” category. ODP supports civil servants who run frontline services such as processing passports and driving licences, and running the benefits system. Its awards were devised to “recognise, celebrate and reward those stars in ODP who have truly shone this year”. The nomination process began in 2020, the same year that DNS revealed how a disabled man, Errol Graham, had starved to death after DWP wrongly stopped his out-of-work benefits. Alison Burton, who has led the campaign for justice for Errol, her father-in-law, said the award decision was “disgusting” and “ignorant” and called for it to be revoked. She said: “It means that the government’s view of the DWP’s actions towards our family is they are acceptable, but they are not acceptable, they are far from acceptable.” Burton said the award showed the government was trying to cover its back and show that it had acted correctly, even though it knew that claimants had died because of its actions. She said: “How do you justify that? It’s shocking. It’s downright insulting.” Joy Dove, whose daughter Jodey Whiting took her own life after her employment and support allowance was wrongly stopped for missing a work capability assessment, said she was “disgusted” by the award. She said: “It’s awful. It’s like rubbing salt in the wounds and making a mockery of everything. “It’s upsetting, it’s like killing them again. It’s horrible and sickening and frustrating, when all of our families are breaking apart. “I don’t understand how they can do it.” The nomination process for the ODP awards also began in the year that DNS reported that DWP’s own secret reviews showed how its staff had had to be repeatedly reminded what to do when claimants disclosed that they might take their own lives. 2020 was the year that work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey told the Commons work and pensions select committee that DWP has no duty of care to benefit claimants and that that duty should be left to “the local councils, the social services, the doctors and other people”. It was the year that a National Audit Office (NAO) report showed that DWP had misled both NAO and the Information Commissioner’s Office over the secret reviews on deaths linked to its own safeguarding actions. And it was also the year that DWP admitted destroying secret reports into suicides and other deaths of benefit claimants for “data retention” reasons. DWP refused to comment on the awards.
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Post by Admin on Nov 13, 2021 10:37:58 GMT
Personal Independence Payment Is Vital But The System Is Deeply Flawed By Lydia Wilkins, Freelance Journalist & Copywriter 12 Nov 2021 eachother.org.uk/personal-independence-payment-is-vital-but-the-system-is-deeply-flawed/“You can’t possibly be Autistic – you can talk to us!” Like most Autistic people, I have encountered a few stereotypes, usually based on some version of Rain Man. I was “lucky”. Diagnosed a few months shy of turning 16, I’d managed to buck the system because women are typically not diagnosed until much later in life due to inherent sexism in the diagnostic system. An Autism diagnosis is a lesson in “what makes you different”, never “how to cope a bit better”.
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Post by Admin on Nov 29, 2021 10:12:47 GMT
Department for Work and Pensions Faces Court Case For ‘Human Rights Breach’ By Hannah Shewan Stevens, Interim Editor 29 Nov 2021 eachother.org.uk/department-for-work-and-pensions-faces-court-case-for-human-rights-breach/The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is facing a court case which alleges a human rights breach that could see the Government ordered to pay £1,560 each to over two million benefits claimants. Starting on 24 November, the judicial review was brought to the High Court by four claimants regarding the Government’s decision not to give people on “legacy benefits” Covid support during the pandemic. The case is scheduled to conclude on 29 November. Throughout the pandemic, Universal Credit claimants were granted an extra £20 a week, which came to an end last month. In a controversial decision, the government decided those on legacy benefits – those that pre-exist Universal Credit, including Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) – would not be eligible for the uplift.
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Post by Admin on Dec 24, 2021 12:05:22 GMT
Government’s ‘laughable’ and misleading UN update on ‘grave and systematic violations’ By John Pring on 16th December 2021 Category: Human Rights www.disabilitynewsservice.com/governments-laughable-and-misleading-un-update-on-grave-and-systematic-violations/The government has been accused of publishing a “laughable” and unevidenced report that was supposed to provide an update on its progress since being accused in 2016 of “grave and systematic” violations of the UN disability convention. The 10,500-word report by the government’s Disability Unit and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was quietly published last Thursday. But instead of a detailed analysis of progress the UK government has made in addressing the violations in the last five years, the report appears instead to simply list a series of disability-related policies introduced in each area of violation, while ignoring evidence that suggests continuing breaches of the convention. The UK government is supposed to update the UN’s committee on the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD) every year on its progress in addressing the treaty violations, but it appears to have failed to produce a report in 2020. The committee concluded in November 2016 that the UK government had discriminated against disabled people across three key parts of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD): independent living, work and employment, and the right to an adequate standard of living and social protection. In this month’s annual update report, the government fails again to agree to carry out one of the committee’s key demands, for a rights-based assessment of the cumulative impact of its cuts and reforms on disabled people’s right to independent living, poverty, inclusion in the community and employment. It also ignores key concerns raised about its engagement with disabled people and disabled people’s organisations, while suggesting – wrongly – that meeting with non-user-led charities helps it to meet its duties under the convention. There is no mention in the report of the legal action being taken by four disabled campaigners who are arguing that work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey failed to carry out a lawful consultation with disabled people before the government’s National Disability Strategy was published in July. There is also no mention of Coffey’s claim that she did not have a legal duty to consult with disabled people on the strategy before publishing it, and that she had chosen not to do so. The section on social care spending makes no mention of the current funding crisis – widely reported by disabled people, the care sector and the media – and also confusingly refers to plans to “publish further detail in a white paper for reform later this year”, despite its adult social care white paper having been published two weeks ago. Ellen Clifford, a member of the national steering group of Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) – which is likely to contribute to a response to the government’s update report next year – said it was “the usual list of important-sounding policies, programmes and measures that purport to improve disabled people’s lives, and figures for disability-related spending by government, that is absent of any context or comparative data. “There is no evidence given as to how any of this has actually affected disabled people, presumably because any evidence there is points to how far things have continued to regress since the investigation took place in 2016.” She added: “The government still refuses to carry out a basic cumulative impact assessment, despite the feasibility of doing so.” Clifford said the section of the report on consultation and engagement was “particularly laughable” because of its frequent reference to “charities”. She said: “The CRPD is very clear that they expect consultation and engagement to take place specifically with organisations run and controlled by Deaf and disabled people. “The report refers to the Disability Charities Consortium, despite the fact that the only DDPO* involved, Disability Rights UK, publicly left it this year.” Most of the breaches of the convention highlighted by the committee in 2016 were caused by policies introduced by Conservative ministers at DWP between 2010 and 2015. It was the first such high-level inquiry to be carried out by the committee, and it was only made possible by years of research and lobbying of the UN committee by disabled activists at DPAC. Meanwhile, the Government Equalities Office has launched a consultation on one of the disability employment measures included in its disability strategy. The consultation, launched this morning (Thursday), seeks views on how employers with more than 250 employees “might be encouraged to collect and report statistics about disability to make their workforces more inclusive”. The consultation document does not make it clear whether the government wants to make reporting on disability mandatory for large employers, but says instead that it is “seeking views that will shape our future approach”. *Deaf and disabled people’s organisation
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Post by Admin on Jan 3, 2022 20:57:05 GMT
The list grows. Let these & many other victims of this gov't never be forgotten & hopefully avenged.shameful country R. I. P....❤ Terry McGarvey, 48. Dangerously ill from polycytheamia, Terry asked for an ambulance to be called during his Work Capability Assessment. He knew that he wasn’t well enough to attend his WCA but feared that his benefits would be stopped if he did not. He died the following day. Elaine Lowe, 53. Suffering from COPD and fearful of losing her benefits. In desperation, Elaine chose to commit suicide. Mark Wood, 44. Found fit for work by Atos, against his Doctors advice and assertions that he had complex mental health problems. Starved to death after benefits stopped, weighing only 5st 8lb when he died. Paul Reekie, 48, the Leith based Poet and Author. Suffered from severe depression. Committed suicide after DWP stopped his benefits due to an Atos ‘fit for work’ decision. Leanne Chambers, 30. Suffered depression for many years which took a turn for the worst when she was called in for a WCA. Leanne committed suicide soon after. Karen Sherlock, 44. Multiple health issues. Found fit for work by Atos and denied benefits. Fought a long battle to get placed into the support group of ESA. Karen died the following month of a heart attack. Carl Payne, 42. Fears of losing his lifeline benefits due to welfare reform led this Father of two to take his own life. Tim Salter, 53. Blind and suffering from Agoraphobia. Tim hanged himself after Atos found him fit for work and stopped his benefits. Edward Jacques, 47 years old and suffering from HIV and Hepatitis C. Edward had a history of severe depression and self-harm. He took a fatal overdose after Atos found him fit for work and stopped his benefits. Linda Wootton, 49 years old. A double heart and lung transplant patient. Died just nine days after the government found her fit for work, their refusal letter arriving as she lay desperately ill in her hospital bed. Steven Cawthra, 55. His benefits stopped by the DWP and with rising debts, he saw suicide as the only way out of a desperate situation. Elenore Tatton, 39 years old. Died just weeks after the government found her fit for work. John Walker, 57, saddled with debt because of the bedroom tax, John took his own life. Brian McArdle, 57 years old. Suffered a fatal heart attack the day after his disability benefits were stopped. Stephen Hill, 53. Died of a heart attack one month after being found fit for work, even though he was waiting for major heart surgery. Jacqueline Harris, 53. A former Nurse who could hardly walk was found fit for work by Atos and her benefits withdrawn. in desperation, she took her own life. David Barr, 28. Suffering from severe mental difficulties. Threw himself from a bridge after being found fit for work by Atos and failing his appeal. David Groves, 56. Died of a heart attack the night before taking his work capability assessment. His widow claimed that it was the stress that killed him. Nicholas Peter Barker, 51. Shot himself after being told his benefits were being stopped. He was unable to work after a brain haemorrhage left him paralysed down one side. Mark and Helen Mullins, 48 and 59 years old. Forced to live on £57.50 a week and make 12 mile trips each week to get free vegetables to make soup. Mark and Helen both committed suicide. Richard Sanderson, 44. Unable to find a job and with his housing benefit cut forcing him to move, but with nowhere to go. Richard committed suicide. Martin Rust, 36 years old. A schizophrenic man who killed himself two months after the government found him fit to work. Craig Monk, 43. A vulnerable gentleman and a partial amputee who slipped so far into poverty that he hanged himself. Colin Traynor, 29, and suffering from epilepsy was stripped of his benefits. He appealed. Five weeks after his death his family found he had won his appeal. Elaine Christian, 57 years old. Worried about her work capability assessment, she was subsequently found at Holderness drain, drowned and with ten self inflicted wrist wounds. Christelle and Kayjah Pardoe, 32 years and 5 month old. Pregnant, her benefits stopped, Christelle, clutching her baby son jumped from a third floor balcony. Mark Scott, 46. His DLA and housing benefit stopped and sinking into deep depression, Mark died six weeks later. Cecilia Burns, 51. Found fit for work while undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She died just a few weeks after she won her appeal against the Atos decision. Chris Cann, 57 years old. Found dead in his home just months after being told he had to undergo a medical assessment to prove he could not work. Peter Hodgson, 49. Called to JCP to see if he was suitable for volunteer work. Peter had suffered a stroke, a brain haemorrhage and had a fused leg. His appointment letter arrived a few days after he took his own life. Paul Willcoxsin, 33 years old. Suffered with mental health problems and worried about government cuts. Paul committed suicide by hanging himself. Stephanie Bottrill, 53. After paying £80 a month for bedroom tax, Stephanie could not afford heating in the winter, and lived on tinned custard. In desperation, she chose to walk in front of a lorry. Larry Newman suffered from a degenerative lung condition, his weight dropping from 10 to 7 stone. Atos awarded him zero points, he died just three months after submitting his appeal. Paul Turner, 52 years old. After suffering a heart attack, he was ordered to find a job in February. In April Paul died from ischaemic heart disease. Christopher Charles Harkness, 39. After finding out that the funding for his care home was being withdrawn, this man who suffered with mental health issues, took his own life. Sandra Louise Moon, 57. Suffering from a degenerative back condition, depression and increasingly worried about losing her incapacity benefit. Sandra committed suicide by taking an overdose. Lee Robinson, 39 years old. Took his own life after his housing benefit and council tax were taken away from him. David Coupe, 57. A Cancer sufferer found fit for work by Atos in 2012. David lost his sight, then his hearing, then his mobility, and then his life. Michael McNicholas, 34. Severely depressed and a recovering alcoholic. Michael committed suicide after being called in for a Work Capability Assessment by Atos. Victor Cuff, 59 and suffering from severe depression. Victor hanged himself after the DWP stopped his benefits. Charles Barden, 74. Charles committed suicide by hanging due to fears that the Bedroom Tax would leave him destitute and unable to cope. Ian Caress, 43. Suffered multiple health issues and deteriorating eyesight. Ian was found fit for work by Atos, he died ten months later having lost so much weight that his family said that he resembled a concentration camp victim. Iain Hodge, 30. Suffered from the life threatening illness, Hughes Syndrome. Found fit for work by Atos and benefits stopped, Iain took his own life. Wayne Grew, 37. Severely depressed due to government cuts and the fear of losing his job, Wayne committed suicide by hanging. Kevin Bennett, 40. Kevin a sufferer of schizophrenia and mental illness became so depressed after his JSA was stopped that he became a virtual recluse. Kevin was found dead in his flat several months later. David Elwyn Hughs Harries, 48. A disabled man who could no longer cope after his parents died, could find no help from the government via benefits. David took an overdose as a way out of his solitude. Denis Jones, 58. A disabled man crushed by the pressures of government cuts, in particular the Bedroom Tax, and unable to survive by himself. Denis was found dead in his flat. Shaun Pilkington, 58. Unable to cope any more, Shaun shot himself dead after receiving a letter from the DWP informing him that his ESA was being stopped. Paul ?, 51. Died in a freezing cold flat after his ESA was stopped. Paul appealed the decision and won on the day that he lost his battle to live. Chris MaGuire, 61. Deeply depressed and incapable of work, Chris was summonsed by Atos for a Work Capability Assessment and deemed fit for work. On appeal, a judge overturned the Atos decision and ordered them to leave him alone for at least a year, which they did not do. In desperation, Chris took his own life, unable to cope anymore. Peter Duut, a Dutch national with terminal cancer living in the UK for many years found that he was not entitled to benefits unless he was active in the labour market. Peter died leaving his wife destitute, and unable to pay for his funeral. George Scollen, age unknown. Took his own life after the government closed the Remploy factory he had worked in for 40 years. Julian Little, 47. Wheelchair bound and suffering from kidney failure, Julian faced the harsh restrictions of the Bedroom Tax and the loss of his essential dialysis room. He died shortly after being ordered to downgrade. Miss DE, Early 50’s. Suffering from mental illness, this lady committed suicide less than a month after an Atos assessor gave her zero points and declared her fit for work. Robert Barlow, 47. Suffering from a brain tumour, a heart defect and awaiting a transplant, Robert was deemed fit for work by Atos and his benefits were withdrawn. He died penniless less than two years later. Carl Joseph Foster-Brown, 58. As a direct consequence of the wholly unjustifiable actions of the Job centre and DWP, this man took his own life. Martin Hadfield, 20 years old. Disillusioned with the lack of jobs available in this country but too proud to claim benefits. Utterly demoralised, Martin took his own life by hanging himself. Annette Francis, 30. A mum-of-one suffering from severe mental illness, found dead after her disability benefits were ceased. Ian Jordan, 60. His benefits slashed after Atos and the DWP declared Ian, a sufferer of Barratt’s Oesophagus, fit for work, caused him to run up massive debts in order to survive. Ian was found dead in his flat after taking an overdose. Janet McCall, 53. Terminally ill with pulmonary fibrosis and declared ‘Fit for Work’ by Atos and the DWP, this lady died 5 months after her benefits were stopped. Stuart Holley, 23. A man driven to suicide by the DWP’s incessant pressure and threat of sanctions for not being able to find a job. Graham Shawcross, 63. A sufferer of the debilitating disease, Addison’s. Died of a heart attack due to the stress of an Atos ‘Fit for Work’ decision. David Clapson, 59 years old. A diabetic ex-soldier deprived of the means to survive by the DWP and the governments harsh welfare reforms, David died all but penniless, starving and alone, his electricity run out. Chris Smith, 59. Declared ‘Fit for Work’ by Atos as he lay dying of Cancer in his hospital bed. Nathan Hartwell, 36, died of heart failure after an 18-month battle with the Department for Works and Pensions. Michael Connolly, 60. A Father of One, increasingly worried about finances after his benefits were cut. Committed suicide by taking 13 times the fatal dose of prescription medicine on the 30th October – His Birthday. Jan Mandeville, 52, A lady suffering from Fibromyalgia, driven to the point of mental and physical breakdown by this governments welfare reforms. Jan was found dead in her home after battling the DWP for ESA and DLA. Trevor Drakard, 50 years old. A shy and reserved, severe epileptic who suffered regular and terrifying fits almost his entire life, hounded to suicide by the DWP who threatened to stop his life-line benefits. Death of a severely disabled Dorset resident, unnamed, who took her own life while battling the bedroom tax. Shared from Tammy Samede❤️❤️ #DPAC #makethemcount #WDP
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Post by Admin on Feb 10, 2022 9:57:36 GMT
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Post by Admin on Feb 22, 2022 21:44:03 GMT
DWP admits it has wrongly refused disabled people benefits at record rate as cost to taxpayers soars Exclusive: Warnings that ‘flaws in the system’ have led to almost 80,000 Personal Independence Payment decisions being overturned at initial review www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dwp-pip-disabled-benefit-uk-b2009256.htmlThe government is finding a record number of disability benefits claimants have been wrongly rejected by its own assessments as the cost of correcting these errors soars, new figures show. Campaigners have pointed to "flaws in the system" that led to almost 80,000 Personal Independence Payment (Pip) decisions being overturned
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Post by Admin on Feb 28, 2022 11:26:35 GMT
Mystery deepens as DWP sends DNS 80 pages of redacted emails By John Pring on 24th February 2022 Category: Benefits and Poverty www.disabilitynewsservice.com/mystery-deepens-as-dwp-sends-dns-80-pages-of-redacted-emails/The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has sent 80 pages of emails that have been almost entirely blacked out to Disability News Service (DNS), in a bid to avoid complying with its legal duty to release information about DNS editor John Pring. The 80 pages of redacted information were posted to Pring’s previous address after DWP was told by information rights legal experts at solicitors Mishcon de Reya that its ongoing refusal to release the data was a “serious contravention” of its legal obligations. Pring has been trying for two years to obtain details of emails written about him by DWP’s communications department. And although the Information Commissioner’s Office has already agreed that DWP’s failure to provide the information is a clear breach of data protection laws, it has repeatedly refused to release the emails. Now, in its latest attempt to hide the content of emails that mentioned Pring and were sent and received by the DWP press office during 2019, the department’s right of access team has handed over 80 pages of redacted emails. The content of the emails is almost completely blacked out, other than the occasional mention of Pring’s name and a small number of random words. But the redacted pages do reveal the dates on which the emails were sent, which provide clues as to the subject of the discussions within the DWP press office. One was sent shortly before DWP responded to a lengthy investigation by DNS into deaths of disabled benefit claimants that had been linked to the work capability assessment. The timing of another, in June 2019, suggests it was discussing a DNS enquiry about a meeting between one of DWP’s director generals and Joy Dove, whose daughter Jodey Whiting had her out-of-work disability benefits stopped for missing a work capability assessment, and took her own life just 15 days later. Several of the redacted emails appear to be discussing DNS requests relating to the personal independence payment assessment system. The timing of another suggests it relates to the safeguarding failures of DWP and its private sector contractors, while another email is likely to relate to DWP’s decision to set up a new serious case panel to examine deaths of claimants linked to the department’s failures. One email, on 25 February 2019, probably discusses a news story that DNS published later that week, which reported how the proportion of DWP staff who said they had been victims of disability discrimination at work in the previous 12 months had risen by about 50 per cent in just four years. Mishcon de Reya, which is acting pro bono for DNS, has this week written again to DWP to warn the department that the redacted information it provided “utterly fails” to comply with its legal obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation. The Mishcon letter adds: “The upshot of your… response to our client’s request is that he remains completely lacking full awareness of what personal data you process about him, and unable to verify the lawfulness of the processing.” Mishcon says this means that DWP continues to be in “serious infringement” of its GDPR obligations. In a covering letter accompanying the redacted emails, a DWP manager said she had enclosed “all of the documents that DWP Press Office holds for this period. “Within these documents, the only information we hold is your name and email address.” She said: “When you originally made your request, we determined that we did not consider the information that we held to be your personal information as defined by the Information Commissioner in their guidance of ‘What is Personal Data’, hence our response that the information was not held. “However, in order to be helpful, we have included all the information we have identified as containing your name and email address. “The email is a full and final response to your right of access request.” A DWP spokesperson said yesterday (Wednesday): “The department will not be adding anything further.”
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Post by Admin on Mar 9, 2022 13:21:54 GMT
RETHINK MENTAL ILLNESS “We’re just numbers to them” The DWP’s failure to investigate death and serious harm. reports.rethink.org/justnumbersWe are campaigning to end serious harm and deaths in the benefits system. Our latest report, “We’re just numbers to them” – The DWP’s failure to investigate death and serious harm, highlights the experiences of the people being desperately failed by the welfare system. Trigger warning: self-harm and suicide. This webpage discusses self-harm and suicide, which readers may find upsetting. Executive Summary Many people, particularly those with existing mental health problems, find the experience of navigating the benefits system difficult and distressing. This can make people more unwell, sometimes to the point where they feel compelled to harm themselves or try to end their lives. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is supposed to conduct an Internal Process Review (IPR) whenever their actions may have played a part in someone dying (such as by suicide) or experiencing ‘serious harm’. The DWP has opened at least 289 IPRs into such cases since 2012. These internal investigations are intended to review processes and practice and identify any recommendations for change where there has been a death or ‘serious harm’ that may be linked to the DWP’s actions. To explore these issues further, we conducted a survey to find out more about the harm people have experienced as a result of their interactions with the benefits system, and how the DWP responded. This report is based on the responses to that survey and detailed interviews with eight survey respondents.
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Post by Admin on Mar 9, 2022 13:29:39 GMT
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Post by Admin on Mar 21, 2022 12:21:17 GMT
Mental Health Professionals Need To Help People With DWP Processes To Save Lives recoveryinthebin.org/2022/03/21/mental-health-professionals-need-to-help-people-with-dwp-processes-to-save-lives/By @444blackcat I’m a AMHP an a MH social worker in an Adult Mental Health Social Care Team we used to be integrated with Health but the Care Act led to a split We have average caseloads of 40 people the vast majority entitled to state benefits ESA and/or PIP an repeatedly they have to prove that entitlement again and again. All workers need to consider the impact this has on people, not only the financial impact but the stress of having to share their personal lives with the DWP It’s an essential part of our job including if you’re a CPN OT or Lead Professional to make sure you help with forms or get someone who will, write supporting letters an make sure people know they can put your contact details on. Please don’t think of this as a favour, more as an essential part of your role and yes nag the Consultant or GP to do their bit. I’ve never had a DWP worker complain there’s too much evidence. And to appeal perhaps to the selfish side of things. A person been denied benefits can easily lead to a crisis giving you more work an your organisation more costs We’re lucky enough to have a great CAB worker but they are overwhelmed but resources are online to make sure people get the points they need and deserve. 5 Ways To Help By Tony Roberts. Former RMN and Public Health Specialist @fosterchangeuk I used to work as a MH nurse for a CMHT. Occasionally, some patients were re-referred or dropped into crisis for an unknown reason. I had a colleague who always dismissively suggested that it was “just because their benefits are up for review”. Their cynical hypothesis was that the patient was manufacturing a “crisis” for the purpose of getting their benefits renewed. Once this objective was achieved, the patient “wouldn’t be seen again for two years” Our response, therefore, should be to ignore said “crisis” (air quotes were a common thing for this colleague). We should refuse to assist or write a letter, because that would be rewarding and perpetuating their manipulative behaviour. I don’t think this is an uncommon view in MH services. It is a failure to see how much our mental health (and I do mean for all of us) hinges precariously on our financial stability. Some of us fortunately have a wider tolerance for financial upset – we may have savings, a generous credit limit or others we can lean on for help. But for many patients of mental health services – especially those dependent on welfare – this tolerance is a knife edge. Any slight change to their finances can have a catastrophic impact on their ability to live a humane and decent life. And it’s not hard to see why, if we choose to spend a few minutes thinking less cynically than my former colleague. Paying rent and bills is a pretty non negotiable chunk of income. From what is left, we have to prioritise. Hopefully, there is enough left to eat healthily, be able to get into town, heat the house when it’s cold, visit friends and relatives, watch some TV, have phone credit, get to appointments, and do things that make our lives more enjoyable – maybe odd treat, rewarding activities or a Netflix subscription. But what if that financial stability is threatened by the Brown Envelope of Doom? What do we cut back? Do we downgrade our food? Cancel Netflix? Walk into town in the rain? Stop seeing the people we love? All the things that keep us well are under threat. And some people don’t even have those luxuries to cut back on. Reduced income threatens the essentials – bills, rent – risking eviction, arrears, homelessness. The stress of a benefit review cannot be underestimated. They threaten everything a patient has. Their entire life. But what can we, as MH professionals do about it? Easy. Here are 5 things: 1 – Spend a few minutes of your time familiarising yourself with the DWP and review process. 2 -Talk to patients about their very real concerns. Find ways to mitigate the potential impact, help to take some of the distress from the process by planning contingencies. 3 – Talk to colleagues who know more than you – social workers, welfare rights etc who can give you and the patient advice. 4 – Offer to assist the patient through the process. It is hard enough to navigate as it is, without all the additional stress it causes. Give patients some spoons and take some of the load off them. 5 – Unlike my former colleague, write that letter of support. DWP letters often ask specifically about things like diagnosis, treatment, medical opinion etc. You may have views about the “validity” of such “constructs” That’s fine. But now is NOT the time for your philosophical views on psychiatry. Now is the time to sign a letter that means your patient won’t starve, be isolated, cold or desperate. Save your philosophy for Twitter. Sign the letter.
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