The Snow Revolution

Watching snow swirls, i am rapt.

Like the ant ppl at Victoria station seen from above. A glorious flurry of aimless activity, never colliding. Aimless with urgent purpose. 

Yet we settle into something else entirely. A unity of ppl, banking like the dazzling white. More powerful. More substantial. With the power to call a country to a halt. 

May the ppl settle and realise their infinite power. 

#esaSOS

#esaSOS: YOUR HELP NEEDED URGENTLY!

On 28 January 2013 the UK government is due to make a set of changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). The WCA is the flawed ‘fitness to work’ test which assesses whether sick and disabled people can get Employment and Support Allowance (ESA): a benefit designed to help and support very unwell or profoundly disabled people into work.

Although these changes have been advertised as small ‘amendments’, they will in fact have a huge impact on the way people’s illnesses and disabilities are assessed. Many vulnerable people’s needs will suddenly be able to be overlooked or ignored, meaning they could end up losing the support they desperately need to manage their conditions.

Hundreds of thousands of sick and disabled people across Britain need your help to fight these changes!

PROBLEM 1: FALSE ASSUMPTIONS

In the fitness to work test, your needs are assessed by a ‘healthcare professional’ employed by the French private company ATOS. This assessor doesn’t just need to look at your current difficulties. For example, they can also imagine how using an aid (e.g. a wheelchair) might improve your ability to work and make a judgement based on that – without even asking your opinion!

  

However, soon this “imaginary test” will be able to be used for many more aids (including guide dogs and false limbs!). This means that soon thousands more people could be judged as fit to work, without being consulted, on the basis of an “imaginary” aid they don’t own or may not be able to use!

It gets worse. Even if returning to work may clearly put you at risk, these changes will mean you can still lose your disability benefit – as long as the assessor believes that trying a new therapy or treatment might reduce that risk. There’s no need for evidence that the treatment will help: you will lose support either way, making it much harder to manage if the treatment doesn’t work as hoped – let alone if it ends up making things worse.

>>> Imagine Bert, who suffers from severe schizophrenia, but is found fit to work and made to take behavioural therapy in the hope of improving his condition. He will lose his disability benefit, without the assessor having to look at several vital questions: how hard it would be for Bert to contact a psychiatrist? How long would an NHS appointment take to organize? Are there private options in his area – and could he afford them if so? What if the therapy doesn’t work, or takes a long time to adjust to? <<<

"how individuals are assessed to receive ESA could give rise to large numbers of legal claims being made against them. These changes immediately puts the government at risk of breaching article 9 of the European Convention for the protection of Human Rights, which preserves an individual’s right to ‘thought, conscience and religion’. The new rules provide for an individual to be refused ESA if they do not take any medication or accept an aid which Doctors believe could aid their condition. Essentially, they can impose a financial penalty on individuals who refuse treatment on religious. Given the very recent decision involving the Christian, Nadia Eweida and the court upholding her right to wear a cross – the government is on very rocky ground with these changes.” Chris Fry, Solicitor and Managing Partner at Unity Lawwww.unity-law.co.uk"

If the government’s rule changes go through, people like Bert who are desperate to work will find it nearly impossible to get an accurate assessment, affecting the quality of their support and actively preventing their efforts to get back into work.

PROBLEM 2: SEPARATING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH

The government is also trying to change the way people’s conditions are assessed by dividing health problems into two separate boxes: ‘physical’ and ‘mental’. When looking at what tasks people can do, only the ‘physical half’ of the test will apply to those with physical disabilities. The same goes for the effects of treatment: for e.g., if you’re taking mental health medication, only mental health side-effects will be looked at.

This completely fails to understand the way that many disabilities and illnesses can lead to both physical and mental effects. This is also the case for many common treatments: such as those for schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

>>> Think of Emily, who suffers severe, chronic pain because of nerve damage to her leg. Emily is among the 49% of chronic pain sufferers who also suffer depression as a result of continuous pain. An assessor may see Emily as able to do some work as long as she takes strong painkillers for the rest of her life, meaning she could pass the ‘fitness’ test. Yet the painkillers may not deal with the depression caused by her condition. Painkillers have also often been shown to affect people’s wakefulness and decision-making. So taking the medication may affect Emily’s ability to do a job in a completely new way – yet because these new problems are cognitive, they would not need to be looked at by the assessor when making their decision! <<<

Pretending the effects of illnesses and disabilities can be separated in this way goes against all medical practice. Going even further, and using this method to ignore sick and disabled people’s needs, is at best hopeless policy, and at worst deliberate cruelty. We cannot let the government treat some of the most vulnerable people in British society in this way.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

The main way you can help is by spreading the message about these changes to ESA. The government have tried to sneak them under the radar – the last thing they will want is people talking about them! 

Here are some great ways you can raise awareness:

1) Email your MP (you can search by name or constituency at http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/);

2) Share this blog post on twitter (using the hashtag #esaSOS), Facebook and other social media; CLICK ON THE BUTTONS BELOW THIS POST TO SHARE ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK

3) Email your friends and family a link to this post – or simply talk to them about it!

Again, the main way we can get the government to reconsider is by getting people to talk about the injustice of these changes. So please spread the word as far and wide as you can!

Thank you so much for reading this far. Now let’s make sure these unwanted, damaging benefit changes never see the light of day!

If you want to do more, please sign #WOWpetition and call on the government to think again. 
Sign here http://wowpetition.com - and ask all of your friends to sign too!

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THE FULL #SPARTACUS PRESS BRIEFING ON THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO ESA CAN BE FOUND HERE: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/ESAbriefing

Incarceration

I want you to imagine something for me.

Imagine that without a car you can never leave your home. Ever.

You can't use public transport, because you can't get to the bus stop or the train station, even if you could get your wheelchair/scooter etc on board. You're isolated, as family live in a completely different part of the country. Without your car you can't get to work, you can't see friends, you can't get to a shop. Without your car you literally become a prisoner in your own home.

*------------------*

It is no exaggeration to say that is literally the case for hundreds of thousands of sick & disabled people here in the UK. Wearespartacus.org have done a comprehensive analysis of the impact losing a motability car will have - those who are particularly interested in learning more can read our comprehensive report, Reversing from Recovery here : http://wearespartacus.org.uk/reversing-from-recovery/

Until recently, the Blue Badge scheme that allows people with very serious mobility impairments the ability to get out was a lifeline. To qualify, you must be virtually unable to walk. The scheme is certainly rife with fraud, but crucially, not committed by sick and disabled people themselves, but by family members who should know better or criminals who know that a blue badge is a valuable commodity on the black market. 

For years, I have sent off my passport photos every 3 years, with £3 to cover costs & my new badge has arrived by return post. As it happened, in my case, my Mum worked at County Hall for years, so the badge office knew me well, knew exactly how unwell I was and dealt with my renewals quickly and compassionately. 

Now, that - like every other aspect of support sick and disabled people rely on to get by - has all changed. 

Last week I got my renewal letter and with it, 14 PAGES of information and questions to plough through and answer. The form itself is 8 pages long. You can no longer send off for the badge, you have to collect in person at a local library. If nothing else, just imagine how difficult that is going to be for some people. My library, for instance is in the centre of town with just three disabled parking spaces outside, up 7 steps. If you are housebound anyway, this new process will make getting a badge all but impossible. Ironically, the very people who need a badge the most will be the ones unable to get one. 

The fee has gone up from £3 to £10 and I'm sick of politicians who don't realise that £10 to people living in extreme poverty might as well be £1000. £10 off ESA, £10 off the rent, £10 from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) £10 off social care - This is why we so desperately need a cumulative impact assessment of ALL the changes and why the government are so loathed to do one. 

Most disgusting of all though, is the tone of the letter and renewal form. Like ESA before it and soon DLA, all are to be assumed guilty until proven innocent. Some examples - just from the first page!

"This section must be completed by all applicants; all fields are to be completed." "Documents must be certified by a person who has known you for a minimum of two years. They should not be related to you" "send ONE proof of address and ONE proof of identity." "DO NOT SEND ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS" "The applicant's name must be written in block capitals on the reverse of the photo" "Applications will take up to 8 weeks" "There is no guarantee that an existing Blue Badge will be renewed based on previous information provided"......

And on and on, making absolutely sure that the person so desperately in need is good and terrified. The more honest you are, the more frightening the form seems. Fraudsters and criminals won't even see these forms as the misuse of badges is misuse of existing badges, very rarely at the application stage.

Again, we treat 200 people as though they are guilty to catch the one cheat, we do not accept the one cheat in order that 200 people may feel secure and supported. 

Again, we should be bloody ashamed of ourselves. Nothing sums up the mealy mouthed, envious unpleasantness of attitudes to sickness and disability in our society today than selfish gits who believe they are missing out because they have to park a few steps further away from a shop entrance than their profoundly disabled neighbour. The times I've seen people offer to trade their badge with some nasty little creep in a comment thread, in exchange for their paralysis/MS/Cancer, but funnily enough there are never any takers. 

Who does it really hurt if people take advantage of the scheme? It doesn't cost anything, it only hurts the disabled people who can't park where they need to. Need to you note, not want to. 

Society disgusts me at the moment. 

Are disabled people protected from Government cuts?

Guest post by Sarah Campbell (@spoonydoc) on actual situation on disability benefits & whether they are, in fact, protected from the 1% freeze on benefits. 

The Autumn Statement and Disability Benefits

You might quite rightly be mistaken in thinking that disabled people came out quite safe and sound from this year's autumn statement. After all our chancellor announced that although restrictions were going to have to be made to most welfare benefits, disabled people and carers would be supported and disability/carer benefits would not be affected.

The problem is that in the next breath he announced that, along with most other working age benefits, ESA would be included in the restriction to a 1% annual growth for the next 3 years. Well below the rate of inflation this amounts to a cut in real terms.

ESA is mostly paid to disabled people who are too sick to work. To qualify for this benefit they have to have undergone rigorous testing and passed the much maligned WCA (Work Capability Assessment) administered by ATOS and been classed as unfit for work. Some are considered to be able to work again at some time in the future (possibly years). These are put in the WRAG (Work Related Activity Group). Others are considered too ill or disabled ever to work again and are put in the Support Group.

So how can the chancellor be promising disability benefits be exempt when ESA is included in the cuts?

Well turning to the small print of the Treasury Costings (p33) we see the following:


“The following benefits, tax credits and payments will be up-rated by 1 per cent for 3 years from 2013-14:
• The main elements of Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Income Support, applicable amounts for Housing Benefit;
It will not apply to the premia within these benefits relating to disability, pensioners, and caring responsibilities, the support group component of ESA, or the disability elements in tax credits, which will be uprated as usual.”
A claim for ESA comprises:

A main element of ESA (the bulk of the benefit)
A Support Group component or WRAG component (Anyone unfit for work gets one of these after passing the WCA)
Any relevant disability premiums (not everyone qualifies for these)So what does this mean?

For both WRAG and Support group claimants the main element part will only rise by 1%.
For WRAG claimants the WRAG component will only rise by 1%
For Support Group claimants the Support component will rise by inflation.
For both WRAG and Support Group claimants any disability premiums will rise by inflation.

IN SUMMARY:

WRAG claimants who do not receive disability premiums will see their benefit restricted to 1% growth for 3 years.
All Support Group claimants and those WRAG claimants who receive disability premiums will see their benefit restricted to a growth slightly higher than 1% but still significantly lower than inflation. In fact it works out at approximately 1.4% according to DRUK.
ESA claimants are seriously ill and disabled people who have fairly and genuinely been found unfit for work. The statement that disabled people will be supported and disability benefits will be unaffected is totally and unequivocally untrue. It is high time that someone stood up and said so.

Benefit Uprating Bill - Today!

As most of you will know, I'm desperately unwell at the moment.

Today, parliament will be sitting to hear the second reading of the Benefit Uprating Bill. You can watch live here from 11am : http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=12161 (Once other business dealt with, probably nearer to 12.30)

If any of you want to follow the debate on Twitter, I propose we use the hashtag #BUB

I've asked for volunteers to take over my twitter account for a while, as I get so much traffic and RTs it really does help to spread awareness far and wide.

It seems Labour will be supporting us. The language may not be ideal, but they are taking a big chance on us, risking a mauling from the right wing press as supporters of "lazy scroungers" I believe it means the "worm has turned" On welfare, Labour seem to have decided that supporting us could be a vote winner rather than a vote loser & I want to do everything I can to prove them right.

So, my warrior friends, once more unto the breach. Spread the truth, challenge the lies and shine a light onto their proceedings they would rather stayed obscured.


**Do RT or share this short bulletin to help spread the word. Many thanks

Welfare Whoppers

Before I started campaigning, I was under the naive impression that politicians were not allowed to mislead parliament.

I thought there were very serious penalties.

It turns out, there were no penalties at all. The government can say what they like, lie through their teeth, invent statistics, and no-one can stop them. Not one Prime Minister since the middle of the 17th Century has been disciplined for misleading the Houses.

Today, we see Iain Duncan-Smith lying about Tax Credits here

It isn't a casual fib or a slight distortion, it's an out and out lie. At least we ought to call it by its real name. He claims that Tax credits rose by 58% under Labour when the actual figure is 8%

A twitter friend reminded me of this lie too and it occurred to me, perhaps we should collate all the lies here in the comment thread below? If we can put together a comprehensive list, I will print them all out and send them to John Bercow (speaker of the House of Commons) and the parliamentary standards commissioner. In the past, our complaints have been ignored and fobbed off, but if the evidence we collect is unarguable, surely something could be done?

If you remember any particularly misleading claims, could I ask you to post the link below, preferably with a Full Fact or Fact Check analysis and a very short precis of what the article is about? Any lies relating to welfare will be helpful, whether from of IDS, Grayling, Miller or Freud (obviously any others you think are relevant too.)

If nothing else, this blog will act as a record for future historians.

Those of your who often ask what you can do to help, here's a nice, simple little research project that could have a big impact.

Happy New Year to all of you and let's resolve today, on 1st January, that this lying stops.