Anybody ... ?

Well said that lady!

Saw this on a group. Made me chuckle so much I had to share it!

Shame

I remember sitting in my bedroom as a teenager, and realising how fortunate I was to have been born into this country. We weren't starving, like they were in Ethiopia. We weren't at war, like they were in some parts of the world. We always had plenty of clean, fresh water available, and always had food on the table. Most people had a roof over their head, and those who didn't had help available. We had councils who helped people, unions that helped workers, there were safety nets in place for nearly every eventuality you could think of. We may be struggling in our every day lives, but we had it made! I realised this as a teen, and my ambition became to help people world wide who weren't so fortunate to have been born into a country like this.

Unfortunately, I no longer believe we are fortunate. I feel shame. Total and utter shame, at what this country is doing.

How much of that remains? When I try and tell certain people about the difficulties of being sick or disabled in this country, I frequently get a response along the lines of "At least you're not starving in Ethiopia". Why is it more acceptable to starve here?

Are people really starving here? YES! 

The government has pretty much gone out of it's way to eliminate any form of income for people who are sick or disabled, and have made it very difficult to get by for those who are simply working class at the minimum wage end of the spectrum. If you weren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth they see you as scum, and we are to be treated as we deserve! 

Take my own example. I cannot claim Contributions Based Employment & Support Allowance (CB-ESA), because the DWP (Department for Work & Pensions) paid my NI (National Insurance) stamp last year. Their type of stamp does not count towards benefits, only towards your pension (should you be unlucky enough to live that long). I cannot claim Income Related ESA, because I am living with someone who earns over £8000pa (the threshold is somewhere around 7000). His outgoings are not taken into account. So, the fact that his outgoings are nearly equal to his income is irrelevant. He cannot afford to support me. As such, I am currently living off hand outs. They won't last forever! There is no point at which I can suddenly claim CB-ESA, as while I'm in this situation the DWP pays my NI, thus cancelling out the possibility indefinitely. It also seems that I will be unlikely to receive DLA; the DWP are putting off giving me a decision month after month. My suspicion is that they are waiting for PIP (Personal Independence Payment); under which I definitely will not qualify. There are no other benefits available to me, no safety net to catch me, nothing. I'm not the only one, there are hundreds, probably thousands of people in this situation across the country. The inevitable is that these people will become homeless, probably starving to death.

DLA was never intended for people to live on. It was intended to be some money that helped disabled people live a normal life contributing to the community. Something those who designed PIP seem to have forgotten, despite it's all encompassing name: "Personal Independence". They have made it virtually impossible for people who are genuinely disabled, to claim. For example, one of the descriptors is that claimants be unable to walk 20m, where it used to be 50m. They have cut down the criteria similarly throughout the assessing process, and have taken out some things under which people used to qualify. They've introduced descriptors, suggesting it is now another tickbox computer based system, similar to that of ESA that assesses people.  So, unless you are wheelchair bound, and almost totally unable to do anything for yourself, you're unlikely to receive PIP. Genuinely disabled people will lose their DLA. For many this means losing their car; that is their ability to get to work. Similarly for some it's losing the money they use for public transport. For some it is money used to bring in respite carers. So many people will be very suddenly thrown into situations where life is totally unmanageable.

And yet suicide is illegal.

It isn't just DLA though, please do understand that. ESA has recently changed, making it more difficult to receive again. More changes are being brought in, in April too. At present, when you apply for ESA, if you are turned down you can appeal. You still receive some money (£70pw - the Assessment Rate) until your reconsideration, appeal, or tribunal are finished. The Assessment Rate is being scrapped. You will no longer be allowed to appeal straight away, but must have a mandatory reconsideration first. To be fair, many decisions are overturned at 'reconsidertion', BUT, the DWP has no time limit on how long their reconsideration's take; so people will be left without money indefinitely. They say that they will be processed as quickly as possible. 

No comment.

What happens when someone has no money? Probably first of all, they go hungry. The government has at least seen fit to open more food banks since they've been in power (that in itself shows us that they knew what they were doing to us); but the housebound and bedbound can't get to food banks! And what of those who have specific dietary requirements (I'm talking Coeliac, etc, not vegetarians)? The next thing that probably happens is being unable to pay the bills. The phone gets cut off, then the electricity and gas. Their landlord may be understanding to start with, but if they're sitting in his property not paying any rent, he's losing money, so at some point they get turfed out of their home. Homeless, starving, and ill or disabled. That's what our government is aiming for!

At the moment, most people can claim a Crisis Loan when they find themselves in that sort of situation (not I, due to the other half's income). So what's the government's next step? They're removing Crisis Loans too!

They're also removing Legal Aid for people going to tribunal over their ESA, DLA, or PIP, decisions. In case you're unaware, there is a long convoluted system involved here. If someone disagrees with the decision made on their application (which they usually do, since the DWP deliberately underestimates people's needs), they can appeal. The appeal goes through reconsideration, at which point it can be changed, but if it is not it goes to Tribunal. If they still disagree with the decision then they can take it to the Upper Tier Tribunal. At this level people really need legal advice, and preferably legal representation, if they want to stand a chance of winning their case (they put people through all of that, just for £90pw). And that legal advice will no longer be available; because the government don't want people to win! They don't want to spend their money on the plebs.

There's more. Much more. The so called "bed room tax" for example. I'm so sick of it. It has now got to the point where I think we'd all be better off in another country. If there was a country open to receiving us, I have no doubt that there would be a mass exodus of sick and disabled people from the UK.

I'm actually kind of surprised that there has been no attempt on the lives of any of the politicians involved with all of this change. Yes, by definition the sick and disabled would be unable to carry out such an act, but we're not the only ones who are totally incensed by it all.

I wonder whether they realise that they are backing everyone in to a corner. It's basically going to be a choice between a life of crime, a life on the streets begging, or suicide. All of which are illegal. I suspect it's the latter that they are waiting for, but I also suspect it's the life of crime that most will turn to.

Petition worth signing!

Yeah yeah, I know there are loads of these things going around. Most of them are really naff though, written by someone with half a brain who is angry over something so they've whipped up a really badly worded petition in five minutes, without thinking it through properly. This one is NOT one of those. This one is very well thought through, asks for what we seriously need, and should actually be taken seriously by parliament because of how it is written.

Personally, I have given up on parliament. I think they are throwing out everything that comes their way if it isn't in their interests. I think we no longer have a proper democratic government, but that's a totally different matter. It's worth trying, so please sign it.

Please sign here.

We call for:

A Cumulative Impact Assessment of all cuts and changes affecting sick & disabled people, their families and carers, and a free vote on repeal of the Welfare Reform Act.

An immediate end to the Work Capability Assessment, as voted for by the British Medical Association.

Consultation between the Depts of Health & Education to improve support into work for sick & disabled people, and an end to forced work under threat of sanctions for people on disability benefits.

An Independent, Committee-Based Inquiry into Welfare Reform, covering but not limited to: (1) Care home admission rises, daycare centres, access to education for people with learning difficulties, universal mental health treatments, Remploy closures; (2) DWP media links, the ATOS contract, IT implementation of Universal Credit; (3) Human rights abuses against disabled people, excess claimant deaths & the disregard of medical evidence in decision making by ATOS, DWP & the Tribunal Service.

I am unfamiliar with what an Impact Assessment is, but we do need someone unbiased to seriously look into why the cuts and changes to everything are affecting the sick and disabled so much more than the rich. Asking for the ability to vote on such changes is genius.

In case you are unaware, the British Medical Council voted that the Work Capability Assessment - that scary medical you're sent for if you wish to claim Employment & Support Allowance - be ended. I agree 100% with this request, though am uncertain of how practical it is. There needs to be something in place. Personally I'd appreciate it if they took the ESA50 and medical evidence seriously in the first place.

Again, I agree 100% with ending forced work for the sick and disabled. Personally, I want to work, and I like the idea of gradually being re-introduced to it. BUT I do not think it should be forced upon anyone, and am disgusted that they take away 70% of someone's benefit if they cannot make it to that work. The nature of being sick and disabled means they will be unable to attend at times.

And yes oh YES, please please can there be an inquiry into all of the above. Independent and unbiased. The problem I have with inquiries is that they nearly always find what the government to find though. Either that of the government just ignores them.

A little rant about JSA

In regards to benefits I have mostly written about Employment & Support Allowance (ESA), possibly a little on Disability Living Allowance (DLA), and of course the frustrations of our government and ignorant journalists. As yet, I have not had reason to touch upon Job Seekers Allowance (JSA). It is because I reported, on Facebook, a letter for my doctor regarding ESA, that JSA came to my attention. A friend of mine voiced her frustrations over her experience of the system. Her first reaction made me think that she had fallen for all the media hype, that sick and disabled people do not deserve the benefits they struggle to receive. I was wrong. This is her story:

So, I'll take you back to September 2010. I had just finished my PhD (the end of 7 years at university) and had been looking for jobs all through the summer as the end of my funding approached. I was still with my ex at that point. I had set money aside in the event that I had difficulty finding work, and made these saving stretch far further than I had anticipated. In the September of 2012, I found a part time job in a lab and took it. This ran up until Christmas of that year when my temp contract wasn't renewed due to funding. While I was working in the lab, I took on a second part time Christmas temp shop job to top up my income, and to take me beyond the end of the lab job. When my lab job finished, I rang up the Job Centre to begin claiming Job Seekers allowance as my shop job was under 16 hours a week at that point. I gave details of all my outgoings, including my mortgage etc and I was told that as I hadn't worked continuously for the set amount of time (2 years I think it was at the time), I hadn't made enough NI contributions and so would have to apply for income based job seekers allowance.

In the November of 2012, my ex and I separated but continued to live in the same property until we sorted out where we were each going to live.When my lab job finished (mid December), I rang up the Job Centre to begin claiming Job Seekers allowance as my shop job was under 16 hours a week at that point. The following week I got 17 hours work, and was told by the Job Centre at my assessment that because I had gone over by 1 hour, my claim would have to be terminated, and I would have to reapply again when the time was appropriate and when my hours fell again.

This didn't happen until January when my temp shop contract was also terminated. At this point I rang the Job Center back up again, and had to start my application again from scratch. I had to explain that I was still living with my ex, but that we were financially independent of each other. They held back my benefit until they had sent a representative out to check our living arrangement. This was awful, and made me feel like I was cheating the system in some way when I knew I wasn't. We "passed" this assessment and I was awarded my Income Based Job Seekers Allowance at a mere 8 pounds a week due to the income from my shop job (which was low as it was). I also received council tax benefit (for my half of the council tax, not my ex's half) which was a massive relief and did take a small amount of financial pressure off my shoulders.

At my first visit to the Job Centre to sit down with someone and discuss what jobs I could apply for, I sat down at the desk and showed the man my CV and my qualifications. He looked at my CV and said he had never had to deal with anyone with a PhD before and didn't know how to help me. I had to tell HIM where scientists applied for jobs. He then MADE me apply for a job in Bridgenorth (a long way from Solihull) before my next signing on, the pay from this job was low to say the least, and would have cost me a fortune in fuel, and commuting time too. I simply would have not have been able to live off the wage after paying for fuel. But I put in my application, with the same amount of effort as any other job, and waited. I heard nothing from the company I had applied to.

I got my final pay slip from the shop job at the end of January which I had to take and show to the Job Centre. When they saw this, my massive 8 pounds a week was reduced to zero. The day I received the letter stating this, I was thankfully offered a full time job for 14 months, and had pleasure in telling the Job Centre this, and that the job was not obtained through any help from them.

Now something that I was often asked was why couldn't I claim the full amount of Job Seekers Allowance when a lot of other university leavers could? Simple: many university leavers return to live at home with their parents, or live in rented accommodation where they have no other income, and their housemates do not provide for them financially.

The difference for me? I had a mortgage and I feel I was being penalised for getting my foot on the property ladder and working hard at university to get myself somewhere.

And as for the experience of the Job Center itself? Demoralising. As I sat waiting to be seen, I overheard young mothers boasting of their life on benefits, and how they deliberately put in bad job applications where they bothered to put them in at all, so that they didn't get offered interviews and could continue to claim benefits while they "applied" for jobs. Where they openly admitted to the staff that they didn't bother applying for posts, they were simply told "oh right".

My experience with the Job Centre and the benefits system made me fear for the future. What if this happens again through no fault of my own? Will I get support again? Hopefully now that I have NI contributions, yes I "should" get help short term.

Not so different from some of the problems people on sickness benefits have, is it!?! I had a similar experience myself, in 2001. I finished university in August 2000. I went straight into a job where I was severely bullied by someone who thought she was my boss, but was not. It was a complicated situation; she was sleeping with the MD, so my actual boss could not do anything about how she behaved to me ... or all the other staff before me that she had scared away. I eventually gave up the job after nine months (there had been a book on how long I would last under he apparently - I outlasted all the bets). I tried to claim JSA, but was told that because I had a history of quitting jobs I could not claim. There was no work around at all, so I temped for a few weeks. I handed my CV out to everyone I could think of; went around the shopping centre giving it to all the stores. I eventually got a job in a computers games store. I have never loved work as much as I did there. However, my health was deteriorating with the onset of M.E.. My boss basically told me I'd be better off leaving, so I did. At the time I had never heard of sickness benefits. I went to the Job Centre. I had taken out a £4000 loan a few months previously with the aim of starting up a small business. The Job Centre told me that I had to live on this loan until it ran out, and then I could apply for benefits, BUT that I would not be entitled to JSA if I was ill. The person I spoke to didn't tell me that I'd be entitled to sickness benefits, or that they even existed. So I went straight to my letting agent; paid off the remainder of my rent for the year, all of it. I did my best with the little money I had left after that, but my house-mates ended up supporting me most of the time. Something they should never have had to do.

The system disgusts me. It does not support the people who genuinely try to get ahead in life. Those who try to build a future for themselves, like my friend above. It doesn't support people like her or myself who are simply trying to fill in gaps between jobs. No one explains to us about National Insurance Credits until after it's too late. No one tells you that you can only claim Job Seekers Allowance if you have been sacked; if you quit a job of your own volition you aren't entitled to anything.

My friend is right. There are too many people who think that it is their right to live as they please, with no responsibility to the country or society. They think that they should be entitled to have money, just for being alive. Why should they do anything to actually earn it? I am well aware that this is the view that many people hold of people on sickness and disability benefits, thanks to the media, but people with half a brain should be able to realise that people on sickness benefits are thus because they CANNOT work. The people my friend describes CAN. They choose not to.

This country is a seesaw. On one end you have the tax payers. On the other end you have people on benefits. We are very genuinely at risk of the benefits end hitting the ground. That is what those who choose to not work fail to understand.

The Funky Orchard

There are many people with M.E. who are not in receipt of benefits. There are different reasons, though the most common is that M.E. is not a well understood illness. When someone writes on their ESA or DLA form, or even their blue badge application that they have M.E., the assessor doesn't understand what that means. Unless the applicant has had help from someone who understands both the benefits system and M.E., they are usually screwed. As such they are turning to alternative measures to try and scrape enough up to live by. The Funky Orchard is just one such example, I will let her tell you her story herself though, as it is a little different.

I have just set up an online clothing business called The Funky Orchard.

I could not receive ESA because my husbands earnings were too high. The DWP were supposed to be crediting my NI, but did not. So when my husband left, and I reapplied for ESA properly, I could not get it due to the fact that I did not have enough NI.

At first I was very scared. I was living on my savings, extremely aware that they would run out within a year or two. I didn't know what to do, or who to ask for advice. Then one day I was looking for a specific item of clothing online and suddenly thought "This is so hard to find, yet so many people would like it. Why don't I sell them myself!?!"

Soooo, I have thrown my savings into buying stock. Beautiful stock.

I aim to stock the clothing that is hard to find on the high street, yet so many people seem to yearn after. Alternative styles; goth, punk, hippy. In particular I am hoping to stock more larger sizes, as plus sized clothing is even harder to find.

At the moment I have some absolutely awesome items in stock. For example, we have Sari Skirts; skirts that have been made from sari fabric. They are in a variety of colours, as you can see from the picture of our stock cupboard. They are double layered, the fabric behind being a totally different colour to the fabric in front, giving an amazing iridescent affect when the skirt moves.

We also have some fantastic medieval styled tunics. They're perfect for people who like the pagan, or goth look, can be worn as a top or a dress, and for either casual or smart occasions.

I have both a website and a Facebook page. So please, come and 'like' us on Facebook, and have a look around the website :)

I need to clarify a few things from the beginning of her statement. NI = National Insurance. She was unable to claim Employment & Support Allowance Income Based because it is means tested; her savings were just above the threshold allowed. As such her only option was to claim Employment & Support Allowance Contributions Based, but because the DWP had stopped paying her National Insurance Credits without informing her, she could not claim this either. She can now pay NI herself for six months, and try to claim again. Meanwhile, hopefully The Funky Orchard will provide enough to live on. So please! Please support her; spread the word, and see if there are any items that you would like to buy for yourself or for someone else with Christmas coming.

Some benefits articles

I am totally exhausted. I've had a number of tabs open on my browser for days, possibly weeks, intending to write about them here. I give up. I'm just gonna give you a few snippets and point you in the right direction. Sorry. This blogger needs some rest!

"The poorest 20% of the 2.7 million households receiving disability benefits will lose 16% of their cash income plus benefits-in-kind, four times as much as the richest 20% of households, according to a report published by the Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People."

Disabled people are ‘collateral damage’ in government’s austerity war new report reveals

Peter was advised to top the amount of Jobseeker’s Allowance up with Income Support. Being ill myself I was unable to advise Peter and to my horror realised that he had a payment of £55 pounds per week for both of us to live on and pay our bills with in our rental property.

Dying man 'has only 12p a day to eat'

Ministers are also examining the idea of ending the annual inflation-linked rise in benefits, though this would require legislation and is a longer-term prospect.

Benefits could be frozen as Osborne tries to save £10bn from the welfare budget

The Department for Work and Pensions, who hired the French IT firm to help them slash the benefits bill, have admitted finding out in a survey that 55 per cent of people who lost benefits in the crackdown had failed to find work.

Benefits bosses admit over half of people ruled fit to work ended up destitute

£50 fine for errors

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to face fines of at least £50 for "preventable" errors in their benefits claims.

Benefits: Thousands face £50 fine for errors

It would seem that people are up in arms about this fine of £50. So let's see why ...

If you are claiming state benefits, and do not inform the DWP of changes to your circumstances, you may be fined £50.

Changes of circumstances are any of the following:

• You got married or formed a civil partnership.
• You got divorced or your civil partnership was dissolved.
• You became widowed or a surviving civil partner.
• Someone else you are claiming for has died.
• You separated from your partner or moved in with someone.
• Someone else moved in or out of your household.
• You changed your name.
• You changed your address.
• You changed your Post Office.
• You changed your account details.
• Your income has changed.
• Your pension has changed.
• You have changed the number of hours you work, or the amount you earn has changed.
• You are ill and cannot attend the Jobcentre.
• You have started a further education course.
• You are going away from home, for any reason.
• Your savings go up to £5,500 or more if your savings of more than £6,000 go up or down (We may need to see a bank or building society statement).
• You have remortgaged your property r taken out a home improvement loan.
• Your home loan payments have stopped.
• You had an emergency that stopped you attending the Jobcentre.
• You have had any other changes you think we need to know about.

You can download the DWP Change of Circumstances form on the following link. I am assuming you can use the same form for all benefits. It is ridiculously difficult to find information on this. It seems that the time you have in which to inform the DWP of a change of circumstance varies according to which benefit(s) you are receiving, and which change has happened. As such, I would say that it's simply advisable to update the DWP as soon as you can.

Change of Circumstances

If you do not update the DWP, you are essentially committing fraud. As such I personally consider it fair for them to fine people. I am hoping that they are writing to people to check that they are correct about a change of circumstances before issuing fines though, and that they are being sensitive in cases where a loved one has passed away. However, I do not think that this 'change' is something people should be getting their knickers in a knot over.

The title of the article is 'Benefits; thousands face £50 fine for errors'. What a stupid title! It is not errors at all. The word 'errors' makes it sounds as if they will be finding people who are applying for benefits, for errors they are making on their application forms. Many people have simply read the title of this piece and reacted with alarm. They don't know what errors they could be penalised for making on their forms. Spelling errors? Getting the date wrong? Thankfully none, but sadly, so many people simply read the title of a piece and react rather than reading the whole article.

I'm now going to sit and watch the misinformation spread.