DWP failures and the real life costs

Derek S-H

Which completely underlines my point that it is ideologically-driven and not designed to help claimants, but to hinder them.

Now if only we could be so rigorous about tax evasion, eh? And while we're at it, close the tax avoidance loopholes too.

tapzilla2k

It's not over the top, I know somebody with clear disabilities including being legally blind
who had to wait 2 years for their appeal to be heard (that was due to the volume of appeals in the system waiting to be heard). Granted this person was able to work, but not having DLA/PIP made working that much harder for them, if the person hadn't had a job then I don't want to think about what could have happened. PIP is for the costs incurred from having a disability. Lose that (and mobility cars) and disabled people lose their dignity. Which is not something a civilised society should allow to happen. Let alone seeing disabled people either ending up on the streets (it's still happening) or being forced into residential care due to cuts in benefits and care budgets meaning they can't live in their own homes with appropriate support in place.

As for Universal Credit ? It's a faff to get registered for it, hence why I used my local Mind's benefits service. The people who work there do incredible work and don't accept the DWP's usually wishy washy responses.

The ultimate sanction the DWP had (not sure if Rudd's changed this or not) is the ability to stop people receiving any benefits for a considerable amount of time. It's more than likely caused people to become homeless and thus cost the taxpayer even more money. I don't say it lightly that the safety net has almost disappeared. People's experiences with PIP and Universal Credit varies. It's only when you fall foul of the DWP's pernicious side that you experience what I'm waffling on about.  

It might not work now, but if the level of job replacement through automation has been correctly predicated then we will have no choice but to bring in Universal Basic Income as the Economy will undergo a profound change in how it functions. So it's a good a time as any to start figuring out how to do UBI. Otherwise it'll be a mad dash to cobble something together when the pooh hits the robotic fan.  

What I think we have to get away from is the idea that work is the only measure of a person's worth to society. As this is what it boils down to when you take Conservative party ideology into account. It's what's driven the development of the benefit system we have now.

richp007

Spot on.

BobbyMac

HuffPost is now part of Oath

BobbyMac

Double post

doug56hl

It's caused people to die too.
Mr Clapson, an insulin dependent Diabetic, was found dead in his home on 20 July 2013. His benefits had been stopped by DWP staff who knew that he suffered from diabetes. It appears that at the time of his death David had been unable to pay for electricity as he had been rendered destitute by the sanction. His insulin could not be refrigerated due to the absence of electricity, and he had no food available to feed himself. In effect, Mr. Clapson starved to death and died because he could not feed himself or refrigerate his insulin without access to State benefits.
Leigh Day News & Events | www.leighday.co.uk

The coroner said that when David Clapson died he had no food in his stomach. Clapson’s benefits had been stopped as a result of missing one meeting at the jobcentre. He was diabetic, and without the £71.70 a week from his jobseeker’s allowance he couldn’t afford to eat or put credit on his electricity card to keep the fridge where he kept his insulin working. Three weeks later Clapson died from diabetic ketoacidosis, caused by a severe lack of insulin. A pile of CVs was found next to his body
David Clapson’s awful death was the result of grotesque government policies | Frances Ryan

The maximum duration of a JSA sanction is (or was) 3 years. Stats on sanctions:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/801345/benefit-sanctions-statistics-to-january-2019.pdf

Baroness Buscombe (The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions) 9th May 2019:
I have reviewed my Department’s internal data, which shows that a six-month sanction already provides a significant incentive for claimants to engage with the labour market regime. I agree with the Work and Pensions Select Committee that a three-year sanction is unnecessarily long and I feel that the additional incentive provided by a three-year sanction can be outweighed by the unintended impacts to the claimant due to the additional duration. For these reasons, I have now decided to remove three year sanctions and reduce the maximum sanction length to six months by the end of the year.
Labour Market Policy Update  :Written statement - HLWS1510

From that 'by the end of the year' statement,  3 years sanctions can still be applied at the moment. And as noted with David Clapson above, even short sanctions can be fatal (one month sanction in his case).

richp007

These letters are not uncommon.

This one was to a mentally ill claimant.

Mentally unwell universal credit claimant receives less than £6 for month after being sanctioned £312

                                                                                                                                       

weaviemx5

"If you have trouble making your money last for the month, you can ask for help budgeting"...says it all really.  Whilst it's obviously an automated letter/wording, at some point someone has to take responsibility for paying a claimant £5.82 for the month, whilst offering assistance budgeting.

richp007

Citizens Advice are dealing with letters like this on a daily basis. As we all know now, these aren't isolated cases. If one of my family members or friends received a letter like that, I'd likely end up in court myself for what happens next. Absolutely disgusting.

As for responsibility there is none. Universal Credit at least is a failure and needs to go. I have to care for a mentally ill relative, and "sanctioning" a mentally ill individual into poverty is cruel and criminal in my opinion.

doug56hl

DWP budgeting advice help...
Spend no more than a 20p coin a day so you have something left for the end of the month.An 'Eat one day, don't eat the next day' diet is easy to follow. This means you can spend 40p on those days you eat for food.Strive to attain the 'Eat one day, don't eat for the following six days' diet. This means you will be able to treat yourself with a £1.40p luxury meal when you do eat.
A human being can go for more than three weeks without food — Mahatma Gandhi survived 21 days of complete starvation. If he could do it, so can you.
Becoming a Breatharian is the ideal way to slash your food shopping bills when sanctioned.  Inedia - Wikipedia