Jeffs posts
The Department for Work and Pensions office in London.
That’s right – the Department for Work and Pensions can now foretell the future, and is using this power to dismiss appeals before sickness or disability benefit claimants can even make them.
Alternatively, the DWP is corruptly deciding appeals for mandatory reconsideration of claims before they are made, in order to achieve the targets for removing claims that they always say don’t exist.
The Department’s press office has claimed this was a clerical error, of course. They can always claim it was a mistake when they are discovered.
What do YOU believe?
Fresh concerns have been raised about the integrity of the disability benefits system, after a disabled woman’s appeal against having her benefits removed was rejected before she was even told her claim had been turned down.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) sent Mandy Moseley a mandatory reconsideration notice, confirming that her appeal against the decision to reject her claim for the new personal independence payment (PIP) had been unsuccessful.
But she was astonished to receive the letter because she had not yet been told the result of her claim.
Until a claimant receives a decision notice that informs them of the result of their claim, they cannot ask for a mandatory reconsideration (MR) of that decision, and she had not done so.
Disabled activists have been questioning for months why success rates for MRs are so low, when so many appeals that are taken to tribunal – the next stage of the appeal process after the MR – are successful.
Posted by jeffrey davies on 26 August 2017
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jeffs posts
Disabled people’s organisations who travelled to Geneva this week to help highlight the government’s continuing human rights violations have praised a UN committee of disabled experts for publicly exposing the UK’s failings.
Civil servants from eight UK government departments, and the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, were grilled over two days about the UK’s record in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
The two days ended with the chair of the UN committee on the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD), Theresia Degener, telling the UK government that its cuts to social security and other support for disabled people had caused “a human catastrophe” (see separate story).
Another CRPD member, Stig Langvad, said members were “deeply concerned” by the government’s failure to implement the convention, and delivered a withering putdown, telling the UK delegation: “I could provide a long list of examples where the state party doesn’t live up to the convention. Unfortunately, the time is too limited.”
Among the DPOs that travelled to Geneva were representatives of Inclusion London, the Alliance for Inclusive Education, Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), Equal Lives, Black Triangle, Disability Rights UK, Inclusion Scotland and Disability Wales.
Tracey Lazard, chief executive of Inclusion London, said “We are all exhausted but delighted with how the week has gone.
“We felt that the CRPD committee listened to the evidence presented by the unprecedented number of DDPO [Deaf and disabled people’s organisation] representatives who attended the sessions and while it is a shame that the government continues to deny the existence of serious rights regressions and the brutal impact of their policies, it was inspiring to be part of the collective effort by Deaf and disabled people across the UK to ensure our voices are heard.”
Ellen Clifford, from DPAC, added: “The UK government representatives were shameless in their obfuscation and misrepresentations of information in response to questions by the disability committee members but the weakness of their answers also showed how fragile their position is in continuing to try to deny the brutal and devastating impacts of their policies.
“What Deaf and disabled people have achieved in Geneva this week shows how formidable we can be when we come together and we now need to take that back to the UK to continue fighting for our rights.”
Sally Witcher, from Inclusion Scotland, said: “We wholeheartedly welcome the committee’s comments on the UK.
“The government has not been allowed to get away with evasive responses which disregard the lived experiences of Deaf and disabled people throughout the UK.”
Rhian Davies, from Disability Wales, said: “This has been a historical week for the disabled people’s movement and one that we are proud to have played our part in.”
Members of the UN’s committee on the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD) questioned civil servants from the Office for Disability Issues, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department of Health, the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Transport, the Department for Education, the Home Office and the Foreign Office, as well as civil servants from the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Key issues raised repeatedly by the committee over the two days included the impact of cuts to disabled people’s support to live independently; the discriminatory treatment of people in secure mental health settings; and the failure of the government to engage with disabled people and their organisations.
The committee also asked about discrimination in the housing market; the “disproportionate” levels of violence and abuse experienced by disabled women, and the support available to them; the “high levels of poverty” experienced by disabled people; the availability of accessible information; and the shortage of British Sign Language interpreters.
Other issues raised included the institutionalisation of children with mental health conditions; the economic impact of Brexit on disabled people; the impact of cuts and reforms to legal aid and the introduction of employment tribunal fees on disabled people’s access to justice; and the levels of bullying experienced by disabled children
Posted by jeffrey davies on 24 August 2017
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jeffs posts
The UN has condemned the Conservative government for creating what it calls a “human catastrophe” in the UK. It follows a previous report which stated that the Tories had committed “grave” and “systematic” violations of human rights on British shores. And the UN accused the government of using a “smoke screen” and “misusing statistics” to try and cover its tracks.
A “human catastrophe”
The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) has been meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. It has been assessing how well the UK government is sticking to its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People, which the UK government ratified in 2009. The UNCRPD has been hearing evidence from disabled people’s organisations (DPOs), charities, and NGOs. But it has also been hearing counter-arguments from the UK government.
And the UNCRPD was unequivocal in its opinion on how disabled people are treated by the Conservative government. Its Chair, Theresia Degener, said in a statement seen by The Canary:
Evidence before us now and in our inquiry procedure as published in our 2016 report reveals that [welfare] cut policies [have] led to human catastrophe in your country, totally neglecting the vulnerable situation people with disabilities find themselves in.
A “smoke screen”
The committee condemned the UK’s attempts to misrepresent the impact of policies through “unanswered questions”, “misused statistics”, and a “smoke screen of statements”. Also, it said the government had introduced policies and legislation which “fail to implement” disabled people’s rights in “reality”.
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It concluded that the UN could “provide a long list of examples where UK doesn’t live up to the Convention, but the time does not allow”, and that the committee was “deeply concerned about the lack of recognition of the findings and recommendations of the conducted inquiry”.
Committee member Coomara Pyneeandee said in a statement seen by The Canary:
[I] Want to see you come back as a world leader which at the moment, I’m afraid you are not, but I congratulate [DPOs]. [They] are in fact, the world leaders in your country.
Disabled people’s response?
Ellen Clifford from Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) told The Canary:
The UK Government representatives were shameless in their obfuscation and misrepresentations of information in response to questions by the disability committee members, but the weakness of their answers also showed how fragile their position is in continuing to try to deny the brutal and devastating impacts of their policies. What Deaf and Disabled people have achieved in Geneva this week shows how formidable we can be when we come together, and we now need to take that back to the UK to continue fighting for our rights.
Labour’s response?
Debbie Abrahams, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, told The Canary:
The report confirmed what Labour has been warning all along; despite Theresa May’s warm words on the steps of Downing Street, promising a fair deal for all in our society, this Conservative government has been consistently failing sick and disabled people. And what do they do in response? They dismissed the report and refused to take action. It is disappointing, but not all that surprising, to see the government continue to dodge their responsibilities. It is a slap in the face to deaf and disabled peoples’ organisations who have been campaigning tirelessly to bring to light the human rights violations disabled people across the UK experience daily.
A damning report
The two-day meeting followed on from a 2016 report [doc] into the state of disabled people’s rights. It was the first time the UN had investigated a country for possible human rights violations against disabled people. The report looks at the effects of welfare reforms that the Coalition and Conservative governments have introduced since 2010 as part of their austerity programmes. And the UN was scathing in its condemnation of the government’s policies and treatment of disabled people.
You can read The Canary‘s full analysis of the UNCRPD report here. But some of its main criticisms were that:
The UK government has forced through reforms with no regard for the rights of disabled people.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) “processed rather than listened to or understood” disabled people during Work Capability Assessments (WCA).
The WCA gave disabled people significant “anxiety” and “financial, material and psychological hardship”.
The Conservatives had introduced reforms that had evidently caused “high levels of stress, anxiety and depression”.
The UNCRPD was also critical of the Conservatives’:
Cuts to Legal Aid.
Failures to monitor how reforms were affecting disabled people.
Welfare Reform Act 2012; specifically that it broke set international conventions on disabled people’s rights.
WCA not recognising the complexity of disabled people’s conditions.
No independence
The report also specifically noted that the UK government had violated rights due to:
The Bedroom Tax.
Changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
Cuts to social care.
The abolition of the Independent Living Fund (ILF).
Caps on benefits.
“Systematic violations” of human rights
Overall, the UN concluded that “systematic violations” of disabled people’s human rights in the UK had occurred. It stated that:
The government knew that welfare reforms would “disproportionately and adversely affect the rights of disabled people”, yet it did nothing. It also ignored evidence indicating this.
Measures introduced by the government were discriminatory.
The government had violated disabled people’s basic rights, including independent and community living and rights to life, social protection and employment.
Over half a million people may have had their human rights abused by the government.
A DWP spokesman said:
The UK is a recognised world leader in disability rights and equality, which is why we supported the development of the UN convention. Almost 600,000 disabled people have moved into work over the last four years and we spend over £50 billion a year to support disabled people and those with health conditions – more than ever before. This first periodic review will help build on our progress to empower disabled people in all aspects of their lives.
When will this end?
The UN has now reported three times in the space of a year on human rights violations by the Conservative-led government. As one disabled activist told The Canary:
If this was happening in a Middle Eastern country, the US would probably have invaded by now, under the guise of “humanitarian” grounds.
The Tories’ response to all these reports? To simply shrug their shoulders and say they didn’t believe them. So the response to this latest round of damning criticism will probably be much the same. It is quickly becoming unclear as to what it will take to give disabled people the rights and recognition in the UK they deserve. But something has to change. And it has to change quickly.
Posted by jeffrey davies on 24 August 2017
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Jeffs posts
Last week I had a story in the Sunday Mirror about top bonuses and pay rises for five of the most senior and well paid civil servants at the Department of Work and Pensions over the last two years.
The information was published in the annual report and accounts of the DWP released last month. These same accounts were qualified for the 29th year running according to the the National Audit Office - because of fraud and error in payouts to claimants rendered them inaccurate and wrong.
Sir Robert Devereux - £190,000 a year Pic credit : Twitter
The bonuses announcement came at the same time as 31 Labour MPs had called for a pause in the roll out of the ministry's new Universal Credit programme - which replaces five benefits - because of reported chaos in its administration leaving some claimants without money for up to six weeks. One of those 31 MPs, Kevan Jones, who represents Durham North said the bonuses were a " reward for failure".
He described them as "an insult to many of my constituents who are already living on the breadline. In my constituency they plan to introduce this in November which could leave thousands of people without money in the run up to Christmas."
Mayank Prakash £220,000 a year including £20,00 bonus Pic credit: DWP Digital
Within days of the publication of the story the FDA ( the First Division Association) which represents the top civil servants attacked the article in a report in Civil Service World.
Jawad Raza, FDA national officer for DWP, said officials should not be used as targets by political opponents of the system simply for doing their jobs.
“The suggestion that these civil servants have been ‘rewarded for failure’ shows a blatant disregard for the facts regarding their pay and
jeremy moore - £135,000 plus £20,000 bonus
wilfully misrepresents the true complexity of their roles,” he said.
“Senior civil servants have delivered billions of pounds worth of savings since 2010 with an ever reducing workforce. These are highly skilled professionals working in challenging circumstances and they deserve to be adequately remunerated without having their names and faces spread across news pages.”
Sorry Jawad I think there is more to this.
The five civil servants are Sir Robert Devereux, permanent secretary at the Department of Work and Pensions; Neil
Andrew Rhodes - £140,000 a year plus £15,000 bonus
Couling, director general of universal credit; Jeremy Moore, director of strategy; Mayank Prakash, director general of digital technology and Andrew Rhodes, director of operations have received between £10,000 and £20,000 each .They are nearly all paid more than Theresa May, the PM.
The bonuses were awarded for “ top performance “ and “ leadership “when the rest of Whitehall is limited to one per cent pay rises and many benefits have been frozen.
Sir Robert last year received up to £20,000 extra on a salary of up to £185,000 a year. This year he hasn’t received any bonus but his basic salary has moved to £190,000 a year.
Neil Couling, who is directly responsible for universal credit, got a bonus of up to £20,000 last year on a salary of £125,000 a year. This year instead of a bonus his salary has jumped by £20,000 to £145,000 a year.
Mayank Prakash, director of digital strategy has received a bonus of up to £20,000 this yearon top of salary of £200,000 taking his annual salary to £220,000 .
Jeremy Moore, director of strategy, has received bonuses two years running – totalling up to £40,000 over the two years - taking his total salary to £155,000 a year.
Andrew Rhodes, director of operations has received a £10-15,000 bonus this year, taking his salary to £155,000 a year. He also claimed £37,600 in travel expenses.
The ministry insist that all these pay rises were decided objectively by line managers.
In a statement it said:
Line managers are required to make an evidence-based and objective assessment over whether objectives have been met, not met or exceeded.
“Individual performance is assessed by the individual’s line manager through an appraisal discussion, with supporting evidence from a range of stakeholders.
But apart from Sir Robert - whose bonus was decided by Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary - the Department declined to say who these line managers are and which outside organisations and people recommended they should get bonuses. The bad news for the DWP is that Kevan Jones plans to table a Parliamentary Question next month to find out who.
Now the FDA has a point that compared to the top of the private sector they are badly paid. A report put out by the House of Commons library revealed that the top 3000 bankers are ALL earning over £884,000 a year - which makes £20,000 sound small beer. But if anything that reflects that huge growth of inequality in Britain.
At other end of society how effective are these five top men ( note they are all men) in delivering what they are supposed to do. All are responsible in one way or another for the delivery of Universal Credit.
At present they are using Newcastle-upon-Tyne - to roll out the full effect of Universial Credit.
Catherine McKinnell , Labour MP for Newcastle North, said:“ My office has been deluged with complaints from constituents about a Universal Credit system that is clearly struggling to cope and failing to deliver the support that claimants need in anything like an orderly or timely fashion.”
Her debate can be read here. Suffice to say it reveals a very sorry picture. The new IT system means people can't talk to a human. It has a verification process that requires claimants to produce photographic identification such as a passport or driving licence, "which many simply do not possess and certainly cannot afford, even though some have been in receipt of benefits for several years."
"I also have numerous examples of Universal Credit claims being shut down before they should be; of documentation being provided to the DWP, at the constituent’s cost, and repeatedly being lost or even destroyed; and of totally conflicting, often incorrect, information being provided to constituents about their claims."
For a time the ministry effectively banned MPs from taking up cases by making impossible verification demands before they would talk about it.
What this shows to me is a growing disconnect between the people at the top - who are computer savvy, have nice centrally heated homes, no problems with bills, can afford expensive holidays, and can't conceive of anyone not having a passport - designing a system for poor, dispossessed, desperate people without any understanding of how the world works for them.
It was this disconnect between the elite and the poor in the USA that led to the rise of Donald Trump and I suspect this huge gulf between the Metropolitan elite - whom top Whitehall civil servants are part - and the provincial poor is in the end going to propel Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street.
Posted by jeffrey davies on 22 August 2017
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jeffs posts
don't go sick
More than 5,000 sick and disabled people have had their benefits sanctioned for at least 6 months, new figures show.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed the extent of punishments used against people on disability benefit Employment and Support Allowance.
ESA is slowly replacing the ageing Incapacity Benefit and is now paid to 2.4million people.
Between December 2012 and December 2016, 71,543 ESA claimants have been sanctioned - which normally involves stopping their benefits.
Just over half of those claimants (40,288) had their benefits sanctioned for less than four weeks and the average length of a sanction was 28 days.
But 5,739 suffered a sanction for 27 weeks or more.
Another 6,579 claimants were sanctioned for between 14 and 26 weeks, statistics published yesterday show.
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Debbie Abrahams said: "It is abhorrent to see the Tories sanction thousands of sick and disabled people for up to six months, depriving them of much needed financial support and causing them further stress.
"The figures confirm that disabled people are not receiving the proper support from Jobcentres to navigate the complex social security system."
Sanctions are only made against ESA claimants deemed fit for "work-related activity", not those in the more serious support group, a DWP official said.
ESA sanctions are made for a fixed period of one, two or four weeks.
But they are open-ended and carry on indefinitely if people are still unable or refuse to take part in 'work-related activity'.
DWP officials insist this means no one will be sanctioned for six months if they play by the rules.
But campaigners argue assessments that deem people fit for work-related activity in the first place are flawed.
The vast majority of ESA sanctions - more than 90% since December 2015 - have been a punishment for people refusing to take part in that activity.
Meanwhile the rate paid to the work-related activity group has axed and made the same as Jobseekers' Allowance - a cut of £30 a week.
Yesterday's figures showed the number of people on Jobseekers' Allowance or ESA being sanctioned is falling.
However the number of sanctions for people on Universal Credit, the all-in-one system that's slowly being claimed by more and more people as it replaces the old benefits - hit an all-time monthly high of 9,119 in December 2016.
More than 100,000 Universal Credit claimants have now been sanctioned since August 2015, 2,313 of them for six months or more.
A DWP spokesman said: "Only a very small proportion of people on ESA are sanctioned every month - just 0.6%.
"ESA sanctions are designed to encourage people to fulfil their requirements, so they remain in place until someone re-engages with their work coach or employment support.
“It’s only fair to ask claimants to do their part and there is a well-established system of payments available for people who need support to meet their immediate and most essential needs
Posted by jeffrey davies on 21 August 2017
