The report that in just over 2 years up to February last year no less than 2,380 disabled claimants died within 2 weeks of being assessed as fit for work and then having their benefit either reduced or stopped altogether, is beyond shocking. It is arguably the most damning statistic yet of the sheer callousness and brutality of this government towards the most helpless victims in our society. But there are further profound issues behind this dreadful story. The most important issues are holding to account those who are responsible for this utter tragedy and even more important still, the power to stop this lethal policy in its tracks. On both there is at present a vacuum. Continue reading
Tagged with Work Capability Assessments
Iain Duncan Smith demands as many disabled people work as able-bodied
As part of the government’s plan to extract £12bn from social security benefits, IDS has announced his latest target is “the disability employment gap”. According to analysis of official ONS figures, this represents the difference between the number of disabled people who are in employment (48%) and the figure for the general population (73%). The implication is that IDS expects the same proportion of disabled people to work as those who are able-bodied! Just what does he believe disability means? There is a long and aggravated Tory history behind this latest announcement, beginning with Thatcher’s attempt to conceal the true unemployment figures by switching applicants en masse to the category of disability and making them subject to incapacity benefit rather than unemployment benefit. Continue reading
Share:
Disability protesters target Atos benefit test centres
Disability campaigners laid siege to Atos assessment centres up and down the country today, in a bid to increase public pressure on the government to end what many see as a war against disabled people.
Union activists, Disabled People Against Cuts and Black Triangle targeted 144 assessment centres where people are told whether they are able to work and if they are still entitled to benefits. Continue reading
Share:
Atos campaigners win huge victory
Ever since the days of Jo Moore who infamously emailed on the day of 9/11 that “today is a good day to bury bad news”, governments thereafter have tended to follow her advice. Hence on the day when Prince George’s arrival was announced to the world, the government cunningly buried the bad news (for them) that the work capability assessments were going badly wrong and would have to be re-thought.
Of course the government didn’t admit to making any mistakes themselves – it was all the fault of Atos! What a surprise! Atos staff, we’re told, had turned in some ‘unacceptably poor’ work standards and would have to be re-trained – ignoring the fact that it has taken them over 2 years to notice this. Continue reading
Share:
Support George Rolph: on hunger strike having had his disability benefits denied
Today, George Rolph is in day 16 of his hunger strike, which he is doing for others going through what he has had to endure, whilst also trying to get the general public to wake up to what is happening to the most vulnerable people in the United Kingdom, a country which once cared for those who are vulnerable, sick and disabled.
He says he will not stop this hunger strike until the British government and ATOS stop their persecution of the sick, the disabled, the poor, the carers, the unemployed, even if it means he has to die in doing so.
Two days ago, his facebook account was deleted without warning or explanation, the media has chosen to ignore what George is doing, emails and messages to the BBC have been ignored so please share this information as widely as possible. You can also sign a petition calling for a parliamentary debate on his hunger strike here. Continue reading
