Call for inquiry into ‘harsh’ benefit tests

Herald Scotland – Rebecca McQuillan

Published on 2 Feb 2010

An immediate independent investigation is needed into “harsh” benefit rules that are leading to people with serious mental health problems being inappropriately told they are fit to work.

Opposition parties called for the inquiry after The Herald revealed that Citizens Advice bureaux all around Scotland had been “inundated” with appeals against the UK Government’s Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

The SNP also raised the matter in the House of Commons.

ESA, a sickness and disability allowance, was introduced in October 2008 to replace incapacity benefit.

Before qualifying, claimants must go through a work capability assessment with a healthcare professional from the private company Atos.

In one case, according to the mental health charity SAMH, a man with a history of mental illness took an overdose after being told by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) he had to return to work. The DWP had been given contact details for the man’s GP and psychiatrist, but had not contacted them.

In the House of Commons yesterday, the SNP’s work and pensions spokesman John Mason asked the minister for the disabled, Jonathan Shaw why Atos regularly ignored patients’ own GPs. The minister replied that Atos did take GPs’ representations into account but added that seminars were being arranged for Atos and DWP staff, “so we can set out in detail how those medical assessments are carried on”.

Following the debate, Mr Mason said the Government’s benefit reform had increased pressure on vulnerable people.

“These are the very people who need society’s protection and it is utterly unacceptable that the system in place to help is heightening mental strain and anguish,” he said. “It’s simply wrong that people with genuine disability and incapacity should face such harsh treatment.”

The Liberal Democrats also called for an investigation. The Shadow Scottish secretary Alistair Carmichael said: “There is not an MP in Scotland who cannot tell you from his or her own constituency caseload that doctors are being used by the DWP to cut the number of people on benefits.

“This is something which now requires a thorough investigation which is independent of the government and the companies it employs.”

3 Minute Warning

I hope everyone is ready for a challenging year ahead with our special children. The old year for me ended on a sour note when Bury school transport informed me that my son’s transport could be withdrawn if his behaviour didn’t improve. Maybe my son’s behaviour can appear silly and immature, but then he does have autism and cannot always understand that certain actions and words can be hurtful.

Today, I had a phone call from school transport informing me that as from Monday 25^th January 2010, school transport will operate a “3 minute” waiting policy whereby the transport has been instructed to leave after 3 minutes whether or not my child is in the taxi. This is very unfair and fails to understand families that are already under immense pressure to get their children to school. My son cannot leave immediately the taxi arrives, but needs time and patience to leave the house. If my son is rushed he becomes very upset and this could affect his behaviour for the entire day. This pressure on already stressed families, drivers and escorts will only worsen the outcome for everyone concerned.

The school transport service that Bury provides to families of children with disabilities is appalling and needs to be more customer friendly. Parents/carers should regularly be consulted over the quality of the service and if any change in provision is proposed this should only be carried out with the full open and informed participation of all stakeholders. All parents/carer’s should have been consulted before this regulation was arbitrarily imposed.

I also have major concerns about the quality of training that staff receives when working with children that often have complex needs and are extremely vulnerable. There have been instances when it has been clearly apparent that those working at the front line do not have the appropriate skills to manage some behaviours and this could pose a risk to those concerned. With the special care that is taken in schools to provide children with what they need to succeed and live happy fulfilling lives, it is a mystery why this level of provision isn’t available during the trip to and from school.

With more time, restructuring, better funding and quality training for staff, school transport could be much improved. The imposition of a “3 Minute” waiting rule is impracticable, unreasonable and unfair on children, parents/carers, drivers and escorts.

BAPS

Pledge to End Carers Impoverishment

Carer Watch are concerned that all past / present governments have failed to recognise that family carers are at the heart of the care system. Unless family carers are acknowledged and supported, both financially and through care services, no new system will be sustainable. Family carers are not an optional extra to be added on as an after thought.

Any new government needs to face up to this and make some speed in deciding how to adequately fund family carers. Ten years of nothing was serious, TWENTY YEARS OF NOTHING IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

Carer Watch believe that ANY Government should recognise that carers are a unique group within the benefits system because they have to fulfil  the government contracted 35 hours of care to qualify for Carers Allowance.

Carer Watch calls on all Prospective Parliamentary Candidates to pledge their support by adding their name and a comment here or contacting admin@carerwatch.com

1. demanding an IMMEDIATE review of Carers Benefits

Carers should be paid a level of financial support that

1. eliminates carer poverty and

2.empowers carers to achieve dignity and quality of life.

The present allowance of £53.10 is an affront to human dignity and fails to support carers..see notes below

2. protecting Disability Benefits ( over 65s ).

One of the objectives of originally introducing AA was that it helped and empowered the claimant, it gave them the independence and flexibility of directing the spending of their allowance based on their own judgement of their immediate and individual needs.. AA is an entirely fit for purpose benefit just as it is, LEAVE IT ALONE. 

You can see details here of our campaign to protect the Disability Benefits . This campaign covered several months and we thank all individuals,groups,organisations that supported us and hope they will do so again.

Notes

1. Carers Allowance is the lowest paid benefit. (which has to be worked for, at the
rate of £53.10 per week, £2761.20p per year).

2. If a carer has no savings to speak of & is not supplementing their income with
other employment they may be entitled to some help with council tax & £30 a week
extra income from Income Support. If however, a carer has savings of over £16000,
the only income they will receive in return for working 24/7 will be £53.10 a week.
They are forced to subsidise their own caring role by spending their savings.

3.Many carers are self-funding their caring role when they draw down their pensions
early & use their savings to supplement their Carers Allowance.

4. Carers are discouraged from bettering their circumstances through education as
they are penalised the whole amount of their Carers Allowance if their chosen course
exceeds 21 hours.

5. Carers Allowance is paid to a carer for one persons care only.

6. The Overlapping Benefit Rule restricts carers claiming other benefits.

7.Those in receipt of CA who reach pensionable age find their CA stops but their
caring role continues.

8. When a Carer ceases to be a carer , & elects to return to the job market , he \
she does NOT qualify for JSA automatically as CA does NOT count towards the credits
needed for JSA.

Tags: attendance allowance, benefits, carers, carers allowance, disabled, election, pensioners

CarerWatch General Election Campaign

THE WELFARE REFORM BILL – MENTAL HEALTH – CW BLOG

CARERWATCH ARE FIGHTING TO RESTORE UNCONDITIONAL BENEFITS TO ALL PEOPLE WITH SEVERE AND ENDURING ILLNESS. IN PARTICULAR CARERWATCH WANT THE THREAT OF SANCTIONS AND CONDITIONALITY under ESA REMOVED FROM PEOPLE WITH SEVERE AND ENDURING MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES.

We are asking all Prospective Parliamentary Candidiates to support this campaign and thank all those who are supporting us

This is not a broad campaign tackling all the problems in the new Welfare Reform Bills  - it is just an emergency action to protect the most sick and the most vulnerable who have been caught up in these reforms.

Come and help with this campaign

The story so far

On 12th November 2009 the Welfare Reform Bill passed in to law.

Incapacity benefit was replaced with ESA (Employment Support Allowance). This new sick benefit is all about getting sick people back to work – a great aim. A million sick people will be reclassified as fit for work and put on JSA. The rest will all be put on a regime where their benefits are conditional on preparing themselves to go back to work. The only exceptions are people with less than six months to live or receiving certain invasive treatments. All other sick people will have to attend a schedule of appointments and activities and ‘conditionality’ is applied to them which means they lose their benefits if they are deemed not to be complying or trying hard enough.

We are not asking to reverse all these reforms. The two main political parties are determined on them. All we are asking is that they remember that amongst sick people there are people with severe and enduring illness who have serious problems to deal with every day and are too ill to be made to cope with this kind of bracing pressure. If they have a severe diagnosis there is no question of fraud. They should be shown the humanity of being given all the back to work help on a voluntary basis without the fear of sanctions which is what was described in the original design of the bill.

CarerWatch consider that the process of sanctions is a pseudo legal procedure and as with other types of law where people with severe mental illness can plead ‘not fit to plead’ they are a special case. They cannot be fairly sanctioned for failing to attend and comply and communicate because their behaviour may be part of their illness.

Fiona Bruce Says:

Disabled and ill people, whether physically or mentally, are already treated like second class citizens (this is the reality) and we have to live with all kinds of stigma, to then have someone else “controlling” your life, because that is effectively what will happen, would be a further impingement on an already severely restricted way of living. Being able to manage one’s own finances, to have enough money to do that (!) and make decisions about the care that is needed, AND who gives it, or have someone you choose and trust do that for you, gives back a small sense of control and over one’s life. Illness and disability take that away, we do not need the government removing it even more. Living with the limitations of illness and disability is a constant daily struggle, to impose further restrictions on us, when we are at our most vulnerable, is simply heartless, mislead and shows a massive lack of understanding of our needs.