Official thread: ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper released Tuesday 26th November

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  • worried33
    worried33 Online Community Member Posts: 891 Championing
    edited December 2024

    The problem with 3, it is the same old. DWP have been doing this strategy for over a decade. I had a conversation with a DM from DWP over the phone (yes I know its bad to talk to DM's directly), and the fairy tales coming out of her mouth how the DWP have transformed many employers to start employing people who are unemployable, when I asked her to give me some company names, she couldnt even name a single one. When they come out with this, it makes me think they not serious and its just marketing talk. If they were serious trying to get severely ill people back to work, they would be creating working from home flexible hour working. Bringing the workplace to the home instead of moving ill people to a work place (which is now outdated working practice). Government is the biggest employer in the country, NHS, Education, Army, Police, Tax, Civil service, and they cant create any such jobs? You could as an example bring 111 back in house and make all the positions from home.

    LBC did similar recently it was one of the female ministers, she couldnt answer the question on working from home job vacancies, she couldnt answer a question on what health professionals DWP are employing to provide tailored support, and she stumbled on the question of how many disabled people have been asked for their input on the reforms. It gave a total impression of ideas being drawn up for an end goal without concern for the repercussions.

  • Zipz
    Zipz Online Community Member Posts: 1,911 Pioneering

    I remember the late nineties, in the early days of home computing/ Internet. I contacted major dot.com companies in the hope of finding work from home. I was well qualified… back then. I was also far less disabled. If my endeavours had been successful I'd have managed up to a decade of employment.

  • Zipz
    Zipz Online Community Member Posts: 1,911 Pioneering
    edited December 2024
  • Zipz
    Zipz Online Community Member Posts: 1,911 Pioneering

    How do you think they shift people from LCWRA to LCW or FTW?

    1. Changes to Descriptors
    2. Making it harder to meet Descriptors and score points
    3. Abolish LCWRA
  • Catherine21
    Catherine21 Posts: 4,999 Championing

    It really is scary t

  • Catherine21
    Catherine21 Posts: 4,999 Championing

    It's all smoke and mirrors they will change criteria and that will be it already hard enough to get faze out lwcra pip being main health benefit how can ellen clifford go to judical court if they haven't said what going to do with wca ???

  • Tumilty
    Tumilty Online Community Member Posts: 211 Empowering

    What about those that can't work because of mental illness. Makes me so angry people on media shows saying that work is good for you which for some it is. Mike Parry and the bloke on GB News is another saying that you just have to have a bit of CBT then you'll be fine, what a joke.

    Personally I've had anxiety and depression my life, mum an addict when I was born, saw child psychiatrist when I was 5 and many times through my life, covered in scars etc, what about those people who's life is a daily struggle

  • whistles
    whistles Online Community Member Posts: 2,036 Championing

    I don't think they are taking about working off you can't, they are looking at working if you can. So many people are on lcwra and simply get left for years without any input at all from any services. It's no wonder people are left feeling anxious and depressed, it could look as if their life is over.

  • Amaya_Ringo
    Amaya_Ringo Online Community Member Posts: 290 Pioneering

    This sums it up so perfectly. At the point where my DLA was ended and I had to apply for PIP, I was probably at the best point in my life, had a good balance and I had begun to feel that I had a path and a future plan which would put me almost equal with my peers.

    Then I went through a year of PIP and repeating over and over again what I couldn't do, while they mangled it and misquoted my evidence, and it destroyed all of that confidence and made me actively afraid of the DWP.

    It also interrupted my career path and training to the point the path is now no longer open. COVID ended the last hopes of that but the time wasted appealing PIP was the real death knell of my career hopes. I couldn't do all the additional stuff I needed to because of how much energy and time went on my appeal and that I had to be within range all the time as they were saying tribunals etc could be called within any two week period at the time. So very restrictive.

    PIP is a very negative benefit misrepresented in the media, as is the process of applying/obtaining it. Every time someone says 'it's easy', I shudder, because I remember those twelve months of hell.

  • Ironside1990
    Ironside1990 Online Community Member Posts: 310 Empowering

    It'It's empowering to have PIP when you are awarded it, but it's a very taxing and demoralising process to apply for it.

  • Catherine21
    Catherine21 Posts: 4,999 Championing

    28 million in benefits go unclaimed every year we all in this country could have good life's

  • Numan
    Numan Online Community Member Posts: 39 Empowering

    Unclaimed benefits is at least £19 Billion.

    https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/missing-out-%C2%A319-billion-benefits-support-goes-unclaimed-each-year

  • whistles
    whistles Online Community Member Posts: 2,036 Championing

    What do they do with this unclaimed money, why can't they plug this so called hole with it?

  • Catherine21
    Catherine21 Posts: 4,999 Championing

    Everything is designed to keep us down they know the answers for 22 black fiction hole tax the highest earners 2 percent and loads of other stuff they could do to make our country and life's good healthy happy this is exactly where they want everyone to be sad but I believe true

  • Albus_Scope
    Albus_Scope Posts: 9,474 Scope Online Community Coordinator

    I think that's a very negative way of looking at things @Catherine21 I don't think everything is designed to keep us down at all and the government know making us unhappy is ultimately a bad decision. 😆

    I'd still love to know exactly where you're reading these things, as I'd like to have a look myself. Just to see if they're coming from reputable sources. 😊

  • whistles
    whistles Online Community Member Posts: 2,036 Championing

    I actually rarely read things as news is just designed to create panic, drama and doesn't often publish facts.

    There isn't anything wrong with encouraging people back into work. Those that CAN work. We have people trapped on lcwra, by trapped I mean left to rot, no support, no encouragement. It doesn't change until you are assessed. We are dumping thousands of working age people on the scrap heap.

    I have a lifelong condition(s) , but before Covid and PIP I was doing voluntary work.

  • Andi66
    Andi66 Online Community Member Posts: 902 Championing

    I would like to try volunteering, as working would be impossible with my health problems. I'm hoping the government would encourage it for those unable to work. As at least it contributed. And sitting at home rotting not good.

  • apple85
    apple85 Online Community Member Posts: 888 Championing

    I wouldn’t use the word ‘trapped’

    However in many cases that you try and take a positive step towards getting off the system you need to think twice as it could trigger reassessment or overwise

    In my experience with the dwp it’s very black and white - either your too sick to work or do literally anything or it’s basically ‘you can do x so you are obviously healthy enough to full time work’ - there’s not a middle ground or steps towards a to z (my old work coach who seemed to like me as I was one of the few claimants that was polite to her warned me off the record not to make any major step towards work unless I was 100% ready for the jobcentre to start pushing for any old job interviews)

    so I wouldn’t used the word trapped - but being a disabled claimant trying to move off system into suitable & safe work is like hiking up mount Fiji and the dwp fill your rucksack with ridiculously heavy dumbbell weights………….

    And these extra barriers blocking the possibility of success does disillusion over time - every time you try and fail or get blocked your MH and self worth takes a hit and it gets harder and harder to muster the energy to try again (and it’s a bad attitude to have but you do end up thinking why bother if everything is stacked up towards failure or your life/health decreasing substantially regardless)

    On this thread I’ve suggested that prehaps long term we are best trying to jump through labours hope to stop an even worse case scenario for disabled being trusted on in 4 years (apparently the guardian was thinking along the same lines)

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/06/labour-government-keir-starmer-nigel-farage

    however the dwp do need to do their part in ripping down multiple ‘barriers’, totally change the culture & thought process of job centres and dwp staff, provide more forms of actual help and provide more definitions to the word ‘success’ (note to Kendall, timms and McGovern - paid employment is not the only useful contribution that disabled ppl can make to society and saying it to media every few days do not make it so nor does it endear you to the disabled community)

  • apple85
    apple85 Online Community Member Posts: 888 Championing

    I’m not sure Kendall personally reads her own email and I’m not sure their egos would allow them to consider an idea that they didn’t come up with.

    I think Kendall said that she wanted to collaborate with the disabled community in terms of future reform - if there is another dwp public consultation it’s more like the one streeting launched for the nhs a couple of weeks back where all suggestions & ideas can be submitted no matter how bonkers (instead of begging the dwp to use their common sense as to why pip and vouchers don’t mix)

    @Andi66 theres a couple of things I can’t post in official term on this thread - would it be okay to PM you some point over the coming week?

This discussion has been closed.