Benefit Cheats & genuine people who are chronically unwell.

pooleemily29
pooleemily29 Community Member Posts: 224 Empowering

Hi, I would just like to post a discussion on here to address the issue that I have with one of the annoying TV morning shows on TV Jeremy Vine on channel 5. I was watching it yesterday on YouTube and they were talking about benefit cheats now I don't know about you but it really hacks me off when people like that panelist Paula turns and says we shouldn't have put that Benefit cheat green woman behind bars for 8 months im sorry what planet is that woman on? If she (Green) had cheated the system meant for genuine people who need help with certain things she (Green) deserves to spend 8 months behind bars.

What do you think? Should she have gone to prison or not? Was that panelist Paula woman right? I say no.

What do you guys think?

@pooleemily29

Comments

  • luvpink
    luvpink Community Member Posts: 5,204 Championing

    No idea who she is and I don't watch the Jeremy Vine show or YouTube

  • WhatThe
    WhatThe Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 6,038 Championing
  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Community Member Posts: 6,264 Championing

    The person in question was all over various media last month. She faked conditions to get PIP. Link below:

    Housebound' benefits cheat caught at gym classes - BBC News

    However, it costs more than twice as much to keep someone in prison for a month than it does to keep them on benefits for a month. So personally I would say this type of crime shouldn't result in wasting more public money on imprisonment. They should have to pay the money back. And in my opinion, provide some sort of community service to provide for others rather than further draining public funds.

  • SheffieldMan1976
    SheffieldMan1976 Posts: 3,080 Connected

    Unfortunately, due to this kind of thing happening on a semi regular basis, the right thinks ALL benefit claimants are on the make, especially the disabled.

  • WelshBlue
    WelshBlue Community Member Posts: 1,423 Championing
    edited May 28

    I'm not a lover of Jeremy Vine and he's no lover of the benefits system and those on them, and would love to see him (and the panellists survive for a year on them) compared to his £300,000 + a year salary, and he can dish words out but not take it himself (different rant)

    … but this woman was really taking the mickey. If they couldn't recoup the 'losses' by assets … house seizure etc then prison was the only alternative ?

    That said I do agree with @OverlyAnxious about the cost outweighing the gains to the public purse. So what do you do ? Above my benefits pay scale to sort that one

    Being sent to prison is the punishment. Being there is rehabilitation (MoJ) I'm not sure how much rehabilitation she'll get being out in 4 months. And in one way she got off lightly, theft from employer could have seen a much bigger sentence. Or suspended. Depending on the Judge … which is another rant for another day

    One things for sure, people like her give us all a bad name … I feel guilty if I do a bit of DIY and people see me. But they never see the aftermath …

  • egiste2r
    egiste2r Posts: 161 Connected

    Unfortunately, I know this disease well, and it has many stages and characteristics. I fully admit that in some bright moments, she could have been involved in sports. In her case, I haven't seen any medical information written by doctors that would incriminate her in deception. Working out and running aren't proof, except perhaps for uneducated people who know nothing about rheumatology.

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Community Member Posts: 6,264 Championing

    PIP is about functional ability on the majority of days.

    If someone has been able to train repeatedly over many months to the point where they're running a 10k, that doesn't fit the descriptors that were claimed.

    No one is disputing the medical condition, but the functional ability that this individual has.

  • egiste2r
    egiste2r Posts: 161 Connected

    For example, at some stages of arthritis, you can take a large dose of narcotic painkillers and even exercise for a while while they're working, provided there's no damage to muscles or other parts of the body. However, a large dose of narcotic painkillers inevitably comes with consequences, such as severe headaches, constipation, and other problems. And it's very difficult to get such narcotic painkillers on a regular basis, and doctors rarely approve of them. Conventional pain relief, on the other hand, usually doesn't work.