What do you think about benefits sanctions? - Page 2 — Scope | Disability forum
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What do you think about benefits sanctions?

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Comments

  • leeCal
    leeCal Community member Posts: 7,550 Disability Gamechanger
    Sanctions create crimeless victims. 
    Some years ago some advisors from the USA couldn’t believe how generous and easy to obtain our benefits were. Following that not much happened until we had mass migration here, that, like it or not, put a huge strain on benefits and working tax credits to such an extent that the government were forced to act to reduce both these things. Sanctions are a part of making it difficult to be on benefits and “incentivising” people to work. Of course they hit the people who need help the most even from a humanistic point of view. Some people are not good at following rules, some people don’t even understand the rules and sometimes the rules haven’t even been broken...by the claimant. Sanctions also help to create animosity or even hatred of the dwp who in this instance are just seen as yet another bunch of authority figures. The damage sanctions do in this respect will have ramifications in the future not just on the government and their agencies but also negatively affect society generally. It’s corporate abuse in my opinion.

    “This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.” 
    ― Dalai Lama XIV

  • Waylay
    Waylay Community member, Scope Member Posts: 973 Pioneering
    @leeCal

    Wow, people are still spouting this nonsense? This idea that mass immigration is the problem is pushed by the government, the media, and political groups that don't like immigration, so that people will scapegoat immigrants and ignore the fact that the Tories are at fault for austerity, the drop in wages, the loss of public services, the waning NHS, etc. Don't go by what you read in the Mail or see on TV. 

    Refugees and Asylum Seekers get access to some benefits when they arrive, which I think is our moral duty. There aren't very many of them, though. Europeans can get JSA under *some circumstances*, but not for very long. 

    European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals

    If you are an EEA national, you need to show you have a ‘right to reside’ (can legally live here) and are ‘habitually resident’ (this is the place where you normally live) in the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland.

    *If you are not working, you will not generally be entitled to income-related benefits.*

    Jobseeker’s Allowance and Housing Benefit

    Before you can claim income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance you must have been living in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Republic of Ireland for the three months immediately before making your claim.

    EEA nationals with ‘jobseeker’ residency status can claim income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance for up to six months. You will have a Genuine Prospect of Work assessment after three months.

    EEA nationals with ‘retained worker’ residency status can claim income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance for up to nine months. You will have a Genuine Prospect of Work assessment after six months.

    *EEA jobseekers cannot claim Housing Benefit.*

    Non-EEA nationals

    *If you are a third country national (a national of a non-EU country) with limited leave, including work permit holders, spouses and civil partners during the two year probationary period, you generally won’t be able to receive any benefits.*

    People with indefinite leave

    If you have indefinite leave to enter or stay in the UK you will generally have the same access to benefits as UK citizens.

    If you are sponsored

    If a UK sponsor has agreed to fund your stay in the UK, you won’t be entitled to claim income-related benefits for five years, from your date of entry into the UK or from the date the sponsorship was signed (whichever is later), unless your sponsor dies.

  • whistles
    whistles Community member Posts: 1,583 Disability Gamechanger
    Geoark said:
    andyjd said:
    Geoark said:
    andyjd said:
    Leave the disabled their carers alone and target the work shy.
    Hi @andyjd that is fine but it depends on your interpretation of work shy. For the tories this includes many of the disabled.
    My definition of work shy is those jobseekers who have no desire to get a job and refuse to job interviews. 
    Same as the government then. After all it was one of the justifications in reducing the benefits for those in the wrag group who were taking a lot longer to transition into work compared to JSA.
    And that's why they were placed into that group in the first place. Because it will take them longer and they need addition help.
    My understanding though is new claimants in the work related ESA get the same money as job seekers. So I don't really see the purpose of it? Must be because it's there- besides cutting more money before you get it.

    I don't know how many of us on this forum are living on less money since all these changes came in.
    I am and I know I won't be the only one. I still think the intention is to reduce from everyone, disability or not somehow during the process. 
    Do not follow me, I don't know where I am going.
  • Geoark
    Geoark Community member Posts: 1,463 Disability Gamechanger
    @whistles I am not sure everyone has seen reductions, however for many disabled people the hits have been three ways.

    Cuts in non disability benefits, cuts aimed specifically at disability benefits, and the huge cuts in local council allowances and therefor cuts in services to disabled people, but also other cuts in services to the non disabled people as well.

    I don't have experience of WRAG but my understanding it is less rigorous in forcing job searching activities compared to JSA. Not sure how UC changes this.

    As an individual I stood alone.
    As a member of a group I did things.
    As part of a community I helped to create change!

  • whistles
    whistles Community member Posts: 1,583 Disability Gamechanger
    Cuts to the council I noticed because I can't now contribute because I don't have any funds to top up.

    As for UC apparently just been to court about the premuims. 
    It's like disaster is just following the dwp about!
    I wouldn't be rolling out more mess.

    Do not follow me, I don't know where I am going.
  • leeCal
    leeCal Community member Posts: 7,550 Disability Gamechanger
    @Waylay
    Don't go by what you read in the Mail or see on TV. ” 
    really?! No we should go by what we see in our crystal ball of course. 
    Im not political and have no axe to grind with immigrants as I’m a second generation immigrant myself! Which is partly why I don’t feel the need to be deaf dumb and blind when it comes to the issue of mass immigration to this country. It isn’t very bright to confuse issues about immigration with racism, we are talking about quite a complex thing so it pays to concentrate and avoid becoming emotional about it. Too many foreigners in a country actually impact on the stability of the culture of that country, it’s ohvious. Secondly the vast majority of the immigrants that came here, and remember immigrant is a word nothing more, were and still are economic migrants seeking to exploit in whatever way they can this once generous and welcoming country. Wiising up to this after our support systems have been fatally damaged will be and probably is now too late. My children have been to universities around the country and they too are highly sensitive to the word immigrant! They also like to gag people by the simple knee jerk reaction of saying that the subject is off limits because it’s about racism. Though they’re my children they too have been tricked by the media, politicians and special minority interest groups into gagging people by calling them racists. As I said, it’s actually not bright to look at this way. My children also meet many foreign students at their universities but I point out that most of these are from middle class backgrounds and share middle class values with most people around the world. The majority of economic migrants are not middle class and have been used to a harsh way of life, they are prepared to do what it takes to get here and once here what it takes to thrive, regardless. Once they become significantly large as groups they will attempt to recreate a version of their own home countries society unless we stop treating them with kid gloves and try to integrate them properly.

    the Torres may have been in government and forced through various cuts but what would any party have done faced with spiralling demand and spiralling costs through benefits and tax credits. Tax credits being one way that thousands of employers managed to keep basic wages low and exploit the tax credit system to vicariously supplement profits. I don’t agree with cutting benefits in the way that they have at all, what the Torres have done is as usual taken a legitimate need to manage the public purse and used it as an opportunity to make big and lasting changes to reduce government expenditure. They’ve over cooked the books In other words, gone too far. Some of our current problems is down to their ineptitude, however I don’t think any other party would’ve done any better. Maybe it’s because the finest brains don’t go into politics, something else to fix in the future maybe.

    now where’s my crystal ball.

    “This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.” 
    ― Dalai Lama XIV

  • leeCal
    leeCal Community member Posts: 7,550 Disability Gamechanger
    @waylay, furthermore I don’t read the Mail I read the daily news online from the heavily biased BBC and sky news, I also watch the news on the tv on either main channel and sometimes watch programs like question time and newsnight etc. What more can I do I wonder? Where is this source of pure Truth that you have that allows you to be so enlightened and know the ‘real’ story? 
    I expect that my sources of information are similar to yours and everybody else’s, sometimes however you must read between the lines so to speak.
    pax.

    “This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.” 
    ― Dalai Lama XIV

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 68 Listener
    MelWilkes said:

    At Scope, we want to tell Government how the system could be improved to better support disabled people who aren’t working. We wanted to started this thread for disabled people to share their views on sanctions.  

    What do you think should be done differently with benefit sanctions?

    If the Government stopped applying benefits sanctions, how would you feel about applying for benefits?

    Feedback and ideas shared on this thread will be used anonymously to shape Scope’s contribution to the work and pensions committee inquiry in to sanctions.

    Mel in Scope's Policy and Campaigns Team 


  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 68 Listener
    I think the sanctions are a disgrace a few year ago I got sanctioned they said I 
    Was not doing enough but I did not know how to use a computer I appealed went to the tribunal the judge agreed with me they still robbed me of 2 weeks benefit 
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  • leeCal
    leeCal Community member Posts: 7,550 Disability Gamechanger
    These people are just fine
    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6254170/sunday-times-rich-list-2018-jim-ratcliffe-richest-people-uk/

    But are are they really happy? “When there’s always biscuits in the tin, where’s the fun in biscuits?” ( from men behaving badly)

    “This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.” 
    ― Dalai Lama XIV

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  • leeCal
    leeCal Community member Posts: 7,550 Disability Gamechanger
    @Victoriad Excellent research skills! Hence ‘awesome’ 
    had an early day today so I’m nodding off, hope I dream of the winning numbers for the next lottery. ?

    “This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.” 
    ― Dalai Lama XIV

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