Labour doubles down on slashing billions from DWP's disability benefits bill
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its cool fella i take very little serious unless its my dawnie calling me by my full name then i duck or get my wallet out
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£106 trillion is greater than the world's economy was my point.
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The Conservatives said the messages showed there is a "rot" in the party that "needs fixing".
"There is a clear contempt for pensioners in the Labour Party," said Tory party co-chair Nigel Huddleston.
Which is quite ironic considering what was said & done by Boris & his government during Covid.
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Omg, that is terrible, they are heartless
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Its traumatising unless anyones expericened it would never understand when you read what they written all lies i literally sent my form back in july i think i actually wrote in the form dont lie i will tell you whats wrong with me i also stated that ive got ptsd from these vile assessments i think alot of us have everything feels worse they havent made changes legally but they been told to. Double down hard
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Its all an act like jokers in a classroom thier actually shameful first time i watched them arguing i thought is this real ??? Our lifes in thier hands or thier masters hands
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liars and cheats never prosper they all get caught out in the end
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@michael57 Sadly, they do.
Now, I'm not asserting/generalising that they all do, but very (too many) at the DWP do. They do lie, and prosper, in reasonably well paid jobs that they're unfit to be in.
First hand experience here of a nurse colleague who worked for one of the Assessment companies for six months, leaving because she was unable to meet the targets of number of assessments needed to be done in a day. Her new colleagues showed her how to meet her targets. Completing their assessments via the paperwork prior to telephone conversations and shortcutting the telephone assessments to give them the answer they, the DWP, wanted. i.e. Decline. Along with other shortcuts I'll not go into. Was not just to meet targets it was to then receive bonuses. I believe there was a Despatches channel 4 programme some years ago about this type of behaviour and known to management.
I've also been on the receiving end of their lies, ie. 'Can stand in theatre for up to 12 hours a day'. One, I did not work in theatre since my training 10 years prior and two, I have never worked 12 hour shifts in the last 7 years. Was all in the open at Tribunal and I received PIP award and an apology off the DWP.
It is inconceivable that the DWP and government - all the supposedly bright brains running a country, are unable to fathom out how to detect and prevent fraudulent claims. It is really not that difficult. Insurers do it all the time and rightly so.
What is galling, is that those making genuine claims and have evidence are treated so appallingly at what is often the most vulnerable time in their life.
Shame on the DWP, shame on the government and shame on anybody who thinks likewise.
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Keep safe Nightcity, whatever happens don't let them get to you xx
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Cancelled mine the same time Summerlove, even then Starmer looked like nothing but an opportunist in Blair's shoes.
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Very true
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I'm quite sure Starmer won't get an epiphany Apple, or any of the front bench. The right have a strangle-hold on the Labour party + they've made so many enemies with the public now I don't think they've a hope of getting back in, what with Reform snapping at their heels. I suspect the real problem is they don't have any real "labour" values at all, they're cozying up to big business + investors just as New Labour did, and they're making policies to feather their own nests. Take Streeting for example and his grand scheme to involve even more private health companies into NHS work. Bet he goes straight into a plush private health job straight after he leaves politics… And apart from Raynor, who amongst them have had the slightest conception what it's like to live in poverty? Most of them haven't a clue.
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okay personally this is what i think should be passed on to the powers that be in government. before you can even think about starting to get those people with disabilities who use a wheelchair or a small mobility scooter who are able to work. the infrastructure needs to be put in place. firstly 90% of the railway stations in the uk need to be made disabled friendly along with ensuring there are enough staff to man the ramps. secondly all buses in the uk need to be built to the same design as the london buses with a center ramp and disabled bay. and lastly all wok places need to not only be accessible but also have disabled toilets. it seems to me that the government have put the proverbial cart before the horse, and we are all going to be punished for something that is of the governments own fault through a total lack of foresight and planning. i cannot help wondering if scope or any of the other charities have brought this to the governments attention during their discussions.
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That’s exactly what happened to me. Random phone call from a im assuming nurse but idk, at 4:30pm I chose to answer it. She started off the call with ‘I can see you’ve sent 10 pieces of evidence so I just wanted to ask you a couple of quick questions’ making me think that I was going to be accepted basically. Whilst I was home alone with my child who was calling me over and over obviously I didn’t want to answer personal questions about my mental health and behaviours and she acted like she understood and was sympathetic but stupid me can’t express what I need or mean I should have said no I can’t talk about this now. Which is one of the reasons I applied cos I can’t communicate properly and get my point across.
I don’t ever answer my phone normally and the only reason I did is cos I googled the number and my partner was out id normally have given the phone to him but obviously I couldn’t.
The report they wrote has genuinely devastated me and they know that there’s a safeguarding risk with my history and they chose to completely lie and screw me anyway. Genuinely it’s like they’ve written it about a stranger they don’t care at all what they do to people. I heard before that they do things like this but it was 10x worse than I could have ever imagined. God knows how long it’s going to take me to recover from it all0 -
Rachel reeves husband previously worked for the tories as director General for finance for dwp.
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@mangomungo I had to go for a mandatory reconsideration which was declined and then Tribunal, was 18 months in total. Tribunal panel were OK/decent and saw the evidence etc. It's fair to say they were pretty hacked off with the DWP and that's putting it mildly.
I hope you're appealing and I'm so sorry though that you're going through this.
My award is to Aug 27 and the letter states they'll contact me from Aug 26 so I'm under no illusion that here we go again, another fight on to try and keep it, even to the awarded date of 2027.
I was in two minds whether to report the person (a nurse) who was my Assessor, to the NMC. They were very obvious lies. I know the code of conduct well, as a nurse myself, but I didn't. If I experience the same next time then I hope I've got the courage/wherewithal to do that. Wondered tbh if it would harm my claim but how my health has declined further so much I think I'd be too angry to allow that to happen again without taking action. I do wish you well and if you're appealing that you get awarded. It took a lot for me to keep my head going through it but the sheer unfairness and injustice is definitely what kept me onto it. Take good care x
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Btw, the NMC code of conduct I referred to is specifically the requirement to "act with honesty and integrity at all times". It is a central principle of the Code and I'd imagine the NMC would take a dim view of a breach.
When mine was reviewed I asked what her qualification was, she was a mental health nurse (perhaps I should have asked her PIN number with the NMC to check she's registered but I hadn't anticipated the lies).
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Has anyone heard of HAAS (Health Assessment Advisory Service), it is apparently new and has been set up nationally and so that the various Assessing companies assess for PIP, HC, ESA, and one other, lically/regionally, and coordinate back into HAAS I can't remember if the other benefit is LCW/RA (BTW, I'm sorry if I'm late to 'the party' here and it's all common knowledge apart from me who's only just discovered its' existence 🤭). Anyway, I digress.
My point is another post on here I previously made regarding bonuses paid to Assessing staff/staff being untruthful in their assessments.
I've seen elsewhere on here commentary that they are not paid bonuses. That may well be correct - my 'knowledge' of that was hearsay (not the untruths which were directly relating to my claim) really but I'd like to elaborate.
Serco for instance have just been awarded a 5 year contract and are recruiting for Functional Assessors (salary 37.5k to 45.5k pa). Disturbingly, a 1k 'salary uplift' can be paid at 6 and again at 12 months service, based on 'performance'. I assert this is a bonus, wrapped up all nicely with a ribbon by a different name. ('Good performance' will hardly be based on passing applicants for benefits). Their job description makes for an interesting read.
My point to assist is this. Please ask your Assessor what their qualification is (they are accountable under their Code of Conduct to act with integrity and honesty, and to cause no harm, certainly if they're a nurse. Others, such as physiotherapists and paramedics will be working under a Code of Conduct too). I've posted about this above somewhere.
Finally, I appreciate I'm stating the obvious but it's crucial to keep evidence. Only because I'm a bit of a hoarder with paperwork did I have full evidence that I was able to demonstrate the Assessor had lied throughout my Report (I'd kept all sorts of nonsense but some retrieved from my online banking like car parking charges that proved valuable in some of my evidence).
So sorry for long post but IF it can help just one person, then not sorry. With upcoming changes that may be made, evidence supporting claims could become more important than ever 😐
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Plus... how did I miss this one.... once they are an Approved Functional Asessor with Serco for instance, can then receive a 10% bonus (c 3,750.00 - 4,550.00) based on 'quality and performance '. Let's not enable, without question, obscene bonuses if they're based on unfair lies. The honesty and transparency Serco mention in relation to their employees should be afforded to the claimants.
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The one I couldn't remember was UC
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