tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764541874043694159.post6623578058416381159..comments2024-03-28T12:23:39.665+00:00Comments on Coppola Comment: Fix the bureaucracy, for heaven's sake! Frances Coppolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09399390283774592713noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764541874043694159.post-38033053567691327432012-10-16T18:12:59.021+01:002012-10-16T18:12:59.021+01:00Anecdotal evidence only but the DWP has been catas...Anecdotal evidence only but the DWP has been catastrophic to the point of farcical for me.<br /><br />During my ESA renewal the form (sent recorded delivery) was said never to have been received and my claim was closed from one day to the next with no warning, leading to suspension of all benefits.<br /><br />I had to place an appeal just to ask for the case to be reopened (not even against the decision, just to ask for them to please MAKE a decision!). It then took several more weeks for the actual reassessment itself to take place and for me to be awarded ESA and be put in the support group. <br /><br />This fiasco happened to someone who was known to them to be seriously disabled, in the support group and getting daily care from social services. Whether they thought a miracle had occurred I'm not quite sure.<br /><br />In total I was without benefits for 9 weeks. Luckily I had a good job before becoming ill and disabled and have savings I could fall back on. Otherwise I don't know what I would have done. For one thing I am physically unable to even get to a food bank and have no idea if they are accessible.<br />Spoonydocnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764541874043694159.post-36842861543200103842012-10-16T13:07:04.766+01:002012-10-16T13:07:04.766+01:00Two brief comments on this, Francis:
1 - There ha...Two brief comments on this, Francis:<br /><br />1 - There has been lots of work on the impacts of this DWP system failure by advice agencies funded by the Baring Foundation - you can see some of the results here: http://www.adviceuk.org.uk/projects-and-resources/projects/radical/nottinghampilot<br /><br />&<br /><br />2 - The issue of poverty-while-waiting-for-a-decision is going to get *massively* worse next year. Currently when a claimant appeals against an Employment support Allowance decision they can get emergency payments while waiting for the appeal to be heard (which leaves them unthinkably poor, but with some cash at least). From next year the DWP is going to internally reconsider all decision before passing them to the Tribunal Service for the full appeal hearing - however there is going to be no time-limit for the reconsideration and no emergency payments while the file is stuck down the back of a filing cabinet at the DWP. See here for the DWP (non-)thinking behind this: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/mandatory-consideration-consultation-response.pdf and here for a response from CPAG: http://www.cpag.org.uk/sites/all/modules/contrib/pubdlcnt/pubdlcnt.php?file=/sites/default/files/Mandatory%20consideration%20of%20revision%20before%20appeal%20-%20April%202012.doc&nid=914<br /><br />It's going to be a disaster, with thousands more disabled people made destitute, while waiting for cases to be passed to the Tribunal...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Ben Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17858151383835889843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764541874043694159.post-89536672784168546062012-10-16T13:05:19.665+01:002012-10-16T13:05:19.665+01:00This is an area of my research and it should also ...This is an area of my research and it should also be noted that bureaucratic incompetence & changing eligibility rules act as a huge disincentive to work. Many, in low skills, low wage jobs also suffer from job insecurity and often rely on zero hours contracts, temporary and agency work. But they can be reluctant to take these kinds of jobs on as they know from bitter experience the difficulties they face if/when the job finishes and they need to claim welfare again. These people have little or no personal safety net and weeks without money as they cycle between benefit claims and short term work and back again are unsustainable. It is therefore not surprising that the evidence suggests some prefer to survive long term on welfare rather than take the risk of joining the labour Market; existing & budgeting on a known amount of income (however meagre) is better than having no money for potentially for many weeks while claims are sorted.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764541874043694159.post-8610500931300840502012-10-16T12:58:53.102+01:002012-10-16T12:58:53.102+01:00"The UK government is proposing to withdraw h..."The UK government is proposing to withdraw housing benefit from under-25s, presumably in the belief that they can just stay with Mum and Dad. How they are supposed to do this while making themselves available for work anywhere in the UK is beyond me. And what about those youngsters whose parents have died, or separated, or moved abroad, or simply don't want them there? What about those who have been thrown out of the care system? Really the Government hasn't thought this through. If they go ahead with this measure far more young people will be using food banks (or sleeping in doorways)"<br /><br />What is worse is that the government may have thought this through and the resultant suffering is deliberate.I have known many claimants over my lifetime whose unemployment and / or housing benefits were suddenly stopped without any reason given to the claimant. In nearly all cases, the stoppage turned out to be a mistake, or a "computer error". <br /><br />I agree that the Guardian's explanation for the rise in food bank usage is more likely to be the correct one. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com