In this edition we have news that the DWP have failed to disclose changes to Atos health professionals’ guidance which may mean many people with visual impairments and hearing impairments have missed out on being placed in the support group.
We also look at what is likely to happen to current DLA awards if PIP goes through as it stands and give you the chance to assess yourself and have your say – hundreds of people already have.
Plus news of ‘a daring and disruptive act of civil disobedience’ due to happen in central London this Saturday in protest at the cuts to benefits.
But first, we’re trying out a new way of offering our DLA and ESA guides that may appeal to you.
BUY GUIDES FOR UNDER £10
We still recommend taking out an annual subscription to get the most out of the Benefits and Work website. That way you get to download all our guides as often as you need – and whenever they are updated – as well as getting access to DWP materials, members only news and the forum.
But we want to make the guides available to as many people as possible.
So, for a limited period, you can get instant access to a set of our 4 most downloaded DLA guides or ESA guides for just £9.95.
This is just a pilot. We’re definitely running it until Monday night, but then we’ll be making a decision about whether to continue or not.
However, for newsletter readers, we’re also offering you the opportunity to upgrade.
If you buy a set of guides and decide within a week that you’d prefer to subscribe to the whole site, just email us a copy of your PayPal receipt and we’ll send you details of how to deduct the cost of the guides from the price of your subscription.
And, as always, there’s a 7 day, no quibble, money-back guarantee if you’re not happy with your purchase.
You can buy sets of the guides from here (Open access) – or take out an annual subscription from here. (Open access)
SECRET CHANGES TO ESA
The DWP have kept secret changes to Atos health professionals guidance which may mean many people with visual impairments and hearing impairments have missed out on being placed in the support group.
The guidance relates to the understanding communication activity. Previously health professionals had been told that claimants must have problems both with seeing and with hearing before they could be awarded points. But new guidance issued in November 2011 and uncovered by RNIB tells staff that a claimant who has severe problems with either activity may be eligible for the support group.
However , there is no evidence that the DWP are revisiting decisions where claimants were assessed using the ‘wrong’ guidance. There is also uncertainty about whether the LIMA software used by Atos has been updated to take the changes into account. RNIB are pursuing the matter.
Members can get more details (Members only) and download a copy of the guidance. Our ESA on physical health grounds guide has been updated to reflect the new guidance.
DLA TO PIP – WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
By now you undoubtedly know that an amendment in the House of Lords to delay the introduction of PIP was unsuccessful. However, campaigners say that the main reason for this was that the government gave in (Open access) to virtually all their demands in order to avoid losing the vote.
So a big thank you to everyone who responded to our request to do 3 things in the last newsletter. One of those three things was to sign Pat’s petition asking for a pause to welfare reform. The petition had a huge surge, with over 2,000 signatures being added in less than a day after the newsletter went out. But 75,000 more signatures are still needed, so if you haven’t signed yet – here’s the link to Pat’s Petition.
There’s now little room for doubt that PIP will be introduced next year. The only real question is whether anything can be done to make it less unfair than it is at present.
To that end we’ve got some resources that we hope you will make use of.
We’ve produced a PIP self-test (Open access) that allows you to score yourself for the daily living and mobility components of PIP with a few clicks of your mouse. It will do the maths for you, tell you what components you assess yourself as qualifying for and even email you a copy of your results if you want it to.
We’ve also published details of the points system (Open access), how many you need to score to get awards of PIP and definitions of some of the main terms that are used in the PIP test.
Finally, we’ve put a survey online (Open access) that allows you to compare your current DLA award with the award you assess yourself as qualifying for under PIP. It also lets you say whether you think PIP is an improvement over DLA and what difference you think PIP will make to your life.
The survey is completely anonymous, but the results and comments are being published online as they arrive.
Hundreds of people have already completed the survey and there are some very clear trends emerging, especially in relation to how many people are expecting to lose their higher rate mobility – and how few people think PIP is an improvement over DLA.
You can read the survey results here (Open access). We would warn you, however, not to read the comments at the end of the survey about how PIP will change people’s lives if you are feeling at all low or vulnerable – some are quite distressing.
We’re hoping that 5,000 DLA claimants will complete the survey. This is the same number of individuals who contributed to the DWP’s last consultation on PIP, the one that was the subject of the Spartacus report. On that occasion the DWP span and distorted claimants’ responses. Our survey, on the other hand, is completely transparent – the results can be read by everyone in real time. We hope that campaigners will be able to use the results to give a more honest picture of how PIP is viewed by disabled claimants.
The survey takes literally no more than sixty seconds to complete, so long as you know what scores you assess yourself as getting for PIP. Please consider taking part and please pass the word on to others who may be interested.
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
Just as we were preparing this newsletter we received a press release stating that “Disabled People Against Cuts, Disabled People’s Direct Action Network and UK Uncut will occupy an area of central London in a ‘daring and disruptive’ act of civil disobedience in opposition to the government’s Welfare Reform Bill which is currently being debated in the Lords.”
Activists are meeting at 11am on Saturday 28 January at Holborn tube station and taxis will be available to take people to an undisclosed location. More details here (External link).
OTHER NEWS
There’s much more news in the members area (Members only) than we can fit into this newsletter.
Many thanks to everyone who has sent in news stories over the last fortnight, including: Beverley Hymers, John Pring, papasmurf, Gordon, papasmurf, Jim Otram, Crazydiamond and lannan.
GOOD NEWS FROM THE FORUM – OPEN ACCESS LINKS
Finally, as always, a selection of good news from the forum:
Placed in ESA Support Group without need for medical assessment
ESA WRAG decision changed to Support Group after request for reconsideration
Placed in ESA Support Group without need for medical assessment
DLA successfully renewed, high rate mobility awarded for 2 years
Transferred from IB to ESA and placed in Support Group
ESA appeal successful, placed in WRAG
ESA decision reconsidered after request for appeal, placed in WRAG
DLA reviewed and awarded at same rate, high rate care and high rate mobility
Placed in ESA Support Group after request for appeal, originally placed in WRAG
Moved from ESA WRAG to Support Group without need to attend medical assessment
DLA successfully renewed, middle rate care and low rate mobility awarded for 5 years
Decision on ESA reconsidered after request for appeal, placed in WRAG
You are welcome to reproduce this newsletter on your blog, website, forum or newsletter provide it is properly attributed to www.benefitsandwork.co.uk
You can also read this newsletter online (Open access).
Good luck,
Steve Donnison
Next NTWSU&C network meeting: this Friday, 20th January
Please find attached an agenda for this Friday’s meeting,12.30pm at the Moving Forward Service, Carliol square, Newcastle upon Tyne (map attached). Also find attached draft minutes from November’s meeting (there was no December meet).
Do note that Friday’s meeting is a combined/complementary one with AIM (Altering Images of Mentality).
Please come along, and also encourage service users and carers of your acquaintance to attend too.
Cheers,
Alisdair
Alisdair Cameron
LAUNCHPAD Team Leader,
NTWSU&C n/wk co-chair (with Mish Loraine)
(for network business: ntwsuc)
LAUNCHPAD
Offices 210 and 211,
Holy Jesus Hospital,
City Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 2AS
Tel 0191 2330382 (personal mobile 07736074213)
E-mail launchpadncl
or alisdairscameron
www.launchpadncl.org.uk
Yet Another Mailout (YAM), but the first of 2012…(please circulate)
…probably not the last,though. Indeed there will be another one this week, most likely Friday, with more of the opinion/commentary type stuff, including coverage of the Government’s hat-trick of defeats last week in the House of lords over their welfare ‘reforms’. Let’s just confine remarks at the moment to congratulating the many of us who’ve been campaigning on the issue: the war’s not over by a long chalk, but we’ve won a battle or three. Oh, and one shouldn’t really laugh as the catastrophic display by the Govt’s spokesperson in the Lords for the savage ‘reforms’, Lord Freud the former banker, workfare advocate, who basically lost the plot,but ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Oh, heck, he’s been voted down, but tries to abuse parliamentary process to get his way. How,er,noble, My Lord.
Straight info and dates for your diary now. It must be noted that these have something of a Newcastle/North Tyneside/Gateshead flavour to them (not exclusively so) so, you know what to do if those aren’t your neck of the woods? Send your info in, and if more do that, more gets sent out to the millions* of readers (* possible number, not yet verified).
Allons-y, let’s go, in roughly chronological order
First up because it’s,um,tonight (sorry, Bill for not getting it out sooner) is the flyer (attached) for the North East Adult ADHD support group. You won’t receive it in time to attend or signpost others, but note the contact details:‘phone Bill on aadhd_ne or go to our website http://aadhd-ne-uk.weebly.com/ which has a convenient contact form
Next, as ever a host of updates from our good friends at NSUN. Read them all, here,here,here and here.
The next meeting of the North Tyneside MDF Bipolar group will take place on Thursday 19th January, 6 – 8 PM at the Shiremoor Centre, Earsdon Road, Shiremoor, Tyne & Wear, NE27 0HJ.
Now news of a focus group/consultation with service users about the use of s.135 and s.136 powers (basically, being sectioned by the police). It’s on the 24th of January, 1 pm at Launchpad, with lunch provided, and tokens for participants’ time. Let us know if you can attend. Details attached.
Thursday 26th of January sees the latest meeting of the North East Healthy Deaf Minds Forum, for those who are D/deaf and experience / have experienced mental ill-health.6.30pm-8.30pm, at Central square,Forth Street, Newcastle upon Tyne,NE1 3PJ(Behind Newcastle Central Station)
Now, do you as a service user or carer, or do service users and/or carers known to you have an interest in the theatre and possibly playwriting? If so, there’s a workshop on the 30th of January (again at Launchpad). Details attached. Do come along (it’s free).
Next, there are a few (not loads, mind) places for a talk on Friday 3rd February by Guy Holmes, author of ‘Psychology in the Real World’ who is coming to the North East to talk about co-facilitating community-based groups with local service users. To book a place, you must e-mail richard.house . The venue is the Lit&Phil Society (just along from Newcastle Central Station), 1.45pm for a 2pm start. The talk is brought to us by the NE Community Psychology Special Interest Group.
Okay, beginning to wind down this e-mail, but five more items to go (loads more later in the week, with added comment too):
Attached is the timetable for future meetings of SURF/canvas, open to all mental health service users and carers in Durham and Chester le Street and Derwentside.
Then we have the latest timetable running from now through to March from our estimable friends at Gateshead Clubhouse, Moving Forward Service, attached as a spreadsheet.
Meanwhile from the Moving Forward Service in Newcastle, we have the January newsletter (pdf attached).
Lastly on the newsletter front, there is the MHNE newsletter, towards which many service users and carers and members of the regionwide network (NEt) and the NTWSU&C network have contributed news items they’ve found in the press and online.
And to finish off, since we’ve made mention of the regionwide service user and carer network, NEt, comes very exciting news. NEt helped to source funding for a play written by a playwright and artist, sean burn, who’s experienced mental health problems himself. That play, "next swan down the river might be black" is being performed professionally, and will be in three regional venues.
A poetic and personal response to being detained under the mental health act, following the authors own ‘sectioning’. Witness the shifting alliances of three young women on a psychiatric ward over one momentous week.
Feb 14th and 15th, 7.30pm Customs House studio, South Shields.
Feb 16th, 7.30pm Queen’s Hall, Hexham.
March 28th, 7.30 pm (BSL interpreted), and March 29th, 2.00pm matinee, and 7.30pm evening performance, Theatre Royal studio, Newcastle upon Tyne
Buy your tickets. here’s the website
Cheers,
Alisdair
Alisdair Cameron
LAUNCHPAD Team Leader,
NTWSU&C n/wk co-chair (with Mish Loraine)
(for network business: ntwsuc)
LAUNCHPAD
Offices 210 and 211,
Holy Jesus Hospital,
City Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 2AS
Tel 0191 2330382 (personal mobile 07736074213)
E-mail launchpadncl
or alisdairscameron
www.launchpadncl.org.uk
North East ADHD adult support group leaflet jan 2012.doc
S136 event 24 01 2012_Flyer.doc
Yet Another Mailout, part II
Jings, crivvens and help ma Boab. Why is it that stories, news and information keeps piling in? Back again with part 2 of Yet Another Mailout. The last one before the joy and happiness (cough,splutter) that is the Christmas break, Do send on, recirculate,recycle, do what you will with the contents.
First up, a little reminder that there will be no NTWSU&C meeting in December, with the next one coming on the 20th of Jan at the Moving Forward Service,Newcastle. The full region-wide user and carer network, NEt also meets next in January, watch this space for details.
So what have we got in Santa’s sack?
A quick opener of the latest news from NSUN, our very good mates.
Last mailout brought the news of the demise of NEMHDU, but like a phoenix from the ashes, it’s back, with the same initials, as a social enterprise, and please find attached the first newsletter (Newsletter_1) of the North of England Mental Health Development Unit. On the newsletter front, please also find the latest (file002merged) from the MDF Newcastle (Manic Depression Fellowship: next meeting 7th Jan), and that from the Moving Forward Newcastle service (Newsletter – December 2011). Remember, if you’ve got newsletters, or news to impart, get ‘em to us and we’ll get them out to thousands* of readers. (* yeah,really!). Also attached is news of the Adult ADHD group, next meeting on the 19th of December, at a new venue (Ivy Club, St Nick’s). Next up is a job advert (yes, such things as jobs exist even today) for support workers for MHM in Middlesbrough, closing date 22nd December.
The penultimate attachment is the VONNE (Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East) health and social care round-up. Lastly by way of things pinned to this email is definitely not least and it’s the MHNE bulletin.Did I say last? Not quite, as also appended is the flyer for Nth Tyneside Arts Studio upcoming exhibition, and a couple of documents about an arts competition for service users to design covers for the Care Programme Approach Association’s newsletters.
Now, here’s a message from those nice people at NICE:
I’m pleased to let you know that the Service User Experience clinical guideline (CG136) and quality standard and has now been published. The relevant links are included below:
The quality standard is listed on the quality standard webpage;http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qualitystandards/qualitystandards.jsp The guidance documents can be found using the following link; http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG136.
Now don’t let on, but there are no surprises in there at all, and to be frank it reads like something that could have been written 15 years ago. *Sigh*.
As if we didn’t know, but belatedly the CQC cottons on :
The Care Quality Commission report Monitoring the Mental Health Act in 2010/11 shows a large scale failure in the Mental Health system. Staff who should have a legal duty to explain the IMHA service to patients did not understand it, or even know of its existence. The report also shows that funding for IMHA is not sufficient to meet demand.
20,000 people are subject to compulsory powers of the mental health act at any one time, 16,000 as in-patients; 4,000 on community treatment orders (CTOs). a4a estimates that, at this very moment, at least 5000 people are being denied access to their statutory right to advocacy.
On the topic of the CQC, Is it fit for purpose? A good article here, and a follow-on here, blaming the generals not the troops.
Ordinarily, you might anticipate at this juncture a long diatribe about the state of the nation, predicated upon the constant flow of dismaying news that is coming out about health and social care and ‘reform’ (Q. How is it that these days reform and ‘modernisation’ only ever means privatisation,marketisation,downsizing and outsourcing? Especially since neo-liberalism is both a proven failure and old hat? Answer: Because of the political/business/lobbying nexus. Look at this to see who really sets policy etc). However, so long is it since the last outpouring from this source that something of a backlog has built up, so instead there will be a long list of links to news stories and opinion pieces worth clocking, with far less accompanying flummery than hitherto employed. Normal service will resume once this pile of news has been reduced, but please accept this reduced level of commentary as an interim measure.A million apologies by the way for any errors and omissions, and particularly if in the process of clearing the backlog of items of news and stuff, I’ve inadvertently overlooked your item/submission/circular/newsletter. In a true spirit of co-production however, please also find a list of suitable words and phrases which you can use liberally as you see fit, appending them as appropriate to the stories/links.
Vicious, malicious, capricious,pernicious, meretricious, disgrace, dehumanising, appalling, heartless, ill-conceived,rank idiocy, privateering, rip-off, crony capitalism, stitch-up, pricks (kicking against), poor vulnerable and marginalised (stamping upon), ignorant, top-down, out-of-touch, designed-to-fail, scapegoating, bullying, disjointed, ideological, dogma-driven, evidence-free, witless, travesty, wunch (of bankers, now trying to run bits of the NHS for their profit),trite, glib ‘solutions’, nonsense-on-stilts,profits-before-people, Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar[Editor:Are you sure about those last three: weren't they, y'know, wise?]
Who’s afraid of the facts?
What’s being hidden?
Why Lansley’s market driven reforms are doomed to fail
The nightmare of choice
Don’t be fooled by the pilot personal healthcare budgets
The Work programme works over the voluntary and community sector
and Work Programme company tried to recruit volunteers to train clients
The BMA (possibly) finds a moral compass
The Welfare Reform Bill isn’t terribly compatible with,um, human rights. (Who’d have guessed?)
More of the obvious as Big Society is being hampered by lack of clarity (and lack of money and being a smokescreen for all sorts of shenanigans)
The demonisation of the disabled is a chilling sign of the times
Disability Benefit cuts are a disaster waiting to happen (some say it’s happening now) To view pics of the region’s "Hardest Hit" campaign demo, click here.
And the growing body count of the Big Society
Seems a bit tricky now to wish everyone the very best for the festive season, but do have a good ‘un, and more regular mailouts will return sooner than you’d imagine (and than I’d like)
Cheers,
Alisdair
Alisdair Cameron
LAUNCHPAD Team Leader,
NTWSU&C n/wk co-chair (with Mish Loraine)
(for network business: ntwsuc)
LAUNCHPAD
Offices 210 and 211,
Holy Jesus Hospital,
City Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 2AS
Tel 0191 2330382 (personal mobile 07736074213)
E-mail launchpadncl
or alisdairscameron
www.launchpadncl.org.uk
Newsletter – December 2011.pdf
North East ADHD adult support group leaflet dec2011.pdf
Support Workers – Middlesbrough Floating Dec.doc
MHNE Bulletin Friday 16th December.doc
Blog: Diary of a Benefit Scrounger
Post: Time Limiting ESA – Template Letter to Lords
Link: http://diaryofabenefitscrounger.blogspot.com/2011/12/time-limiting-esa-template-letter-to.html
There is a campaign, well worth joining, to write to a Lib Dem peer and plead with them to vote against time limiting ESA to just one year.
Template letters are certainly less effective – many parliamentarians won’t open more than one or two of them. However, they are better than not writing at all. For every peer who receives 5, 10, 50 template letters, at least they get to see the strength of feeling people have over an issue.
If you don’t have the confidence to write your own, please use this one. Peers might also remember that I write for disabled people. Many cannot write a letter themselves. Due to physical or mental disabilities, I have often had comments from those so very grateful that a template letter I have provided allowed them to engage democratically.
“Dear …………………….
I am writing to you in the hope that you will vote against time limiting ESA to just one year in the coming welfare reform bill Report Stage and Third Reading.
-700,000 people with serious illnesses and impairments will be affected by this policy, many losing any right to an independent income. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/esa-time-limit-wr2011-ia.pdf
-The means test is set at just £7,500 per year, meaning that a partner must support an unwell or disabled loved one if they earn more than this.
-Families already overwhelmingly living in poverty will lose £4661 per year. This is three times as much as higher rate taxpayers will lose in child benefit.
-This policy only affects working families and savers as it only applies to those who have contributed NI or have savings over £6000.
-It is a disincentive to work and will only encourage families to break down http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/esa-time-limit-wr2011-ia.pdf
-The only justification ministers have given for this policy is that “We can’t afford it” Sick and disabled people with limited capability for work are conflated with jobseekers as ministers claim ESA must be brought into line with JSA
-Ministers admit that 94% of those affected will not have found work by the end of the year. They also insist that it is irrelevant whether or not they have recovered. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/esa-time-limit-wr2011-ia.pdf
-People with serious, lifelong, and degenerative conditions will all be affected by this. People with MS, Cancer, Parkinsons, Bowel Disease, Kidney Failure, Heart Disease, Lung Disease, Schizophrenia, Bi-Polar and many many more conditions will lose benefits, left in limbo until they are judged unable to do any kind of work at all,. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmworpen/1015/1015vw44.htm
At your annual conference this year, Liberal Democrat members voted overwhelmingly to oppose an “arbitrary time limit” on ESA. http://carons-musings.blogspot.com/2011/09/please-support-glasgow-norths-brilliant.html Please, please, stand by the wishes of your grassroots and of your party and oppose this cruellest of measures.
We are relying on you to help us. Only Liberal Democrat peers can provide a majority and ensure that a one year time limit on sickness benefits is not made law. Please, you promised to protect the most vulnerable and if ever a policy hit the most vulnerable the hardest, then it is time limiting ESA.
Many thanks
……………………
Finally, please keep up the pressure and RT, share on Facbook, email to friends and feel free to cross post this.
DWP Hires Bounty Hunters and Crackdown On Cancer Victims
From the admirable Benefits and Work website
Dear Launchpad,
The coalition have stooped to new levels of viciousness this month.
They now propose to end exemption from employment and support allowance (ESA) medicals for people enduring the debilitating misery of chemotherapy. They also want to claw back mortgage interest payments from the estates of dead claimants.
In addition, credit checking agency Experian are to be used as ‘bounty hunters’ to go through claimants confidential financial records for evidence of fraud.
And the DWP have also teamed up with national charity Crimestoppers in a campaign which shows people with faces contorted with rage and fury – and even raising a fist – as they think about claimants they believe are committing fraud.
£15 GIFT MEMBERSHIP FOR XMAS
We can’t do anything about these increasingly ugly attacks on claimants, but we can give you the opportunity to give a Benefits and Work annual subscription to a friend or relative this Christmas for just £15, reduced from 19.45.
At a time of increasing difficulty in claiming and keeping benefits, it could be the most valuable gift you ever give. Alternatively, if you’re not a member yourself but would like to be, is there anyone out there who may be wondering what to get you for Christmas?
So, if you want to give a little Christmas cheer to a loved one – or receive some yourself – find out more about this time-limited offer.
EMPLOYMENT AND SUPPORT ALLOWANCE (ESA) NEWS
National charity Macmillan Cancer Support has been left shocked by new government proposals to end the exemption (Members only) from the work capability assessment (WCA) for claimants undergoing intravenous chemotherapy. They have now started an urgent petition against the move.
The change came about after Macmillan pointed out to the government that oral chemotherapy is often as distressing and debilitating as intravenous and yet does not exempt claimants from the WCA. Macmillan had hoped that the DWP would extend the exemption to claimants undergoing oral chemotherapy, rather than stripping it from all chemotherapy patients. A government consultation on this barbaric proposal will start soon.
Meanwhile, the DWP is already consulting on plans to claw back mortgage interest payments from the estates of dead claimants (Members only) and those who sell their houses. The proposed changes appear to be aimed at both new and existing claimants who have received support for mortgage interest. The DWP is also proposing that claimants who move onto JSA from income support or ESA should have their mortgage interest payments limited to two years.
In other ESA news, a recent government report reveals that many more people are being awarded ESA (Members only) than the coalition had expected and more are being placed in the support programme. Most of the increase is thought to be due to a higher than expected success rate for incapacity benefit claimants being assessed for ESA.
However, a parliamentary answer by a government minister (Members only) has revealed that the number of new claimants who get an award of ESA following a medical assessment is just 41%. The number of new DLA claimants who get an award is only slightly higher at 43%.
DISABILITY LIVING ALLOWANCE (DLA) NEWS
There’s less to report in relation to DLA at the moment. One excellent bit of news, however, is that the government has decided not to remove the mobility component (Members only) of disability living allowance (DLA), or personal independence payment, as it will be from 2013 from state-funded care home residents.
We’ve also published the latest two editions of Decision Maker Exchange (DME), the confidential monthly bulletin sent out to all DLA decision makers, generally to tell them what they are getting wrong.
In the September Exchange the DWP reveal that in two tribunal regions registrars rather than judges are now issuing directions and decisions in relation to case management. It’s more evidence of the failure of the tribunals service to cope with the tidal wave of ESA appeals.
In the same edition, there’s news of a successful DWP appeal to the upper tribunal in which a claimant had his award of lower rate DLA mobility taken away because he “was able to enter a post code into a sat nav and follow directions. On occasions when he was given the wrong post code, he was able to use his mobile phone to ask for directions.” The DWP, it seems are keen to take advantage of technological advances to reduce the benefits bill.
DMEs can be downloaded from DWP resources in the DLA section of the members area.
GENERAL BENEFITS NEWS
There are two bits of good news in relation to benefits generally.
In the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement he confirmed benefits would rise by the full 5.2% of the September inflation figure, quashing rumours that the government was going to impose a much lower increase.
In addition, the coalition has announced that the axing of legal aid for benefits, debt and other areas of social welfare law is to be postponed for six months (Members only) , to April 2013. It’s a small breathing space for advice agencies and campaigners and may indicate the government is beginning to lose its nerve in the face of sustained opposition in the house of Lords.
However, the financial pressures on the advice sector continue to grow, with Melton Mowbray being the latest Citizens Advice Bureau to close (Members only) its doors.
The Guardian has now begun a Cuts Watch section which lists all the cuts and closures in the advice sector as they happen.
There’s no shortage of other grim news too.
Credit checking staff at Experian are to be used as what Whitehall officials refer to as ‘bounty hunters’ (Members only) . They will to go through claimants financial records searching for evidence of failure to declare income or failure to declare the presence of another person in the household.
The DWP is also consulting on proposals to claw back mortgage interest payments from the estates of dead claimants (Members only) and those who sell their houses. The proposed changes appear to be aimed at both new and existing claimants of Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related ESA and Pension Credit who receive support for mortgage interest.
In another move, the DWP have joined forces with Crimestoppers in a campaign against benefits fraud whose imagery will leave many claimants shocked and outraged.
The campaign advert being used by Crimestoppers features a number of pictures showing people with hate-filled, contorted faces (Members only) and one with a raised fist as they contemplate the alleged dishonesty of claimants. The advert does not actually condone violence against claimants, but it certainly portrays extreme anger as a normal response to the suspicion, which will usually be entirely unfounded, that someone is committing benefit fraud.
OTHER NEWS
There’s more news in the members area than we can fit into this newsletter.
Many thanks to everyone who has sent in news stories over the last fortnight, including: Beverley Hymers, Jima1, mike1983, Crazydiamond, pete17971 and papasmurf.
If you’d like to contribute, there’s information on how you can submit a news story here.
GOOD NEWS FROM THE FORUM
Finally, as always, a selection of good news from the forum:
Higher rate care and mobility with no medical after 2 refusals – “the award is a direct result of the advice, resources and forum of B&W”
ESA support group without medical – “thank you so much for all your info”
Appeal tribunal found work would endanger health – “Well Done B&W, Well Done CAB”
Indefinite DLA high rate mobility and high rate care on renewal – “Thank you B&W for the comprehensive guides”
Support Group after complaint about medical – “Thank you for your support and advice on this site”
ESA Support Group without medical – “Thank you so much to all of those very important people who run Benefits and Work”
From WRAG to Support Group without medical
Support group before appeal – “the guides on here were very helpful”
From WRAG to Support Group on reconsideration – “I wish to thank everyone at B&W for their support and the wonderful guides”.
You are welcome to reproduce this newsletter on your blog, website, forum or newsletter provide it is properly attributed to www.benefitsandwork.co.uk
You can also read this newsletter online.
Good luck,
Steve Donnison
Benefits and Work Publishing Ltd
Company registration No. 5962666
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BPD (and PD) news and survey
You may, or may not be aware that besides the BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) and PD (Personality Dosorder) work that we do periodically at LP, that we have been working in partnership with the NHS (in the form of the regional psychotherapy centre) and through our membership of NEt (North East together), the regional mental health service user and carer network to help get a PD Northern User Network together, and it was officially launched on November 11th.
It’s early days, but we aim, as a user-controlled network to encourage an expansion in the number and range of peer-support PD groups, building on the success of the few that do operate in the region. Watch this space for more news and developments, and a dedicated website for the PD Northern User Network…
On a related topic, we’ve been contacted by a third year psychology student at Newcastle University, and she’s doing a dissertation and would like to ask questions of mental health service users. The dissertation is regarding the proposed revisions of the DSM IV as a DSM V is due to be published in May 2013 [note: this is the 'Bible' of mental health, or in other words the diagnostic manual that gives definitions and descriptions of diagnoses. Often a contentious tome, new editions can in essence redefine diagnoses, even create new ones]. The main area she will be looking at is borderline personality disorder, to investigate which groups of people (psychologists/psychiatrists, mental health service users and students) are for or against the proposed revisions and whether it will be beneficial to them.
If you would like to assist and have a diagnosis of BPD, then feel free to complete the questionnaire here.
YAM (Yet Another Mail-out) on mental health,health and social care. Plus more. Much more.
How time flies when you’re having fu…well, how time flies,any-old-how.All of your regular information, and news of yet more (worrying, by and large) developments in health and social care,locally,regionally and nationally plus the odd bit of opinion, and maybe, something of,y’know, actual utility too.
Welcome, one and all, to YAM, yet another mail-out of stuff’n'nonsense, data and digressions,all that baloney and blarney, cunningly titled YAM this time round, because stuff (like,um,work) keeps getting in the way,so giving it a date-specific title wasn’t ever going to work.
So the fireworks are over for another year, and the dubious delights of dark evenings have descended. What can lift the spirits? Well, being optimistic, despite us being off this Government’s maps of places that matter,on a local and regional level, there’s quite a lot of decent and or interesting stuff to take pride in. However, one regional stalwart of the mental Health scene has departed, and it would be remiss not to mark its passing, and to say thank you. The North East Mental Health Development Unit is no more, and that is a cause for regret, as among all of their other work, they were very good and very helpful to service users and carers and our respective networks, especially the regionwide user and carer network, North east together (NEt). attached is a final report round-up from NEMHDU, plus a write-up of their farewell conference/event held on the 7th of October, a must read because of the outstanding presentation from the splendid Jill Treasure, who really spoke truth to power and laid out from a service user point of view just how appalling the impact of benefits and welfare system changes are (more on which later…).
On the old pdf front, there’s a bit of a backlog built up (for which many apologies, highly regrettable, lessons have been learned after a far-reaching inquiry, and steps have been taken,so let’s draw a line under things and move on, in an innovative, multi-faceted,cross-cutting fashion: that DH management bluster course has really paid dividends). So, please also find attached an NHS confed report on key stats,facts and trends in MH, and the Govt’s rather sneaked-out (not like this Government to be underhand, is it?) consultation on social care, “Caring for Our Future”, on the topic of which Prof Peter Beresford is both damning and correct.
Okay, so what do we have in the way of others’ newsletters,attachments and that kind of thing? Why, it’s our good pals and colleagues at NSUN, with a whole host of their newsletter/update doo-dahs. One here, here,here and here. oodles of news there, and it has also to be said that their national conference was excellent, and helped flag up all of the good MH user and carer work and networking in the North East.
Quick now, get your skates on, because attached is a job opportunity (with Tyneside MIND), but hurry, as applications must be in by Wed 30th of November. Likewise, very soon is a (mainly South of Tyne) conference/event relating to carers and drug and alcohol services, next Friday, that is the 2nd of December (details attached). In fact so pressing is the need to these last bits of info out now, as opposed to some time around the start of the London Olympiad, that the rest of this e-mail will follow later, under separate cover…or, in other words, to be continued
Cheers,
Alisdair
Alisdair Cameron
LAUNCHPAD Team Leader,
NTWSU&C n/wk co-chair (with Mish Loraine)
(for network business: ntwsuc@gmail.com)
LAUNCHPAD
Offices 210 and 211,
Holy Jesus Hospital,
City Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 2AS
Tel 0191 2330382 (personal mobile 07736074213)
E-mail launchpadncl@aol.com
or alisdairscameron@gmail.com
www.launchpadncl.org.uk
Mental Health Strategy Event Report – Oct 2011
NHS confed. Key facts and trends in MH
Benefits and Work news
Courtesy of www.benefitsandwork.co.uk
Dear Launchpad,
Firstly, we’d like to apologise if the Benefits and Work site is too busy to access when you click on links in this newsletter? We upgraded to a faster server at the weekend, but we won’t know until this edition goes out whether that has solved the problem of desperately slow page opening times when thousands of people all try to read an article at once.
If you can’t get through now, please try again later – it will quieten down eventually. This newsletter goes out to over 80,000 people and that number is increasing every day, hence the strain on our server.
ESA NEWS
At the risk of making the server even more unhappy, if you are currently challenging an ESA decision or helping someone else to do so, then please download the latest edition of the ESA appeals guide from the members area.
Given the increasing difficulty claimants have obtaining medical evidence, we’ve made some suggestions as to how you might make use of the tribunal judge’s power to issue directions. This could be in relation to documents you think should be before the tribunal or evidence you think the DWP should obtain. We’ve included a sample letter asking for a judge to order the DWP to contact your consultant for medical evidence. We don’t know if it will work but it’s certainly worth a try. The same tactic could be used for DLA appeals too. You’ll find it in the ‘After the appeal is lodged’ section of the guide.
We’ve also updated the text we suggest you use for your appeal form, to take into account the fact that decision makers are now more likely to telephone you if you lodge an appeal. In addition, we’ve included information about options for dealing with a decision maker’s call.
Professor Harrington’s second report (Members only) was published whilst we were compiling this newsletter, so we haven’t had time to study it in detail. First impressions are, however, very disappointing with claimants being asked to trust that important changes have been made to the way DWP/Atos work –they just haven’t filtered through yet. Sadly, Harrington is looking increasingly like a DWP/Atos apologist rather than a claimant’s champion.
Elsewhere, Dame Carol Black, the noble lady who invented the Orwellian ‘Fit Note’ to replace the sick note, has been at it again.
In a new report for the coalition, (Members only) the disastrous Dame is recommending that GPs should no longer have the power to sign people who are in work off sick once they’ve been ill for four weeks. Instead, the decision will be put in the hands of an Atos type organisation and there will almost certainly be no appeal process, just as there isn’t with your current GP’s decisions.
Black has also recommend the abolition of the assessment phase of ESA, with the effect that sick and disabled claimants would have to claim JSA until they had actually been found eligible for ESA by a decision maker or an appeal tribunal.
We also have details of how likely it is that your ESA will be sanctioned (Members only) – and so far, compared to JSA, the news is good.
Plus, we have the DWP’s explanation for why the time allowed to return your ESA50 form (Members only) has been slashed.
From ESA WRAG to Support Group on appeal
“Thank you B&W for the comprehensive guides which meant we understood the complex way in which DWP assesses claimants.”
DLA low rate mobility and high rate care awarded without medical
“Before I say anything else I have to say thanks Benefits and Work – you are literally a life saver.”
DLA NEWS
The DWP have now published the points that each descriptor in the new Personal Independence Payment (Members only) is likely to score when it replaces disability living allowance in 2013. Unfortunately, they still haven’t said how many points you’ll need in order to get an award, so we’re not really any the wiser. Nevertheless, we’ll be updating our PIP guide in the next few weeks.
As many readers will have discovered to their cost, the average time it takes for an appeal to be heard (Members only) is increasing rapidly for both DLA and ESA.
The long waiting times have led to press reports that the whole appeal system is on the brink of collapse (Members only) .
That may or may not be true, though there are undoubtedly some in government who would relish an excuse to replace the appeals system with something similar to the social fund’s Independent Review Service. What is undoubtedly true, however, is that where you live in the country (Members only) can make a difference of up to two months in the length of time you will wait to have your DLA appeal heard.
Meanwhile, Ian Birrell – a former speechwriter for David Cameron – has accused the government of mounting a ‘nasty campaign’ (Members only) in the press against DLA claimants as part of the softening up process for the introduction of PIP.
Birrell is angered by the latest DWP statistical assault, this time on DLA claimants. The department have published figures which claim that “only 6% of new DLA claimants last year (January to December 2010) had a face-to-face assessment with a healthcare professional.” As always, the figures are deeply misleading and relate to issues entirely outside the control of claimants. But also as always, they will increase both tabloid and actual physical attacks upon sick and disabled people. And, equally as always, the DWP know this perfectly well.
Meanwhile, disabled members of the NUJ have called on fellow members to stop vilifying disabled people (Members only). It is a call likely to be entirely ignored by newspaper proprietors and hacks across the UK, particularly whilst the DWP continues to drip feed them the raw materials for manufacturing hatred and prejudice.
Next NTWSU&C meeting, this Friday, 25th November, Moving Forward Service, Newcastle
Just a quick heads-up/reminder that the next NTWSU&C network meeting is this Friday. Events have prevented us from holding it in North Tyneside as originally envisaged (though that will happen soon), so it’s going to be at our usual /default venue, namely the Moving Forward Service, Carliol square, Newcastle upon Tyne (map attached).
Cheers,
Alisdair
Alisdair Cameron
LAUNCHPAD Team Leader,
NTWSU&C n/wk co-chair (with Mish Loraine)
(for network business: ntwsuc)
LAUNCHPAD
Offices 210 and 211,
Holy Jesus Hospital,
City Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 2AS
Tel 0191 2330382 (personal mobile 07736074213)
E-mail launchpadncl
or alisdairscameron
www.launchpadncl.org.uk
