In praise of Iain Duncan Smith's Welfare Reforms

Not everything is all bad. When my husband was experiencing heart failure last year I dialled 999 and the person on the other end kept me on there asking questions as to my husbands condition and getting me to check stuff etc all the time until the ambulance arrived. When it did so he advised me that the ambulance was outside the house and to open the door to let them in - WONDERFUL service and I can't speak too highly of the hospital either. Please we mustn't lose this, our NHS is so precious.

NHS debate now on in parliament. That's what Andy Burnham is talking about, A&E.
It worked for me, whitewave, last Easter. Otherwise I would be dead by now.

DH needed a doctor in th middle of the night recently, out of hours service doctor recommended an ambulance which they arranged. Paramedic here within minutes, carried out checks, ambulance here within 10minutes. He went to hospital had all the checks OK now.

I have been wondering for quite a while how on earth the DWP and the government were managing to keep the true state of chaos surrounding their welfare reforms out of the public eye. However, yesterday I stumbled across something that seems to throws a light on it

It seems that their tactic involves simply refusing to put anyone forward for discussions over which they have no control. No debate, so no risk of their lies being revealed in front of the general public by a quick-witted and well informed opponent.

Paragraphs 5-7 are the ones that I'm referring to (though the rest makes quite interesting reading too):

diaryofabenefitscrounger.blogspot.co.uk/

Brilliant, Mamacaz. I read some of it yesterday as it's linked from www.falseeconomy.org.uk which has other links for those who are interested. I think the way that disabled people are still being treated in TV studios is absolutely appalling.
It's quite laughable that the best government spokesperson who could be found was Edwina Currie, not well known for her probity.

Is that down to the government or the producers of the various programmes? Not sure if you mean disabled people are not treated well by the programme makers? Anyway, one can hardly call Edwina a spokesperson for the government

Sue Marsh is an amazing campaigner, for the sick and disabled especially, but for everyone who may one day need the support of the safety net offered by the welfare state. She highlights how the cuts made in the name of austerity are falling out of all proportion on the sick and disabled who at the same time are being demonised by propaganda. She was asked to appear in the program this week then shoved around from pillar to post and as her wheel chair was deemed a fire hazard..

That is ridiculous and surely against the Disabled Discrimination act.
And edwina is just rentamouth (oops)

Thank you MamaCaz for providing the very illuminating link. I suppose what the writer said about the absence of ministers in interviews should have occurred to me before but it hadn't. I really can't remember the last time IDS was involved in a face-to-face interview in which he had to defend his policies.

Exactly, Margaret. Edwina was the nearest person they could get to the government. They will not debate their own policies.
IDS is in hiding because all his stuff is unravelling before his eyes. All he can do now is misquote statistics.
Does Ninny still think he is putting Britain first?

Exactly, Eloethan.

I have heard IDS talking occasionally on Radio 4's Today programme, but it would be misleading to call them interviews as he stuck to precisely what he wanted to say, regardless of the questions put to him -
they were more like Party Political Broadcasts! I remember when the presenter (John Humphreys?) did try to raise the issue of his dodgy interpretation of statistics but IDS just kept repeating "well, I believe it to be so", or words to that effect, so that was that!
It seems highly likely that IDS / his department insist on having editorial control over even these pseudo interviews anyway, just in case IDS accidentally gets drawn into dangerous territory.

This absence of ministers in genuine debates needs a lot more publicity!

Yes MamaCaz it should receive more publicity - but I don't suppose it will.

The department of work and pensions is now considering privatising the state pension service to save money. You couldn't make it up.
IDS has come out of hiding to announce this.

www.theguardian.com/politics/privatisation
Link to the article mentioned above.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jan/22/mps-urge-public-control-privatisation-public-services
Something else worth following if you do not agree that the government should sell off everything to the private sector.

https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/26/francesca-martinez-comedian-welfare-cuts-disabled-people&sa=U&ei=GmUQU7XQDeT-ygOIr4GgAQ&ved=0CAYQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNEtQ7YtIV9DIValNYwNkNRfgtEsNw

It's worth reading this debate on the parliament website, after you've read this link.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2604730/Half-caught-benefits-cap-spurred-seek-work Proof that welfare cuts are working. But not happy EU claimants only have to wait 3 months now to claims benefits should be longer.

A young man in Oxfordshire with a severe mental illness was assessed by ATOS as capable of work so his benefits were cut. He was unable to cope with the appeal system. With little or no money he became malnourished and died of starvation a couple of months ago. His malnutrition was blamed on the reduction in his benefits and his incapacity to cope. It was also agreed that given the severity of his mental problems he should never have been assessed as capable of work.

All this reported from the inquest report in our local paper.

At the weekend the Observer reported that there is a back log of 22,000 applications for, PIP, the benefit that has replaced Disabled Living Allowance. A case was quoted of a women dying slowly from cancer whose husband has had to give up work to look for her. Because her PIP has still, after over 6 months, not been processed, they are living in debt and dependent on food banks. Once she gets PIP they will be able to apply for Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Carer's allowance and enhanced income support, but because the PIP has yet to be processed they cannot get any of these benefits. This family, with a terminally ill member is racked with worry caused by debt that is the direct result of the DSS failure to process PIP applications.

So Ian Duncan Smith's reforms are working? Yes, they are, they are by slowly but stealthily killing claimants off.

Sorry, ninny, can't let you or the DM get away with that. I suppose you did not bother to watch the Panorama programme last week, which should still be available on iplayer. It was called Don't Cap My Benefits, and followed families who were moved out of Brent where their support groups were to places like Birmingham and other places where they knew nobody. One man had to pay 3-400 pounds per month to travel to his job. What was ridiculous was that for some of the families it was found out later that they did not have to move because they were in work, but the DWP did not believe them.
One daughter, twelve years old I think, refused to go with her mother. She is now living with other relatives in London and sees her mother once a month.
Is this really acceptable to you? I feel sad for you, and disgusted if anyone thinks this is okay.
www.bbc.com/news/uk-26924411

www.londonspovertyprofile.org.uk/indicators/
To show you where IDS thinks families should be able to live in London.
I know we cannot all afford to live there, but if you force all families out, who will do the work in London?

Thanks Flickety B for such a good summary of the events leading to the death of a vulnerable young man. 40% of people found fit for work under the new system, succeed in appeal. Many others are too exhausted, physically and emotionally, to pursue an appeal. Others have mental health problems, or learning difficulties, and give up.
I honestly do not understand why anyone could feel IDS is doing a good job. Yes, benefit fraud is wrong, but as has been said so often on these threads, so is large scale tax evasion. There is an on line petition to get Cafe Nero to pay tax on it's huge profits in the UK.

You can also sign up to the fair tax mark, www.fairtaxmark.net, and ask your MP to sign up to the EDM to get the government to support fair tax, Iam64.
IDS is proud to be British. That in itself would put me off saying I am.

How ridiculous!

Sorry, what's ridiculous? Asking people to sign up to the fair tax mark?
Don't you want companies to pay their fair share of tax?
If they did, IDS would not have to hound those already in poverty and make them move out of London or away from their wider families and friends.

DD1 was 11 when we moved from London to an area none of us knew and where we knew no-one. She had hysterics and was very upset but it never occurred to us to 'leave her behind'.
She now lives abroad but the place we moved to will always be 'home' to her and London is a distant memory. So I cannot summon up any sympathy for the 12 year old who is now separated from her mother.

Benefits should be available for anyone who needs them and the system needs to be tightened up to avoid tragic occurrences like the one about the mentally ill young man.

No-one should receive benefits because that is how they choose to live and no-one has a right to live in a certain area.
I could not afford to move back to London again even if I wanted to.