I Daniel Blake

I did watch this and it was upsetting and disturbing, a case of ‘There but for the grace of God go I’. I was reminded of what an impact Cathy Come Home had on me way back in 1966 when our first son was born. Both dramas illustrate how easy it is to get into a downward spiral and that for those without the support of family it is impossible to get out of.

Luckygirl
Are you saying that she shouldn't repay the overpayment?
What has her cancer got to do with repaying money?
Should all those people who have been paid too much in error, by banks, by pension providers or any other means, only have to repay the money if they are in full health but everyone who has an illness gets let off?
That doesn't sound fair to me.
If she thought it was too much, why not put the extra aside?
Mistakes are made. IT systems fail. That's life. It doesn't mean you can keep what isn't yours.

I recorded this film and have just watched it. I am not often moved by films but sobbed my way painfully through this one at the sheer frustration of it all!! It is a hard watch but from stories I have heard it is all too common. Yes it should be compulsory viewing for May and her government.

By the way it is the first film I have seen for years that has managed to present itself without using intrusive background music (or more commonly droning). I thought it was the more powerful for just using traffic sounds, footsteps, people talking etc as in the real world and I loved the black screens between some shots. There was no distraction from the real message of the film.

Happychops
You are correct in saying 'there is telephone help to build the Universal credit claim'. However, it has been my experience that it can take up to ninety minutes for a call to be answered. The help is much less forthcoming in maintaining a UC claim, which is done entirely via smartphone or computer. (I deal with this on a regular basis on behalf of my clients.) Our local Jobcentre is very helpful, but is a very expensive bus ride away and only has staff available to assist with computers on two afternoons each week.

Agree granny23 that just doesn't make sense to house people far from their support system. I absolutely agree that people who really need help should be able to access it with ease.

they hav etialled it! In Scotland and the North of England ,you know the places where the people dont count to your average Tory.

Such as Devon, Eastbourne, London.....

Indeed it is Grannyknot but as illustrated by the young Woman in I Daniel Blake, who was uprooted from her friends, mother, neighbours by being rehoused far away, (which WAS the fault of the system) that support is not there for many people.

When friends and family, neighbours and others rally round to help someone who is experiencing difficulties in life, surely that is how it should be?

In other words that's not necessarily indicative of a failing of the system, that's human nature in action - to look out for each other.

There is telephone help to build the Universal credit claim, and maintain it, If you have problems getting internet access,or have other problems, and cannot use computers.You just need to ask at your local jobcentre. My neighbours son has used this service.

Trialled it

they hav etialled it! In Scotland and the North of England ,you know the places where the people dont count to your average Tory.

But no help to those who have already been forced onto UC

There have been over 1500 tweaks to the system since it began. Many more are needed. So glad full roll out has been delayed.

I think an average 10 year old could have suggested trialing the new system before rolling it out.

At CAB we are being financed to set up a support service for universal credit, to help people to make online claims, set up bank accounts or passwords etc, but the service won’t start till April. Fortunately the government has now decided to delay the transfer of people on legacy benefits to UC, so at the moment there are not too many new claims.
I saw a client today who has been waiting months to get ESA in place, because of failed bureaucracy. Daniel Blake is not an isolated case.

I have a friend who is paying back a large sum of money in benefits that she was allocated as a result of a mistake on the part of the benefits agency. She told them at the time that she thought they were getting it wrong, but they insisted they were right. And who is having to pay for their mistake?

Oh, by the way, she has terminal cancer.

travelsafar - I think your OH has got it wrong - it is not an extreme case at all. It is how so many people are forced to live. The benefits system is bonkers! As a SW I used to have to ring up on behalf of people in extreme poverty and I would be on the phone for ages, tossed from one department to another. No way could that person have afforded to be on the phone that long. And half the time I had to tell the benefits "adviser" that they had quite simply got it wrong!

There seems to be a complete blind spot as regards IT - so many benefits need a computer and computer literacy - sadly many people at the bottom of the heap have neither.

Thank you BlueBelle I'll go search for it...

Well said grannyactivist. I think of those people I worked with at the Church.
We should not put people into categories but apart from the odd one, there were no " scroungers". They were people where a combination of factors and circumstances had contributed to their struggles.

Poor housing, the worst schools,financial difficulties, bad choices, addiction and so on. We had a couple of battered old laptops that sometimes worked.

Since the introduction of Universal Credit, where benefits can only be claimed and sustained online, the situation has become much worse than is depicted in the film. UC depends on almost daily access to a smart phone or computer and this year not a single one of my homeless clients has either. If, for any reason, you miss an appointment then your claim is cancelled and has to be resubmitted - meaning that once again you are subject to the minimum five week wait period. It is an inhuman system.

I don't think it was a great film, but a must-watch for everyone nonetheless.

Claiming benefits is soul-destroying. But this is the reality of claiming benefits.

For those of you who find it all "too upsetting" to watch, please spare a thought for those for whom this is real life.

Not an extreme case at all travelsafar I know several people who are/have been in this boat and none of them have had an easy ride through the system. There has been a 'happy ending' for a few, but only because friends/relatives/neighbours have rallied round, found them work through contacts. and kept them going with practical support (food. money, clothes, etc. ) and help with CVs, computer stuff etc.

I think this aspect of living in a village or small town is what makws their situation slightly better than those who live in a big city where people neither know nor care about their neighbours.

I had not seen this film until the other night.

Sadly, I know so many people in similar positions and that includes a woman who can hardly walk even with crutches who has been told she is fit for work. Perhaps, yes, she is technically fit to work at a desk but she still has to get there and be able to function normally in terms of breaks and comfort. She was injured severely and is in a lot of pain all the time. That would be enough to deal with.

My heart goes out to you MissAdventure, and to your grandson Iam64.

Theresa May was asked by Andrew Marr at the weekend if she had seen the film. She said no.

It should be compulsory viewing for all MPs.

Oh that is so wrong Iam64

If we didn't know better, we'd see the problem identified by maryeliza as conspiracy, rather than incompetence.
My autistic grandson has to work a certain number of hours in his zero hour job. He's called in to work at an hours notice, by a message that only works on Smart phones. Yes we clubbed together so he could have one. How on earth he was supposed to by a Smart phone is beyond me and was certainly beyond him.