To the real world then! – and the “time to boot lazy old and/or disabled benefit claimants into work” concepts launched at claimants yesterday by legendary civic thinker Jeremy Hunt.
Can’t wait for this. A “voluntary” (don’t laugh) back to work scheme for any disabled people who weren’t bumped off during austerity’s first pass, an over-50s apprenticeship thing to keep not-rich older people grinding in harness so that they drop dead before pension age, and the now-famous plan to force claimants to jobcentres repeatedly for back-to-work meetings with overstretched job coaches who already don’t have time to see clients for more than ten minutes. What’s not to love?
The subtext, of course, is that the only reason people don’t work, or don’t work until their hair bleeds, is because they’re lazy. Disability, old age, mental health issues, sickness – in Hunt’s mind, that stuff is all just panto.
Except that it is not. It really is not.
The “lazy claimants” innuendo is actually the laziest part of Hunt’s gobfest. I can say that for a fact, because as luck would have it, I’ve recently been speaking at length with benefit claimants at a job club in the Stockport suburb of Brinnington (I’m interviewing people for a new book I’m writing).
Intriguingly, this job club has not served up the legions of idlers that Hunt would have you believe are lying around in places like Brinnie and enjoying your taxes via the medium of weed. Actually, the main activity that most people I’ve met are involved in is trying to exist at the rough end of a world run by gobshites and sociopaths such as Jeremy Hunt.
The people I’ve spoken with so far have been older and/or ill (one with a heart condition, but recently employed as a cleaner, and one guy in his 60s who’d been working at McDonald’s), or facing age bias from employers after 40+ years of work and then redundancy, or, in one case, trying to avoid being murdered by Putin. I spoke last week to a 26-year-old Ukranian woman called Nataliia who showed me a picture of a pile of rubble where part of her hometown once stood. She was working as a translator for Stockport council and looking for a permanent job in her field of expertise.
On older people though: You find a lot of older people at these jobs clubs, for the simple reason that the pension age keeps disappearing over the horizon and some people manage to cling to life as it moves.
For example – I spoke at length last Friday with M, who is 64. M had worked for nearly 50 years – the last 34 of them in for the same employer in retail in a curtain manufacturer’s showroom. But then, “my boss decided to retire and went into voluntary liquidation. There was 9 of us [working there]. In January this year, we were unemployed.”
At 64, M was still a way off pension age. This is a garbage situation in itself. Anyone who is even partly civilised knows that when you get to 60, you should be able to retire if you want to, or if you need to. You shouldn’t be forced to scrabble around for painful ways to drag yourself over a ever-fading finish line. “I’m struggling in lots of ways, because I don’t have a lot of computer skills,” said M. She’d signed on for new-style jobseekers’ allowance, because when she was made redundant, she expected to find another retail job pretty fast.
Except that she hadn’t. There were 2 problems here: age bias and health. “I’ve applied for lots of retail jobs [even] before I became unemployed,” M said. “I do think they look at your age. There have been times when I’ve had to send my passport off to prove who I am – and then I don’t get any contact.”
As for health: M had arthritis and a recent operation for cataracts. No doubt Hunt would say these turns were all in her mind, but M was quite sure that she felt them. “I did go for a trial for a nursing home in kitchen as a kitchen assistant. I was on my feet [lifting and carrying] for a 6-hour shift…it was meant to be a ten-hour shift… I couldn’t get out of the car when I got home.” M had heard that supermarkets were hiring, but was concerned that the work would hurt badly. Computer work could be challenging, though M was prepared to rise to it. “I had my cataracts done just before I finished work. I find when I’m on the screen I get a lot of dry eye.” Can’t wait to see the “work support” Hunt brings on for that – probably a hose in the face.
So, that’s the working poor working until they drop.
Other parts of old age are also more of a laugh if you’re rich. For example, paying energy bills that should be met by windfall taxes on companies that you and your rich cronies are doubtless board members of. M, alas, was living in a different world – ie, a freezing one.
“My electric’s £110 a month and once the £67 off the government is finished… I will be looking at my bill for £170 or £180 per month. And because you’re unemployed, you’re home [which is cold, because you can’t afford to heat it]. I just put the heating on for an hour at night. I try and make myself busy – go out for walks, so I’m not sat there cold worried about the cap coming off. It’s a huge amount. It is worrying for everybody and the worry for me is that if I don’t get a job, what do I do?”
We can gather from Hunt that what people will be expected do is keep themselves warm by trotting to and from the jobcentre several times a week for an “intensive work search” experience with an exhausted jobcentre adviser who’d probably also rather die. I’ve long been intrigued by government suggestions that working until you croak is good for you and also huge fun. No doubt it is if that work involves easing yourself round a golf course with a drinks cart and your non-executive board buddies, or touching base on Teams if you’re not quite feeling a nine-hole. The grind is less amusing if your job is a ten-hour stretch lugging crates of dishes to and from a sink while your arthritic joints scream. I’d donate several years of my life – definitely of Jeremy Hunt’s – to see him stuck doing that.
Well said, and sadly all too true. I wish I could retire but I don’t have enough money so am forced to claim JSA, in the absence of a sick note despite having two hernias, arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and therefore obliged to constantly apply for jobs, the only vacancies being warehouse/production work, usually “fast paced”, often shifts, sometimes rotating day/night 12 hour shifts, usually a good 10 miles or more away from home and away from a bus route. Apply and keep applying, week in, week out, for any job you see, just for the sake of it, as well as jumping through all hoops and attending all back to work schemes. And all for the stupendous amount of £78 per week, soon to be increased in-line with inflation for the first time in over a decade to about £85.
It’s all such shit and from a poisonous twat like Jeremy Hunt. Why is he even here
A lot of people are unemployable. No boss will higher them even cleaning toilets. It comes down to Health & Safety Rules. You can’t get people sticking with the Health & Safety in the work place. Having a mental illness is a Health & Safety breech. As well as being unemployable for other reasons.
Same as looking for work is a Health & Safety breech. Welcome to the Health & Safety Breech at the Job Centre. Mental barriers with mental Health & Safety Rules. A danger to the rules.
Kate I’m so sick of it! I’m 59, dodgy neck discs, sciatica and arthritis after 12 years of back breaking cleaning, hadn’t claimed in years til homelessness forced me to Wales and I’m being dragged every week to jobcentre! I’m working 10-13 hours a week and most of the pittance UC allows me to keep of my wage goes on travelling!
I now have a decent coach but it’s just box ticking; I’m in, they can see I’m applying, and out, what’s the point?
That poor woman M, doing the kitchen shift. Jeremy C@nt is obsessed with working us oldies into our graves to save on our pensions, he said yesterday in his budget work is a virtue?! Yes, that’s why I’m in so much pain after a cleaning shift today, getting soaked in the rain dragging to jobcentre, and now sitting in a cold flat as I can’t afford heating!!
Where will it end??
It’s total rot. I’m getting on myself and beginning to think that I’d prefer a return to the days when they just walloped you over the head with a stone implement when you couldn’t keep up with the hunt anymore. Bring back the stone age. It was more civilised than this.
What the Think-tank thinks…
https://policyinpractice.co.uk/spring-budget-2023-fewer-barriers-to-work-but-harsher-conditionality/
Disability News Service – 16th March 2023
‘Heartless’ reforms to disability benefits ‘defy logic’
https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/heartless-reforms-to-disability-benefits-defy-logic/
DWP white paper offers mix of ‘human catastrophe’ and overdue reforms
https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/dwp-white-paper-offers-mix-of-human-catastrophe-and-overdue-reforms/
Work Coaches decide if your fit to work. Work Coaches are cheaper than Atos, Maximus, Serco to do medicals.
The White Paper is not worth the paper it’s written on, not fit for purpose.
Work Coaches can cure illness & disability. The Earth is flat.
The White Paper is arse wipe.
In other words just the sort of ill-considered, inhumane, reckless havoc, and irresponsible Reactionary mess that only the Tories could create. Illness? What illness? Disability? What Disability? Ignore the evidence, increase the Sanctions and get those lead-swinging work-dodgers back to work, or my name’s not Ebenezer Scrooge.
The Tory myth that 1 million people gone onto Sickness Benefits since the pandemic is just that a myth. It gives the Tories good reason to get all these on sickness benefits back to work. An election winner with a bullshit spinner.
For one thing it is really hard to claim sickness benefits, but the Tories said it’s too easy, so let the Work Coaches but the judge of that.
I know full well how hard it is to even get a sick note let alone any form of sickness or disability Benefits. You have to have one foot in the grave before being declared unfit for work these days.
Considering this information I would think that the OBR will be moved to put a stop to this nonsense same as they did with George Osborne’s doomed ‘Community Work Programme’. The burning question though (as ever) is why haven’t Labour mentioned this, you know “The Opposition” ?
Budget back to work plan ‘to cost £70,000 per job’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-your-money-64975682
£70,000 per job per year.
Benefits £4,500 – £6,000 per person.
People who work still get benefits like Council tax rebates, housing benefit rebate. So the Tories understand economics !!
Gary Lineker fast asleep or even dead would be about 200000000000x better an opposition than Labour. Jesus is Labour craven or what
It’s not about politics anymore, it’s about Human Rights because every Human Rights Issue is called politics not Human Rights. The Tories are breaking all Human Rights Issues & they care they are illegal & criminals because they can get away with it. Disability is a political issue, no disability is about disability & a Human Rights Issue. The Tories are criminals, that is a political issue & not a criminal matter.
You’ve succeeded in confusing me now, all that comes to mind is Father Jack being coached to reply to any of the Bishops questions with, “That would be an Ecumenical matter”.
It makes me think that at least half of what was in the Budget was headline-grabbing bluster to satisfy/fool the Daily Mail readers and as such is unworkable and won’t happen.
Maybe off topic but I’m venti. I just realised why the push to get ppl working 16 hours a week. The amount of UC they’ll save
Last month I got a one off automated back payment from the school I worked in in Luton, £142. Living wage increase from April to mid July when I left. My earnings from job here were £418. Hardly riches right?
So today I get my UC statement. They’ll pay my rent in full, and I’m grateful, and some of my council tax on top of the single person discount, again I’m grateful. This leaves £20 from my payment for living expenses. My wage this month will probably be £418 a month. My travel costs to work and back and dragging to the jobcentre each week are £72 a month ( monthly ticket)
Atm my daughter is funding this, until either I get more hours or until I get my bus pass next year, I’m 59 and it’s 60 in Wales. If she were not funding this I would be left with just £20 a week for food clothes emergencies entertainment costs towards glasses and everything else. I don’t even have a TV to save on the license fee. How is this making work pay???
Let’s not even remind ourselves I’m 59 with dodgy neck discs sciatica and arthritis. And I can’t even afford heating in my flat.
Today I was offered a couples extra hours at work. I declined. UC would just take over half of it off me and I know the bosses won’t grass me up. I’m applying for so much but most of the jobs are 16-20 hours a week so if I got one I’d be no better off. I’ve had it. Bring on the revolution
Not off topic at all. The amounts people are left to live on are criminal. You can’t make ends meet with those numbers.
Oh and as a final insult: of that one off payment, UC had 55%, and I got a demand for an extra £30 from council tax! I’m totally hacked off. There’s no point really taking a couple hours overtime or any overtime at all; I’ll basically be working for about £4 an hour. I give up
If you’re in Wales Kat, you shouldn’t be paying any Council Tax at all as the Welsh Government picks up the tab for the element not covered by UC. You need to contact your local authority about this, and they will assess your circumstances.
Thanks for this Padi
Remember to apply for your bus pass when you reach 60 too, another benefit of living in Wales, alongside free prescriptions!
Universal Credit is the product of devious minds, not only that but Rich devious minds. The likes of Iain Duncan Smith and Lord Freud don’t have a clue how poor people live, and what’s more they don’t care. It’s a Social Security system designed to benefit the employer not the worker, and to kill off the poor who fall by the wayside.
I thought it was getting off benefits, yet so much of it relies on Universal Credit in jobs. The culture of working & claiming benefits. Sounds like a contradiction but it is in fact true. The world of Tory contradictions. Sounds like the new Tory voting slogan. Wasn’t Universal Credit meant to get people off benefits & into jobs that don’t rely on benefits. So work coaches claim Universal Credit now yet they earn £27,000 – £31,000 a year.
Hunt’s big business Budget: “This is class war”
https://socialist.net/hunt-s-big-business-budget-this-is-class-war/
Forget about working for minimum wage, ten grand a day ought to be possible! Don’t forget to declare it on your online UC journal though.
Top Tory MPs ask for £10,000 a day to work for fake Korean company
Video footage shows Matt Hancock and Kwasi Kwarteng discussing pay rates after being duped by campaigners
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/25/top-tory-mps-ask-for-10000-a-day-to-work-for-fake-korean-company
Personally I wouldn’t pay those twats in washers.
DWP ordered to release ‘sensitive’ research into effects of benefit sanctions
Internal study was commissioned in 2019 over concerns that sanctions have negative effect on claimants’ health and finances
(No kidding Sherlock)
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/14/dwp-ordered-to-release-sensitive-research-into-effects-of-benefit-sanctions
If the DWP did it, this study probably shows that everyone loves sanctions and thinks that Mel Stride is Jesus.
I don’t see how anyone can possibly deny that Sanctions have a “negative effect on claimants’ health and finances” , or why a report is even necessary before anyone realizes that, I mean isn’t it just bloody obvious? The Tories don’t understand that millions of us have nothing in the Bank.
Sanctions create money for the Shareholders that are propping up Universal Credit. The investment Serco, Atos, Maximus, G4S have invested in Universal Credit means pay day or the DWP default on contract which means more payment to the DWP Contracted Companies. The DWP are getting shafted because they are such a easy soft touch for these companies to manipulate in the form of business contracts. Universal Credit Tory Flag Ship Policy of Welfare Reform 13 years & £120 Billion & counting.
I know one of the ideas Freud was initially exploring was to grant tenders to those finance companies like Maximus to charge interest on Hardship loans and profit from sanctioned claimants. That was one of the fears being expressed by Benefits Rights groups and those opposed to UC in the early developmental days anyway, whether it actually worked out that way or not in the end it’s still a possibility amongst the more ideologically extreme Tories given half the chance. Everything has to have a price on it and some angle of making a profit, in their (swivel) eyes., think Truss, Mogg, Raab, Patel etc.
Invest £500 Million to get people back into work with PR & Advert & paying social media sites that avoid paying tax & that’s just Disability Confident. 5 Million more disabled people in work now. Sounds like their doing a really good job the disabled & the Tories who have made their lives better by investing in them to get the economy going with rocketing results. so a Disability Hate Crime is like a Tory Hate Crime !!! Perhaps that’s the intelligent bit & not a myth. Since disabled people are so busy working curing their disability & if they don’t work so hard their disability will come back & get worse, think about the Tory Party having a laugh in democracy that has freed all these people out of poverty with better lives, but not as good as us Tories who demand respect from the votes & the food banks. Disabled Lives Matter.
Trouble is who are we going to vote for? There is no one to vote for, so that means the Tories win by default.
Personally I hope that Labour gets another drubbing in Scotland. I’d like to think that Plaid Cymru would gain some ground over Labour in Wales, but the fact is their offer is too similar to that of Labour itself, and crucially, it’s a hard sell in the most important area of Wales, politically speaking, the Valleys, where Labour is the default setting.
Unfortunately Labour is as unionist as the Tories, and doesn’t seem to realise that a large part of the reason they have lost Scotland, (but sadly not yet in Wales) is that they no longer represent the values of the people they serve. In Wales, the failure of Labour over the past 40 years to deliver, or even promise to deliver on the aspirations of the people, is a major driver of the independence movement, which though does not enjoy majority support, none the less has the support of around 30% the electorate. This is significant, as for many years support struggled to get into double figures. Amongst young people, support is high, and seemingly growing.
I think Wales will vote massively for a Labour government in the next General Election, and there is a distinct possibility that once again Wales will become a Tory free country at Westminster level. However, despite the Welsh Labour Government’s unionist stance I think that the party will be on warning from the electorate to do some pretty radical things in order to improve the everyday lives of ordinary people. That’s much of the focus of this documentary from ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ4pU6W8DtU
In England I guess it’s a case of holding one’s nose and voting Labour or maybe thinking about the Greens.
Sadly, given the Labour party is currently headed by a Tory, (Starmer = Blair 2.0) things look pretty bleak and I suspect that after one, or two terms, the Tories will get in once again and reverse any minor ‘improvements’ that Labour may introduce.
Yep that’s right Padi, for us in England it is a case of gritting your teeth and voting Labour in the hope of ousting the Tories, but then a lot of work lies ahead in ousting Starmer, and I would hate to see him gloating if he did get in as if he had been given a mandate of approval for his anti-Left witch hunt and political path of wishy-washy Centrist policies, or even worse Neoliberal Blairite policies.
So much for the “Back-to-work Budget”…
AI could replace equivalent of 300 million jobs – report
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65102150
This is suspiciously uncharacteristic. Perhaps they’re worried about the inevitable end result, being forced to redistribute the wealth to pay everyone an Unconditional Basic Income, i.e. losing some of THEIR wealth.
“Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts are calling for a pause in the training of powerful AI systems due to the potential risks to society and humanity.”
“The letter, issued by the non-profit Future of Life Institute and signed by more than 1,000 people, warned of potential risks to society and civilisation by human-competitive AI systems in the form of economic and political disruptions.”
https://news.sky.com/story/amp/elon-musk-and-others-sign-open-letter-calling-for-pause-on-ai-development-12845039
Let’s not forget that the existence of foodbanks is a symptom of a failed State.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/mar/26/expanding-food-banks-is-no-substitute-for-tackling-poverty-charities-warn
So it seems that the conclusion of this report is that foodbank use can be avoided if you give people enough money first instead. Brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that.
” Discover evidence-based recommendations for supporting people facing destitution, including cash-first approaches.”
“The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Ending the Need for Food Banks conducted a landmark inquiry to look at how we tackle the growing need for food banks across the UK. The inquiry focused on exploring different local and community responses to supporting people facing destitution and financial crisis, including the role of food banks compared to other forms of support.”
https://www.trusselltrust.org/what-we-do/research-advocacy/appg-ending-food-banks
Well, the landlady is coming to read the electricity meter tomorrow and tell me how much I owe for March, and I know it’s going to be somewhere in the region of £200 even though I haven’t had any heating on for most of the month, and that’s more than half my income. I still have the Water, Phone and Council Tax to pay as well, not to mention food and other costs such as the laundrette. Those £300 DWP top-ups, cost-of-living payments, need to be every month not a couple of times a year. How the fuck are people meant to live?
Wonders will never cease, better late than never, etc. I just got email confirmation that my application for the energy discount has been successful and £400 will be paid into my bank account in the next 5 days! Finally.
That’s through the Energy Bill Support Scheme (Alternative Payment Method) website:
https://www.gov.uk/apply-energy-bill-support-if-not-automatic
You’ve only got until some time in May to apply if this is relevant to your circumstances.
Good to hear you got it 👍
Been chasing it up for last 6 months, knocked on various doors and contacted loads of Advisers, MP, LWP, CAB, etc. They don’t make it easy for those with abnormal circumstances, that website should have been available last October and clear advice/instructions issued or announced, but they fudged it, which caused a lot of stress and hardship for a lot of vulnerable people.
So my electricity bill for March is £147, which is better than I expected, that’s what happens when you switch off the heating and hot water boiler. It’s still just over half my income though, and leaves nothing for food or other bills.
New review to boost employment prospects of autistic people
A new review designed to boost the employment prospects of autistic people has today been launched by the Government.
From: Department for Work and Pensions Published 2 April 2023
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-review-to-boost-employment-prospects-of-autistic-people
A new policy to sanction autistic people in they don’t get a job.
Can they sanction ESA and PIP? I don’t think employers would have the required expertise to deal with Aufistic employees on a daily basis.
Yes the DWP can sanction people on ESA & PIP. There are rules to follow & if you don’t stick with the rules sanction are imposed.
Sanctions: employment and support allowance (ESA)
https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/employment-and-support-allowance-esa-sanctions#:~:text=What%20is%20an%20ESA%20sanction,activity%20or%20work%2Dfocused%20interviews.
How can PIP be sanctionable?
https://dpac.uk.net/2014/01/how-can-pip-be-sanctionable/
“We’re in London raising awareness that Universal Credit just doesn’t add up. We have transformed a billboard in Finsbury Park into a ’till-board’ which is spooling out an enormous receipt revealing examples of living costs from people who receive Universal Credit, demonstrating the huge gap between the £85 a week an adult receives and the actual cost of the essentials we all need.
This is sparking conversations with passers-by and our social media is buzzing with updates from the site. But we need your help to reach more people.
Please share this social media post to help us reach more of the general public with the message that Universal Credit simply doesn’t add up.
Thank you.
Together we can move more people to learn about our campaign and urge them to join us in calling on the UK government to guarantee our essentials.”
The Trussell Trust
https://view.e.trusselltrust.org/
Bad link, try this…
https://www.trusselltrust.org/get-involved/campaigns/guarantee-our-essentials/
Stroud group calls for Universal Basic Income trial
A campaigner says she hopes a Universal Basic Income (UBI) Scheme could be “this generation’s version of the NHS”.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-65140245
UBI is being trialled in Wales, though it’s contraversial in that only one group of people is eligible for the trial, so any findings will be of very limited application. Prior to the study the Welsh Government was advised to cast the net wider so that any findings would be based on a much broader cross-section of society.
https://www.gov.wales/wales-pilots-basic-income-scheme
They seem to have now shifted attention from unemployed over 50s to mentally ill young people on the sick, saying they will force them off of sickness Benefits and into work, and Labour are saying tbe exact same thing. Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, Keir Starmer and Liz Kendall, united in hating the sick and poor.
My question is what do I do now with the P45 I’ve just received through the post? Do the Jobcentre need it? I’m just in the process of transferring from JSA to UC.
*PETITION *
To stop Rishi Sunak from stripping GP’s Rights to issue Sick notes (“Fit notes”) :
https://act.38degrees.org.uk/act/sunak-sick-notes-petition
Seven years on and no progress on disability rights by UK government, says UN
DNS – By John Pring on 25th April 2024
The UK government has made “no significant progress” in the more than seven years since it was found guilty of “grave and systematic” violations of the UN disability convention, it has been told by human rights experts.
In a report published late yesterday (Wednesday), the UN committee on the rights of disabled people said it had even found “signs of regression” – backward steps – in the UK’s progress towards fully realising the rights described in the convention.
This morning, the government said they “strongly reject” the committee’s findings.
The committee said the UK government had “failed to take all appropriate measures to address grave and systematic violations” of disabled people’s human rights and had “failed to eliminate the root causes of inequality and discrimination” since November 2016.
Read More:
Disability News Service:
https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/seven-years-on-and-no-progress-on-disability-rights-by-uk-government-says-un/
What do the General Election 2024 manifestos tell us about work and welfare?
June 19, 2024
Rachael Walker
https://policyinpractice.co.uk/what-do-the-general-election-2024-manifestos-tell-us-about-work-and-welfare/
What do the General Election 2024 manifestos tell us about women, children, and older people?
June 25, 2024
Rachael Walker
In the second of our manifesto blogs, we take a closer look at what the parties promise for groups within the wider population who often face additional disadvantages within the welfare system; Children, women, older people, and people with disabilities.
https://policyinpractice.co.uk/manifesto-analysis-women-children-and-older-people/