Modern Britain - children living in poverty - forgotten by the state !

Report out today has revealed:

Families with disabled children are living in poverty, they have been forced to take out loans to buy basic everyday essentials such as food and heating.

For those families where parents are in work, one in six say they cannot afford to heat their homes. For those families where parents are not working because of their caring responsibilities, almost a third (32%) have difficulty paying heating bills and almost a quarter (24%) told the survey that the extra costs of bringing up a disabled child meant they went without food.

The survey of 2,300 families conducted by the charity 'Contact a Family', which supports families with disabled children, shows that 58% of these families fear their financial situation will worsen over the next year, with 73% of them saying they believe welfare reforms will make them poorer.

The charity's 'Counting the Costs 2012' report gives a sharp insight into the extra financial pressures faced by families bringing up disabled children, at a time when changes to the welfare system, central and local government cuts and dwindling revenues to charities are making support harder to access.

The survey revealed, around 41% of families have fallen behind with payments for gas and electricity bills, council tax, rent and mortgage. Some 86% said they had gone without leisure activities and days out because of financial pressures. Of those families who had been forced into debt, 20% had taken out high-interest internet payday loans.

In the report parents highlight the rising popular hostility towards people with disabilities. "I am fed up with people accusing me of making my son's disability up. Some even go as far as to accuse us of having a wheelchair, not because he needs it but so I can scrounge off decent people. The negative comments and hostility have got a thousand times worse in my experience," says one parent quoted in the report.

Source & report by Charity 'Contact a Family - For Families With Disabled Children'

Blog by: Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants

UK government to cancel 'Welfare Benefit' payments

Unemployed & benefit claimants suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction in the UK will have their benefits cancelled or cut unless they "seek treatment" for their condition, the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith announced today.

Staff in Jobcentre Plus offices will be encouraged to cut the jobseeker's allowance of claimants who reject treatment for addiction. Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants is seeking the position of the trade union Public and Commercial Services Union within job centres with regard to the latest attack on benefit claimants. 

New rules come into place in October 2013 when the universal credit, which is designed to wrap benefits into one payment, is introduced.

Claimants will have to sign a much harsher contract in which they agree to look for work & be forced to make extra commitments some which will be hidden or not understood by the claimant. 

Jobcentre staff will have the power to decide a suspected addict is in breach of their commitments if they refuse help for alcoholism or drug addiction. Those same staff will be under pressure to 'get results' in reducing those signing on, to ease the political pressure on the government - that is the 'hidden agenda' behind this latest attack on benefit claimants !

Those with alcoholism or drug addiction do so because their lives are at a 'low moment', this government would have the general public believe their new attack is all 'about helping benefit claimants' is nothing more than contemptuous deception. 

The government no doubt will be wanting to target those who have eating disorders (anorexia), depression or those who maybe find themselves overweight - these are but a few that come to mind. This latest attack on benefit claimants has more to do with saving money & less to do with helping benefit claimants.

Some people will think .... "what's wrong with that?" -- the main problem is, what does "rejecting treatment" mean? Someone with a serious addiction, serious mental health issues, etc. suffering a relapse and being too afraid or unwell that they miss *one meeting* is probably what "rejecting treatment" means.

Threatening them with loss of benefits is only going to put them under more pressure. The last thing someone with an addiction or mental health issues needs is worrying about being unable to afford food or becoming homeless. With addiction problems benefit claimants might not be in a state of mind to know the ramifications of their decisions, so suddenly finding they are without benefits, facing potential inability to pay bills or even homelessness could potentially drive them further into substance abuse.

Unemployment and economic hardship is often a trigger for addiction; but the government are presiding over a policy of structural unemployment, making their own employees unemployed, cutting benefits, driving disabled and sick people who are not fit for work into work or through the stressful process of appeal against such decisions, creating a vicious circle of uncertainty, mental and physical stress and anxiety - leading to further substance abuse.

At the same time, funding for many community projects designed to help those with addiction issues is being cut dramatically, meaning that the very help the government say these people should be taking up isn't actually available.

Benefit claimants must unite with the trade union movement & the pensioners movement, to bring pressure on this government. Our message to the trade union movement : "our fight is your fight, your fight is our fight" unity is our goal !

Lets fight with all our might !

Video: Employment Minister Chris Grayling interview on WORKFARE !


The British Trades Union Congress (TUC) is to organise a mass demonstration 'A Future That Works' - London 20th October https://t.co/DwacGBJS #tuc #unemployment #poverty
.

Unemployment Statistics north-south divide ?

The office of National Statistics in the UK show the average wage for full-time male workers in the North - East fell by 8.2 per cent over the past 12 months – a pay cut of £45 a week. These statistics don't including inflation and rises in the cost of living.

North / South divide - we're all in this together !

Unemployment in the North-East, rose by 6,000 to 148,000 in the three months to the end of March this year, an unemployment rate of 11.5 per cent. The unemployment rate for those aged between 16 and 64 and eligible for work is 11.5% up 1.1% on the previous quarter.

In the UK as a whole, nearly eight million people are now in a part-time job, the highest since records began in 1992, while those working part-time because they cannot find full-time work increased by 73,000 to a record high of 1.4 million.

The Northern region of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) said the figures contrast with the Government’s claim that we are “all in this together”.

Trades Union Congress (TUC) general secretary Brendan Barber said: "the collapse in wages is terrible news for those in work and threatens our chances of an economic recovery.

"The falling number of full-time jobs and the 6% fall in real wages over the last two years means that people are having to make huge salary sacrifices just to stay in work,"

Four other regions in the UK also experienced a rise in unemployment over the same period. The North- East had on average nine unemployed person for each vacancy, compared to three in the South-East.

If you scrutinise the official statistics: the number of people unemployed for more than a year increased by 27,000 to 887,000, the worst total since 1996 - the last Tory government in power.

"It's still women and young people who are bearing the brunt of the recession," said UNISON trade union general secretary Dave Prentis.

In recent years female unemployment has been rising a lot faster than the male total. The latest official figures reinforce the idea that life is tough for female jobseekers.

Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants don't believe the official statistics to be a true record - there are 1.5 million men out of work, and 1.1 million women, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. We believe unemployment in the UK is grossly underestimated we believe the figure to be over six million - this is an Inconvenient Truth for the British Tory led government.

Over the year to the first quarter of 2012, the male jobless total was up 78,000, that's a 5.4% increase. But the figure for women was up 92,000, an increase of 9%.

Youth unemployment across the OECD areas (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ) has risen alarmingly with nearly 11m 15-24 year olds out of work, according to latest figures.

The statistics published by the OECD, show youth unemployment reached a rate of 17.1% in March 2012, more than double the unemployment rate affecting the general population. Greece and Spain have fared worst with both reporting youth unemployment rates of over 50% of the total youth labour force. The data also shows that at least 23m young people in OECD countries are not in education, employment or training (NEETS).

ref: The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed EAPN - European Anti Poverty Network Unite the Union

DWP complicit in the cover-up at A4e !

.
Auditors accused ministers today of leaving "glaring holes" in fraud controls on controversial welfare-to-work firm A4e.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said vital evidence was missed in risk assessments of the company, which holds government contracts worth more than £70 million a year.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was blamed for failing to request internal audit reports, including a paper highlighting nine cases of potential fraud and seven of improper practice by employees at A4e.

The NAO published its findings today after the government announced that the company's Mandatory Work Activity contract in the south-east was being axed. The contract with A4e terminated just one day before this report was published after the government decided that continuing would be "too great a risk"

Employment Minister Chris Grayling still in denial, believes a review by the DWP had not uncovered any fraud.

Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants finds the government contemptuous !
We're not surprised by the response, right up to the last minute the government we're in denial regarding corporate fraud at A4e. If a benefit claimant had been accused of fraud, they would have been prosecuted - guilty or not.   

The Department for Work and Pensions knew fraud was a problem but 'turned a blind eye' at the obvious sources of evidence.

They ignored internal audit reports which point to the real risk of systematic fraud and bad practice in A4E. The department forgot key controls and left the new deal programme open to abuse.

Respect for the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants believes fraud is built within the foundations of the 'Work Programme'.

Welfare-to-work firm A4e knew of widespread fraud and systemic failures by management to control it !

Auditors found staff claiming for putting people into jobs which did not exist, jobs which did not qualify for payment and fabricating paperwork.

Police are investigating irregularities at the company, which was paid £200m a year by the government for so-called training, the unemployed and getting them into long-term jobs.

As part of its work, A4e received millions of pounds worth of government contracts for welfare-to-work schemes. The official unemployment statistics published today in the UK also revealed that there are almost six unemployed people for every job vacancy in our economy. The number of vacancies fell by 7,000 to 457,000 in the three months to April - also down 12,000 on a year earlier.

A4e fiddling claims, the unemployment statistics are deceptive - ask the question:  Who's fiddling the benefits system ?

A National disgrace - disabled isolationism in the community !

A DISABLED man living in Nottingham feels the state has created a 'prison' for him at home.

Trevor Marshall had been attending Rushcliffe Resource Centre three times a week, at a cost of £12. Those cost are now £207 a week, making him a prisoner in his own home - isolated & forgotten - today Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants highlights his case.

Trevor is 66-year-old, lives in Carlton, the regulations on care costs were changed under this government.

There are currently 1,924 people using care services provided by Nottingham City Council - those using care services have now been forced to pay the full cost. It is now expected to save it £900,000 a year, it was introduced to comply with Government guidelines.

The council has reviewed the way social care users pay for their services. The council has demanded 1,986 disabled people pay a financial contribution for care; and 1,924 were forced to pay the full cost.

The hidden agenda behind the Tory led coalition & the introduction of the so-called "Government’s Fairer Contributions Guidance" for local authorities is to fundamentally smash the welfare state as we knew it !

A disgrace & a national scandal - we have one example of the misery inflicted on Trevor, we're certain this is the tip of the ice berg. 

The governments vindictive attack on the poorest in society continues ! The "Government’s Fairer Contributions Guidance" are being implemented by all local councils through the back door.

This government has decided to close Remploy factories & make disabled workers unemployed, those same disabled people will then be forced onto benefits living in depressive isolationism at home !

We give our full support to Remploy Workers fighting to preserve their jobs - "dignity & respect in work & while out of work" is our message !!

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith  made comments in a Sunday newspaper about his reasons for closing Remploy factories, which employ disabled staff. The contempt for disabled people was exposed, the Tory MP is quoted in the paper saying “Is it a kindness to stick people in some factory where they are not doing any work at all? Just making cups of coffee? I promise you this is better. Taking this decision was a balance between how much do I want to spend keeping a number of people in Remploy factories not producing stuff versus getting people into proper jobs.”

Food parcels handed out to struggling British families !

More food parcels are being handed out to families struggling to put food on the table as government cuts continue to bite. It's shocking to hear there are families in affluent 21st century Britain that do not have the means to put food on the table. It is very worrying that numbers are increasing throughout Britain.

British Government cutbacks, rising unemployment and soaring food prices are forcing a growing number of families to miss meals, eat badly or go hungry. Many are living below the poverty line as they wait to qualify for benefits, which can take five weeks or longer.

People have pride and want to work but circumstances have led a lot of families into a devastating situation, which we are trying to help with. It takes a lot of courage to admit you are struggling financially and we don’t want people to feel stigmatised. For many, there is simply no money coming in. How are they going to pay the rent or the mortgage? How are they going to live? There is a mood of genuine fear.’

Institute for Fiscal Studies research reveals that pensioners and unemployed people who depend on state benefits suffer the highest level of inflation as a direct result of having to concentrate their spending on food and heating. But it isn't only those on benefits who are disproportionately affected. Low-paid workers, many in the public sector, also pay a price - quite literally.

And yet the government has singled out workers in the public sector, hitting them with a pay freeze and higher pension contributions for lower entitlements.

In addition, hundreds of thousands will lose their jobs as part of the government's calculated assault on the public sector to tackle the deficit caused by bankers' profligacy and a virtual investment strike by the capitalist class.

The first duty of a government is too look after their own citizens. The Prime Minister said he would protect society’s most vulnerable. What is taking place is exactly the opposite of protection. The lack of sustenance has led to a rise in health problems previously linked with Victorian Britain. More than 20 cases of rickets are diagnosed every year in Newcastle alone. Anaemia and skin disorders associated with a lack of nutrients are also rising. The Institute of Fiscal Studies warns that absolute child poverty is set to rise from 2013. David Cameron's hypocritical mantra, "we're all in it together," is given the lie by the contrast in living standards of the rich and poor.

Food parcels are associated with famine-struck parts of the world. Yet there is a "hidden hunger" in Britain. The idea of food parcels has echoes of Dickensian London or a famine-struck corner of the developing world, they are becoming more common in 21st Century Britain. The Trussell Trust charity, operates dozens of foodbanks across the country. It mainly helps people who are not receiving benefits they would normally be entitled to, but also sees many families who fall into financial difficulty after the main breadwinner loses work. The Trussell Trust is a charity which serves those on the brink of desperation.

One of the main reasons for people running out of food is because many have their benefits suspended while they are being re-assessed. The Department for Work and Pensions will say people's benefits are not stopped while a re-assessment is taking place. That is not true. Food parcels are increasingly helping people who are having their benefits stopped during reassessment. The DWP might say this only happens for three weeks or so, and what's the problem? But if you're living week to week then that's a long gap to cover when you're trying to feed yourself and a family.

The benefits agency says when families suddenly find themselves without money people can apply to the Social Fund for help, and that it does signpost people to Social Services and charities such as the Trussell Trust. People who change their circumstances need to tell the DWP as soon as possible, to ensure NO loss of benefit, but with government cut backs cutting jobs within Jobcentre plus – it looks certain claims will be delayed. Jobcentre Plus say they are able to cut staff and close offices now because more claimants are using the internet to claim, unemployment is falling and Universal Credit will introduce further scope for reductions. Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has pointed out that these claims are unsupported by evidence and lack credibility.

Internet claiming is at a very early stage and no systems are yet in use to show that large-scale internet claiming and processing is even deliverable. Unemployment is not falling, last month the number claiming JSA went up. Many economic forecasters predict a double dip recession not an economic recovery. The lesson of the last recession is that unemployment can rise very fast.

While some children are short of food, far more are severely deprived of essential nutrients because they are relying on cheap junk food or food that is reduced in price because of the “use by or sell by dates” the foods nutrients & vitamin quality will have reduced. Some children are short of food, far more are severely deprived of essential nutrients because they are relying on cheap junk food. The rate of malnutrition is reaching astonishing levels. Children are being denied fresh foods because families cannot afford to buy them. By early adolescence these malnourished youngsters will be affected by premature diabetes and early signs of underlying heart disease. The bone health of these youngsters is under threat and doctors are seeing increasing cases of rickets.

If either Labour or the Tories, with a side order of Liberal Democrats, were serious about reducing inflation, they would plump for a price freeze on food as well as a windfall tax on these industries' superprofits. Yet none of them has the slightest compunction about enforcing lower living standards on poorly paid workers, pensioners and the unemployed by means of a pay freeze, inadequate benefits and a shameful level of state pension.Advice & links:

Families are able to receive the parcels which contain enough food for about three days. The needy can visit the Arena Church on Rutland Street. They must have identification and will be interviewed to assess their need. Alternatively, call 01159 442996 http://www.fareshare.org.uk Conwy Food Share c/o Arc Communities, Eglwys Dewi Saint, Rhiw Road, Colwyn Bay. LL29 7TE tel:01492 535626 http://www.conwyfoodshare.org/Leeds in Yorkshire:
http://www.fareshare.org.uk

.
Join our campaign on Facebook:

Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants

Unemployed in unity with striking UK public sector workers

Job Centre staff on Strike today May 10th - All OUT !

.
Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants stands shoulder to shoulder in unity with public sector workers striking in Britain Today !

You may be asking, why are Job Centre staff striking ?

As benefit claimants we need to be able to access services, this government are cutting back on a grand scale - sacking workers & privatising sections of 'benefits' delivery. The impact on benefit claimants will be catastrophic, less staff will mean more mistakes being made - benefit claimants will have already seen & witnessed the consequences of job centre staff reductions.

We urge our group members to visit job centres today & show solidarity with striking Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) members defending job centre services & jobs.

Benefit claimants must try & remember importantly that job centre management & government are solely responsible for sanctions placed on benefit claimants. (PCS) members understand the ethos & empathy behind our campaign, we have mutual respect with trade unionists trying to provide a service.

So our message today is :
Don't tarnish & blame PCS members for the actions of job centre management carrying out the diktat of government policy. Make no mistake it's Job centre management & the government that have treated 'you' with contempt in the past, with regard to your claim for benefits.

So we urge our members to 'focus' your anger today & demonstrate - show your contempt for this government, get on the streets & attend the demo's / rallies - if you cant, visit your local town or city Job Centre, local council, NHS hospital - JOIN the workers on the picket lines & make some noise !

Together we can tell this arrogant contemptuous government how we feel !!

Some facts for you to think about:  
When unemployment benefit was introduced, it was seen as a ‘safety net’ for periods of sporadic unemployment. The Beveridge Report was written in a period of near full employment due to the war, and the post-war government committed to a policy of ‘full employment’ as demanded by the trade union movement. Indeed, due to enduring trade union pressure, unemployment was rarely above one million in the following 35 years.

Ironically, unemployment played a key role in the election of the Conservative government in 1979 with the famous ‘Labour isn’t working’ poster showing a long snaking dole queue – depicting the concern that over 1 million people were unemployed. By the mid-1980s however, unemployment would peak at more than 3.5 million.

Structural high unemployment has now become a feature of the UK economy, due to weakened employment and trade union rights that has led to casualisation of the workforce and less protection against redundancy.
In this environment a social insurance system that delivers temporary income replacement for periods of interrupted employment is needed more than ever.

* "FACT: When first introduced, unemployment benefit was paid at the same rate as the state pension, then 26 shillings." In 2011 long-term unemployment (out of work for over a year) was higher than total unemployment 40 years previously.
Unemployment benefit, now known as Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), has become increasingly devalued in recent years, as it has been uprated in line with inflation, rather than with average wages.
Despite the UK Chancellor’s rhetoric about “people who think it is a lifestyle choice to sit on out-of-work benefit”, JSA pays only £65.45 per week (£51.85 for under-25s). If unemployment benefit had kept pace with earnings since 1979, it would be worth about £110 per week today. In 1970 unemployment benefit was worth nearly one-fifth of average earnings, today it is 10%.
The basic state pension is £102.15 per week – over 50% more than JSA. In 1946, in an economy ravaged by war, the level of unemployment benefit was worth almost double what it is today relative to average wages.

Many of our members within 'Respect for the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants' have expressed they would not be confident of surviving on the current rate of JSA.

* "FACT: There are over 2.5 million unemployed and less than 500,000 vacancies."

“Social insurance should aim at guaranteeing the minimum income needed for subsistence… determination of what is required for reasonable human subsistence is to some extent a matter of judgement; estimates on this point change with time, and generally, in a progressive community change upwards.” The Beveridge Report (paragraph 27)

There is also a popular myth that a ‘life on benefits’ is too comfortable, that welfare disincentivises people from looking for work. David Cameron, in announcing his Welfare Bill said, “never again will work be the wrong financial choice”. However, research from 13 countries in Europe, North America and Australasia showed “work morale is actually stronger in countries with more generous welfare states”.
This should not be surprising. As Professor Richard Wilkinson has argued, “a society which makes large numbers of people feel they are looked down on, regarded as inferior, stupid and failures, not only causes suffering and wastage, but also incurs the costs of antisocial reactions to the structures which demean them”.

In the 1980s, when unemployment was accelerating towards its post-war peak, the Conservative Minister Norman Tebbit suggested the unemployed should get on their bikes and look for work. Today, welfare minister Iain Duncan Smith suggests the unemployed of Merthyr Tydfil should “get on their bus” to Cardiff. Yet in the Welsh capital there were already nine people for every vacancy.

The role of government was once seen to be guaranteeing full employment, but successive governments have privatised more of the economy and deregulated the labour market. They now blame the victims for their own unemployment.

Instead we need:

• Job creation based on public investment in new energy, transport and housing infrastructure and in public services
• A dignified standard of living for those out of work, with much increased benefit levels
• More free training and educational opportunities for the unemployed.

Low income:

Much of the welfare state, since its inception, exists to subsidise low rates of pay for those in employment.
Initially some unions opposed these elements of welfare, which they saw as a cheap substitute for higher wages, which legitimised low pay by exploitative employers. In some ways this was in tune with the thinking of post-war planners like Beveridge who wanted to consign the means test to history, and like Keynes who believed in full employment (with the assumption that employment paid a wage sufficient to support a household).

It was the women’s movement that fought for family allowances and other payments such as Child Benefit, which are normally paid to a female parent. The trade union movement had long argued for a minimum wage, and in 1998 the National Minimum Wage (NMW) was introduced.

Today, Income Support provides an income for those working less than 16 hours per week who do not have substantial savings. This particularly benefits women who tend to be the primary carer for children and elderly relatives. However, as Beveridge knew, means-tested benefits are more complex to claim, attract stigma, and therefore have lower take-up rates.

* "FACT:
In 2010 £16 billion in benefits and tax credits were unclaimed. Only £5 billion is lost through the combined effects of error and fraud."

The real scandal in welfare is not people receiving what they are not entitled to, but people not receiving what they are entitled to. Since we know means-testing is often ineffective at directing support to those in need, it makes sense to focus our efforts on ensuring that work pays through tackling low pay and building strong unions in the workplace.

In its first ten years the NMW increased above the rate of inflation, but in the past three years it has been devalued in real terms due to below-inflation increases. A full-time job at the NMW would give a scandalously low annual salary of just £10,793. Tackling low paying employers remains a vital task for trade unions through collective bargaining, and lobbying for a living wage. Low pay is endemic in many sectors of the economy, including catering, cleaning and caring – all jobs disproportionately carried out by women. There is a gender pay gap as a result of discrimination against women individually, and structurally against the work they do – meaning low pay disproportionately affects women.

However, as long as low pay exists, this element of welfare is essential in preventing further poverty and destitution. We need to:

The video: Sheffield 'Strike Day' May 10th 2012

• Campaign for a substantially increased national minimum wage or a ‘living wage’
• Provide greater advice and assistance to ensure people receive benefits they are entitled to
• Build strong trade unions in each workplace, with stronger trade union and employment rights, as a bulwark against low pay.
• Campaign for 'RESPECT" join our group on Facebook 

The rich get richer - we get fined for being on the dole !

.
The rich get richer - we face the dole & fines for alleged irregularities in benefit claims - contrasting views ! 

The annual pay of bosses at UK's largest publicly listed companies rose 11% last year to £3.65m. The figures are based on data from the 60% of FTSE 100 Index companies. Companies including Barclays bank, Xstrata and Premier Foods have faced shareholder revolts at their annual meetings in recent weeks.

Ordinary workers in the UK have to work longer, retire later, paid less & face joining us on the dole - demonised as benefit scroungers & forced to work for 'free' for the likes of Tesco. Recently felt it had to back track on the workfare scheme because of campaigns like ours.

Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants has learnt tonight that the government alongside Department for Work and Pensions "will be able to fine alleged benefit cheats up to £2,000, with a minimum penalty of £350 without having to take them to court".

You will be considered guilty by the job centre who have a terrible track record for errors in dealing with claims. Job Centre staff will be under pressure to scrutinise your benefit claim, identify errors & therefore accuse you of 'fiddling your dole' to save money.

You will not be allowed to go to court & defend yourself - this alone will save the government £42 million over the next three years. Even more harsher penalties coming into effect, include an immediate three year loss of benefit for 'alleged benefit fraud'.

In the UK, not so long ago a person was assumed 'innocent until proven guilty by a court of law' now in the UK - you are assumed guilty & the onus is on you to prove your innocent.

If you was in any doubt, this information will surely dispel the conservative myth : 'we're all in this together'

There is a rule for them at the top & another rule for us ordinary people - this an issue for us all - those in work may become unemployed tomorrow .

Contemptuous attack by Tory minister towards disabled workers !

Leighton Andrews

Welsh Assembly Government Education Minister Leighton Andrews has called for the Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith to be sacked after he made comments in a Sunday newspaper about his reasons for closing Remploy factories, which employ disabled staff.

The Tory MP is quoted in the paper saying “Is it kindness to stick people in some factory where they are not doing any work at all? Just making cups of coffee? I promise you this is better. Taking this decision was a balance between how much do I want to spend keeping a number of people in Remploy factories not producing stuff versus getting people into proper jobs.”

Leighton Andrews AM has hit back at the comments and is now calling on Iain Duncan Smith to be sacked. He says “I have visited every factory in Wales, since the Tory closure announcement, so unlike Iain Duncan Smith I actually have a clear idea of the good work that goes on in many of these factories. It is not just the callousness of these remarks that are shocking - I would expect little else from this Government - it’s the ignorance behind the remarks that is really troubling."

Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants welcomes the intervention by Leighton Andrews & fully supports his comments. We would add that - it's typical of Tory ministers, they fundamentally lack empathy, are contemptuous towards disabled workers. Benefit claimants know what if feels like to be stereotyped - we face a barrage of negative attacks daily.

We give our full support to Remploy Workers fighting to preserve their jobs - "dignity & respect in work & while out of work" is our message !!
THE United Nations will be urged to put pressure on the Government to reverse its policy of closing factories for the disabled at an international conference.

Remploy factories across the Britain, including one in Wrexham, are under threat of the axe by the Government.

The Celtic League, which has consultative status with the UN, will urge the international body to lobby the Government to think again.

Government chiefs insist they have not taken the decision lightly and believe the money can be far better spent elsewhere to get disabled people into work in other areas.

From July the 2-9 this year the United Nations Economic and Social Council High-level Segment will hold its 2012 annual ministerial review at its New York headquarters.

The Celtic League’s Cymru branch secretary Adam Phillips, from Mold, has sent an extensive submission to the United Nations Ecosoc E-Discussion: Shaping the Future of Education on behalf of the organisation, which will be debated.

It calls for international body to support initiatives such as Remploy.

The submission said: “The Celtic League believes that companies like Remploy should be supported and encouraged in their promotion of productive capacity, employment and decent work to eradicate poverty in the context of inclusive, sustainable and equitable economic growth at all levels in order to achieve the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals within the Celtic countries and beyond.

“The Celtic League has campaigned on this issue in the past and most recently in Wrecsam / Wrexham, Wales where our Cymru Branch organised a demonstration in support of the Remploy workers who will be made redundant as a result of the planned closure of the Remploy factory in the town.

“We call on the Governments in the Celtic countries of Alba / Scotland, Breizh / Brittany, Cymru / Wales, Kernow / Cornwall, Eire / Ireland and Mannin / Isle of Man to create and continue to provide employment opportunities for the disabled community within these nations.”

The league’s submission will be discussed by UN delegates.

Our video of the Remploy March & Rally in Sheffield Disabled Remploy workers marched through the city of Sheffield in a bid to save their factories from closure.

The government has not only ignored the 100,000 plus signature petition but has announced the closure 36 of the 54 remaining Remploy sites with compulsory redundancy for 1,752 people of which 1,518 of these are disabled by 17th August this year (2012).

With two million disabled workers already out of work, why on earth would the government want to sack another 1,518. Surely they could concentrate on finding work for the millions already unemployed

Sign the ONLINE Petition BELOW:
http://saveremployfactories.co.uk/ ..

Spanish unemployment hit record high - nearly SIX MILLION !!

Spaniards signing on the dole !

The number of unemployed people reached 5,639,500 at the end of March, with the unemployment rate hitting 24.4%. Economic figures due out on Monday are expected to confirm that Spain will have joined the UK & slipped back into recession.

In the first three months of the year, 365,900 people in Spain lost their jobs. The country has the highest unemployment rate in the European Union and it is expected to rise further this year.

Cuts in public spending & severe austerity measures by capitalist governments are NOT working. The government in Spain along with Greece, the UK & France have introduced drastic spending cuts designed to reduce "capitalist" debt levels and meet deficit targets agreed with the European Union. These cuts are contributing to severe economic contraction.

What we are witnessing in these countries is a "domino effect" - The recession is so severe that when you take one step forward on austerity, it takes you three steps back. Spain is going down the same path as Greece, the UK has "flat-lined" - we're back into recession. These capitalist countries are all interconnected - the events in Greece, Spain & France have an impact "the capitalist domino effect".

The way out ? ....... a "planned economy" based on the needs of the people not capitalism ! We need a system in place based on socialism.

Join our campaign group on facebook Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants
.In January 2011 (just over a year ago)

A group of jobless Spaniards tried to form the country’s longest-ever unemployment line in the capital of Madrid.

With more than 4 million people unemployed at the time in Spain, the unemployed tried to form the longest unemployment queue to set a world record, around 5 km long.

It's a form of protest against the government's recent benefits cuts for the long term unemployed. A huge number of long term unemployed now receive nothing in the form of any benefits at all.

On-line video is here : Spaniards form longest jobless line

UK in double-dip recession - storm of a depression looming !

Some will remember the following:

In 1991 within Margaret Thatcher's government the then Chancellor of the Exchequer - Norman Lamont, stated in The Houses of Parliament that "Rising unemployment and the recession have been the price that we have had to pay. That price is well worth paying."

He later went on to say :  "what we are seeing is the return of that vital ingredient – confidence. The Green shoots of economic spring are appearing once again."

Within the last 24 hours it has been confirmed that in the UK we're in a double-dip recession - with the storm of a depression looming. Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants warned 3 years ago - we either learn from history or risk repeating it !

This shambolic government is repeating history - the Tory led British government are politically, economically inept ! Put into context, our recession period has now gone on longer than the 1930s Great Depression.

Recession can become depression unless the government takes urgent steps to plan for growth through state-sponsored investment. This posh, Tory led coalition government couldn't care less for ordinary people struggling. In Britain we need a planned economy based on social need - socialism is what we require !

Systemic Fraud at A4e

(Blog with Video)

Welfare-to-work firm A4e knew of widespread fraud and systemic failures by management to control it !

Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants demands on behalf of benefit claimants "Answers" from the British government !

Auditors found staff claiming for putting people into jobs which did not exist, jobs which did not qualify for payment and fabricating paperwork.

Who's fiddling the benefits system ?

An investigation into allegation of fraud against welfare to work company A4e has been launched by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Police were already investigating claims of irregularities at the company, which was paid £200m a year by the government for training the unemployed and getting them into long-term jobs.

As part of its work, A4e handles millions of pounds worth of government contracts for welfare-to-work schemes.

The DWP said it had "immediately commenced" an independent audit of its commercial relationships with A4e.

"The Work and Pensions Select Committee was made aware of this audit at the time and the department later received assurances from A4e that it had not uncovered any major issues."

"We have made it absolutely clear to A4e that we take this matter very seriously, and that if, at any point during the audit or thereafter, we find evidence of systemic fraud in DWP's contracts with A4e, we will not hesitate to immediately terminate our commercial relationship."

Margaret Hodge MP, chair of the public accounts committee, said :

"This appears to be devastating evidence of systemic fraud within A4e. Either A4e failed to act or to inform DWP, or they did inform DWP and the department failed to investigate properly.

"Whichever, it is completely unacceptable. Once again, I am urging the department to suspend all its contracts with A4e immediately."

Tuesday 20th March a fifth person was arrested in connection with the police investigation into allegations of fraud at A4e's Slough offices dating back to 2010.

Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants, demands that:

* A4e have its Contract terminated immediately ?

* A4e be forced to hand back - millions of pounds ?

* Emma Harrison be forced to hand back her title "Order of the British Empire - Commander British Empire CBE"

* Criminal proceedings & prison for those who sought to make money from the misery inflicted upon benefit claimants.

In 2002 Emma Harrison bought with monies from awarding herself big bonus from A4e - Thornbridge Hall a sixteen-bedroom country mansion in Derbyshire, Still to date ... she hires the hall out to A4e ! Mrs Harrison was made a CBE in 2010 under David Cameron prime minister-ship.

OUR blog posted on - 27 April 2010 - Finally A4e is exposed in the wider media !

UK Unemployment Figures - The Perception is Deception !

UK women bore the brunt as the nation's dole queue continued its relentless march towards the "Official" three million mark.

More than 22,000 women joined the jobless ranks, making up nearly four-fifths of the 28,000 total rise. There are now 1.13 million women unemployed - the highest in 25 years. Unemployment among women has increased by 19.1 per cent since the recession, compared with just 0.32 per cent for men.

Unemployment figures out recently confirmed the worst, UK youth unemployment continues rise at alarming levels. The figures are a damning roll-call of the damage done to employment since the Con-Dem coalition began its ceaseless cuts onslaught

Keen to conjure up a distraction from the abysmal unemployment figures the government tries & con the people into believing the "economy is improving" - the perception is deception!

Disabled campaigners working at various Remploy factories joined campaigners in a “dole queue” demo outside Westminster to protest against government plans to shut down 36 of Britain’s 54 Remploy offices, which provide stable employment for people with disabilities.

Minister for disabled people Maria Miller claimed weeks ago that many of the centres were not financially viable.

In the UK we witness another escalation in the official unemployment rate to 8.2 per cent, the highest for nearly 17 years - directly attributable to government policies.

The current total of 2.7 million is a horrific figure but it masks the reality of a far larger number of people denied the essential human right to work.

Not only would many of the 1.4 million part-time workers prefer to have full-time jobs but hundreds of thousands more have been erased from the jobless rolls by bureaucratic gerrymandering that puts them on dead-end work experience schemes or invalidity benefits.

Work experience could have an important role in bridging the gap between schooling and employment for young people, as happens in Germany and elsewhere.

However, most schemes operating in Britain are either a thinly veiled subsidy to private firms or a sponge to soak up jobless youngsters and massage unemployment figures.

Young people are quick to see through governmental deceit and to appreciate that the political elite is largely indifferent to the prospect of growing numbers of a new generation condemned to the scrap heap.

Cynicism flourishes when the victims of unemployment see themselves vilified by politicians and the bourgeois media as if they are on benefits by choice rather than because of the failure of the capitalist system to provide sufficient jobs.

This applies equally to youngsters shuffled from one scheme back to the dole and on to another scheme and to former industrial workers - miners, dockers, steelworkers etc - on incapacity benefit in employment deserts and berated as welfare spongers.

The huge job cull in the public sector - championed, let's not forget, by the leadership of all three of the main parties - has introduced a new category of casualty, women.

Given female preponderance within the public services, coalition government funding cuts are falling disproportionately on women, with the Fawcett Society calculating that women made up 80 per cent of job losses in the past quarter.

This represents a massive blow against gender equality since women are not only the majority of the workforce in the public sector but depend most upon its services.

Women are also the sole wage-earner in most single-parent households.

Coalition government ministers may make cooing noises and put on their concerned faces when they talk about unemployment, but what is happening is not an aberration.

It is part of their economic plan, shared by the other capitalist governments throughout the European Union.

Their intention is to take advantage of the financial crisis sparked by the banks' unsustainable speculation to force through changes to entrench capitalist advantage over the working class.

Trimming the state, particularly public services, the NHS and state pensions and benefits, is part of a strategy to hand over these areas to the private sector for profitable exploitation.

The role of mass unemployment is to neuter the trade unions and to reduce workers to ciphers, employed, if at all, at low pay rates, poor conditions and few employment rights.

Waiting patiently for a possible change of government in 2015 is futile, since a five-year onslaught by the Cameron-Clegg coalition will create a qualitatively different situation..
It obvious, we know what the governments agenda is:
The Tories are taking secure jobs away from workers, who end up working unpaid on the "work programme" - this is "reality" in Modern Britain.

European Day of Action Against Capitalism on March 31st 2012
Here’s the international homepage of M31 – European Day of Action Against Capitalism: http://march31.net/

There will be parallel demonstrations and other interventions in many countries, from the UK, Ireland & Athens through to Zagreb, Frankfurt & to Utrecht plus many more...

The International Workers Association has called days of action against austerity, exploitation, and oppression on 29, 30 and 31 March. As part of this, on Saturday 31 March, Solidarity Federation locals will be taking action against workfare.

Workfare - working for your benefit - is not just an imposition on the unemployed. It is also an attack on the pay and conditions of those currently in work.

Thousands of unemployed people have been forced by the threat of sanctions to ‘volunteer’ for unpaid work in large retailers, charities and other bodies such as councils. Young people are told that ‘work experience’ will help them get a job.

Video: Employment Minister Chris Grayling interview on WORKFARE !

Demo's 31 March at Brighton, Liverpool, Lincoln, London

Click on the all the links for current list of demo's

Workers Protection & Unemployment in the UK

The UK Government is pushing for a change in the law - MP's will vote within days, on whether to double the unfair dismissal qualifying period from one year to two years.

The government wants to make it easier for bad bosses to sack workers on a whim – creating a hire and fire culture. Particularly badly hit will be young workers. If they are lucky enough to find a job in Coalition Britain, they will then be constantly looking over their shoulder, worried about being sacked when their face doesn’t fit at any time in their first two years.

Next the government will want to go for ‘no fault dismissals’, meaning organisations employing fewer than ten people will be free to sack workers for no good reason. Plans to charge workers for taking a case to a tribunal will also make it harder for employees to make claims.

Together with the coalition’s savage restrictions on entitlement to legal aid, and its snipping away at health and safety protections, this government is taking working Britain back to the dark ages.

Those lucky enough to be working in Britain ought to be seriously worried. Their working lives are about to become more insecure, trade unions need join forces with the unemployed, your members & ordinary workers face the sack more easily thanks to this Tory led government.

Figures out tomorrow (14/3) are expected to confirm the worst youth unemployment figures for nearly 25 years. Keen to conjure up a distraction from the abysmal unemployment figures and the lack of a `compelling narrative’ on the economy, Tory strategists are cooking up a synthetic rage against workers’ rights.

The 1980s recession was a generational disaster and there is a major risk of it happening all over again, Whatever interpretation economists might have, as far as ordinary people are concerned we are already in a double dip recession and young people are clearly one of the groups bearing the brunt of it.

The effects of long-term unemployment are often depressingly long lasting. Those who were out of work for more than a year during the 1980s were more likely to struggle during the current economic crisis and overall tended to earn less than those who got through the decade economically unscathed.

The manner in which this government is making use of the global recession to systematically take apart the four pillars of our society - access to justice, welfare, education and health – is both breathtaking and terrifying.

Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants

UK government has lost three votes in the House of Lords on welfare reform !

The government has lost three votes in the House of Lords over its plans to cut the welfare bill.

Peers voted by 260 to 216 to protect up to 15,000 young disabled people from cuts to employment support allowance.

They voted 234 to 186 for a two-year limit on claims, rather than the proposed one year, and by 222 to 166 to exempt cancer sufferers from a limit.

Ministers also suffered a defeat last month over elements of their plans to overhaul housing benefit.

Unelected peers, led by crossbencher Baroness Meacher, argued it would have a "devastating" effect on young people with disabilities or long-term illnesses, depriving them of £25 a week.

She told the Lords: "These young people have conditions so severe that they are entitled to be supported.

"It really puts them in a completely different category from other people who grow up, are able to earn, able to build up capital, able to gain contributions.

In the second defeat on Wednesday evening, peers agreed a move to replace the one-year cap with the ability for the government to legislate for a limit of not less than two years.

"I am sympathetic to cutting the deficit, but I am highly sympathetic to sick and vulnerable people not being subjected to something that will make their lives even more miserable," said Lord Patel, who introduced the amendment.

His second amendment removed the time limit on contributory ESA payments for people receiving treatment for cancer.

The measures will now be removed from the government's welfare reform bill, being considered by peers.

Single mothers and people with disabilities in the UK descend on Parliament

WE MUST GIVE OUR Full SUPPORT:

Single mothers and people with disabilities WHO will descend on Parliament Thursday to press peers to reject the government's aggressive Welfare Reform Bill.

They plan to hold a protest and lobby to highlight concerns that the Bill - which seeks to cut the disability allowance and cap the benefit a family can receive to £26,000 a year - will leave them homeless and at the mercy of loan sharks.

A similar lobby in December resulted in peers defeating government proposals to cut housing benefit by between £12 and £22 a week for council tenants who have a "spare" room.

Protests last year also forced ministers to scrap cuts to mobility money for people living in residential homes.

But Single Mothers Self Defence and Zacchaeus 2000 Trust, the groups behind tomorrow's event, warned that the Bill still contains many other cuts which threaten to plunge poor families, particularly single mothers and disabled people, into deeper misery.

The campaigners said in a joint statement today that the housing benefit cap was already forcing families to go without food and heating to pay the rent, or to live in overcrowded conditions.

"Cap greedy landlords, not low-income people," they demanded.

They also condemned plans to abolish the ring-fenced fund usually used to support children coming back from care or women fleeing domestic abuse.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has claimed that the government is introducing a cap on benefits "to restore fairness to our welfare system while ensuring that support goes to those who need it."

UK government used DECEPTION in the British Parliament regarding disability payments !

Affront to democracy contemptuous & arrogant is the best way to describe the actions of the ConDem government in the UK.
A New Report out today shows overwhelming opposition to the UK coalition’s disability benefit reforms kept hidden by the government.
Conservative Mayor of London heavily critical of government’s plans for Disability Living Allowance.
Report was entirely researched, written, funded and supported by disabled people.

A report published today (9 January) finds that Government misled MPs and Peers over the hostility to disability benefit reform. It finds that Parliament has been given only a partial view of the overwhelming opposition to the Coalition’s planned reforms of a key disability benefit, Disability Living Allowance (DLA). It finds that this opposition was previously not released to public scrutiny by the Government.

It is based on the responses to the government's own consultation on its planned DLA reforms, which were only made public once disabled people requested them under the Freedom of Information Act. Findings included:

* 98 per cent of respondents objected to the qualifying period for benefits being raised from 3 months to 6 months

* 99 per cent of respondents objected to Disability Living Allowance no longer being used as a qualification for other benefits

* 92% opposed removing the lowest rate of support for disabled people

In all three cases, as well as many others, London’s Conservative Mayor, Boris Johnson also objected to the proposed changes. He said in his response

“The Mayor would call for the Government to retain the three-month qualifying period as the increase to six months will mean that people with fluctuating conditions have increased difficulty meeting the qualifying period. People with fluctuating conditions face the same barriers that all disabled face in relation to higher costs of living and DLA is essential to maintain a decent quality of life.”

“We would recommend that the passporting system remains the same as under DLA as it has worked well when signposting people to additional benefits to which they may be entitled.”

“The Mayor does not support this change, as those on the lower rate care component may have additional costs as a result of their impairment but may lose their access to this benefit as part of the proposed removal under the reforms.”

The Mayor also objected to the government's strategy for clamping down on disability benefit fraud, arguing:

"The government proposes imposing penalties if disabled people do not inform the government in changes in their circumstances. However, the Department of Work and Pensions statistics give the overall fraud rate for Disability Living Allowance as being less than 0.5%. For those with fluctuating conditions asking them to report every change to their condition would prove very stressful."

The Mayor’s views were representative of the overwhelming majority of responses to the Government’s consultation..

The new report, Responsible Reform, suggests that the government’s DLA consultation breached the government’s own code of practice and was “highly misleading”.

Researchers have used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain more than 500 responses to the consultation that were submitted by disabled people’s organisations, disability charities and other groups – including the response submitted by Boris Johnson – and have carried out the first detailed, independent analysis of those responses.

The analysis showed overwhelming opposition to replacing DLA with a new Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The government also plans to cut spending on DLA/PIP by 20%.

The new report has been researched, written and funded by sick and disabled people, thousands of whom contributed to the research through their use of social media.

Its authors now hope to use the report to persuade members of the House of Lords to back an adjournment debate calling for a pause of at least 6 months. In that time, plans for PIP should be reconsidered with the views of disabled people properly taken into account.

The report has already been backed by organisations and disability experts including :

• Disability Alliance

• Mind

• Papworth Trust

• Scope

• Bert Massie CBE &

• Ekklesia

Disability Alliance - "The Government's mis-portrayal of the DLA consultation response is truly shocking and could represent a betrayal of the process of consultation and

engagement with disabled people. The Government has refused to provide a justification for a 20% cut in DLA expenditure and we fear that the same faulty rationale, misunderstanding of disability and higher costs of living and poor judgement exposed in this report sadly underpin the basis of the entire reform plans."

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of the mental health charity Mind, said:

“The ‘Responsible Reform’ report is essential reading for everyone with an interest in Disability Living Allowance (DLA) reform including the Government and Department for Work and Pensions Select Committee. It is a vital contribution to the debate on reform and a huge achievement for the volunteers who have produced it.

“As well as forensically deconstructing many of the arguments offered by the Government for their proposed reform, the report shows that much of the rise in claimants over recent years has been down to better access to the benefit for people with mental health problems, whose needs are often fluctuating and invisible.

“Rather than getting out of control as the Government claims, DLA has been increasingly going to people who really need it. The proposed 20 per cent cut to the budget will have an enormous impact on many people with illnesses and disabilities, and we remain very concerned about the unintended consequences this could lead to.”

Papworth Trust supports this report's concerns that the decision to reduce DLA by 20% may have been based on incomplete or misleading data about the reasons for growth in DLA. Our recent survey found that almost 9 out of 10 people would have to cut back on essentials such as food or being able to get out and about if their DLA payments were reduced or stopped under PIP. We believe that the proposed 20% cut will push more disabled people into poverty.

Given that this report was entirely researched, written, funded and supported by the people that these changes will affect, we believe that the questions it raises should be answered by the Government.

Richard Hawkes, Chief Executive of disability charity Scope said:

“This report once again reveals the very real concerns disabled people have about the government’s reform of Disability Living Allowance.

“We know that this benefit is a lifeline for millions of people and families.

“It gives them the opportunity to meet the extra living costs they incur as a result of living with a condition or impairment and we know that people are genuinely worried about the impact these reforms will have on their quality of life.

“We urge the government to listen and act on these concerns and to ensure its replacement takes into consideration all the barriers disabled people face in everyday life so they can live independently and play an active role in their local community.”

Sir Bert Massie CBE said

“The Government’s proposed changes to the system of financial support for disabled people, from Disability Living Allowance to Personal Independence Payment, has caused anxiety to many disabled people. I have always found the explanations offered by the Government to be unconvincing and I therefore welcome this report which analyses the evidence on which the decisions were based. It shows that rather than being broadly welcomed by disabled people and disability organisations the new proposals were subject to widespread criticism and alarm. I hope this report will result in the Government reviewing its proposals so they enhance rather than damage the lives of disabled people. Simon Barrow, Co-Director of the beliefs and values thinktank Ekklesia, said :

“This is an excellent piece of research. There remains a gaping chasm between the government’s rhetoric about maintaining support for disabled people and the actual evidence about the impact of the changes and cuts it is imposing. The voices of those at the sharp end are not being listened to in a way that shapes policy. The concepts of justice dignity and social solidarity are being eroded and replaced with a piecemeal approach to provision which sees care as essentially voluntary.”

Sue Marsh, the disabled blogger and activist who led the research, alongside Dr Sarah J Campbell, said:

“For some years now, poorly designed Social Security reforms have created a “trust deficit” among disabled people towards government.

“We believe that reform must be measured, responsible and transparent, based on available evidence and designed with disabled people at the very heart of decision-making. Currently, we do not believe this to be the case.

“While disabled people welcome reform of DLA where it will simplify the system and better support their needs, they do not want a new benefit. They believe it is a costly irrelevance during a time of austerity.

“We urge members of the House of Lords – across party political boundaries – to take note of this research and the strength of opposition to the proposals. It is not too late for them to halt these deeply damaging reforms.”

Another contributor to the report, Kaliya Franklin, said :

“Cutting spending on DLA will increase the burden on local authorities, the NHS and community services at the very time they are seeking to find savings by reducing eligibility, particularly for social care support.

“Sick and disabled people have voluntarily combined our skills, experience and talent to produce this report, demonstrating that if we are able to work in the way our conditions demand we can participate in the world of employment, but only if it is willing to receive us on our terms, with more flexible ways of working and participating.”

Among the report’s conclusions:

* Only 7% of organisations that took part in the consultation were fully in support of plans to replace DLA with PIP

* There was overwhelming opposition in the consultation responses to nearly all of the government’s proposals for DLA reform

* The government has consistently used inaccurate figures to exaggerate the rise in DLA claimants

* The report shows that nearly all of the recent increase in working-age claimants of DLA has been associated with mental health conditions and learning difficulties. Between 2002 and 2010, the number of working-age DLA claimants – excluding those with mental health conditions and learning difficulties remained remarkably stable

* 98% of those who responded opposed plans to change the qualifying period for PIP from three months (as it is with DLA) to six months

* 90% opposed plans for a new assessment, which disabled people fear will be far too similar to the much-criticised work capability assessment used to test eligibility for employment and support allowance (ESA)

* Respondents to the consultation repeatedly warned that the government’s plans could breach the Equality Act, the Human Rights Act and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities .

The report was written by Sue Marsh, the author of the blog Diary of a Benefit Scrounger, and Dr Sarah J Campbell

http://diaryofabenefitscrounger.blogspot.com/ ..

Richard Jacques - join our campaign on Facebook:
Respect For the Unemployed & Benefit Claimants
No to Disability Cuts! VIDEO:
Add me on twitter