The ESA ‘Revolving Door’ Process, and its Correlation with a Significant Increase in Deaths amongst Sick and Disabled People

Written by Kitty S Jones
598830_399390316797169_2004284912_n

A Department for Work and Pensions Freedom Of Information request (FOI) yielded a response showing that people having their claim for Employment Support Allowance (ESA) stopped, between October 2010 and November 2011, with a recorded date of death within six weeks of that claim ceasing, who were until recently claiming Incapacity Benefit (IB), totalled 310. Between January and November 2011, those having their ESA claim ended, with a recorded date of death within six weeks of that claim ending totalled 10,600. 

Bearing in mind that those who were successfully migrated to ESA from IB were assessed and deemed unfit for work, (under a different assessment process, originally) one would expect that the death rates would be similar to those who have only ever claimed ESA. This is very clearly not the case.

Furthermore, there are NO alarming increases in mortality rates amongst those who are still in receipt of Incapacity Benefit – there were approximately a million and a half claimants, compared to less than a million ESA claimants for this period. Many of those migrated so far have not yet had a Work Capability Assessment, as the Government decided to re-assess those people when their review from the Incapacity Benefit  Personal Capability Assessment is due, for practical reasons. The migration process won’t be completed, it is anticipated, until 2014.

David Green from the DWP has urged that “care should therefore be taken when interpreting these figures”. Well I have taken care interpreting this data, Mr Green. My careful interpretation is that there is a probable correlation demonstrated here, linking the reformed Work Capability Assessment process and the withdrawal of lifeline benefits with an increase in mortality amongst sick and disabled people.

Incapacity Benefit was fair, it was a genuine social security provision. The “reforms”, including the new Tory-shaped ESA benefit, by stark contrast, are all about taking support and provision away from the sick and disabled, leaving them potentially very vulnerable. It’s very evident that there are measures in place to reduce successful claims for ESA, and many lose their lifeline support for the most arbitrary or manufactured reasons.

Indeed, the Tories have been very keen to articulate the welfare “savings” that they anticipated with regard to the disability benefits, including PIP, which is replacing DLA. But of course, these anticipated “savings” reflect a dark truth: the Government are setting targets to remove benefits from people, regardless of the impact of that imposed deprivation (and frank State theft of our tax funded welfare) on their wellbeing, health and safety. How else is it possible to predict probable “savings?”

Those claiming IB were not required to have continuous assessments, whereas those on ESA are constantly required to have the Work Capability Assessment. Many claimants have described a “revolving door” process of endless assessment, ceased ESA claim, (based on an outcome of almost invariably being wrongly “assessed” as fit for work), appeal, successful appeal outcome, benefit reinstated, only to find just 3 months later another assessment is required. The uncertainty and loss of even the most basic security that this process creates, leading to constant fear and anxiety, is having a damaging, negative impact on the health and wellbeing of so many.

A significant proportion of those required to have endless assessments have very obviously serious illnesses such as cancer, kidney failure, lung disease, heart disease, severe and life threatening chronic conditions such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, myalgic encephalomyelitis, rheumatoid arthritis, brain tumours, severe heart conditions, and severe mental health illnesses, for example. To qualify for ESA, the claimant must provide a note from a doctor stating that the person is unfit for work. There can be no justification for subjecting people who are so ill to further endless assessments, and to treating us as if we have done something wrong.

Marginalising and stigmatising vulnerable social groups via political propaganda in the media, using despiteful and malicious terms such as “workshy” and “feckless” is a major part of the Government’s malevolent “justification” to the public for removing the lifeline support from sick and disabled people, amongst whom are some of our most vulnerable citizens.

We are climbing Allport’s Ladder.

I have often suspected that Iain Duncan Smith is channelling the spirit of Goebbels.

In addition to very justified anxieties regarding the marked increase in disability hate crime that the Tory-led propaganda campaign has resulted in, many sick and disabled people have also stated that they feel harassed and bullied by the Department of Work and Pensions and Atos. Many talk of the dread they feel when they see the brown Atos envelope containing the ESA50 form arrive through the letter box.

The strain of constantly fighting for ESA eligibility/entitlement and perpetually having to prove that we are a “deserving” and “genuine” sick and disabled person is clearly taking a toll on so many people’s health and wellbeing. Many families of those who have died have said that the constant strain, anxiety and stress of this revolving door process has contributed significantly to their loved ones’ decline in health and subsequent death. The figures from the DWP, and the marked contrast between the ESA and IB death statistics certainly substantiates these claims.

The horrific, unforgivable and massive increase in deaths over this period coincides with the Government’s totalitarian styled rapid fire legislation – the “Reforms” – in the face of protest, horror, disbelief, fear and mass opposition. The Tories cited “financial privilege” to trample over opposition and stifle dissent, to drown out the voices of protest. Those protesting this Bill notably included many from the House of Lords. I lobbied the Peers, and emailed every single one of them, stating very clearly that the welfare reforms must not happen. I got a high number of encouraging responses. But  David Cameron got his own way.

Cameron made a Freudian-style slip when he announced to Ed Miliband recently, during Parliamentary debate, that “We are raising more money for the rich.” Not that we didn’t already know this was so. Many of us – around 73 sick and disabled people every week –  are paying for that wealth increase for the already wealthy with our very lives.

There are many who have so tragically lost their lives because of this malicious Government’s brutal and grossly unjust economic war on the poorest, on sick and disabled people and on the most vulnerable citizens, because of the Tory-led ransacking and plundering of our welfare provision and social support programs.

But just one life would be one too many.

Further reading:

The Black Triangle Campaign

536738_306169162785952_999031084_n
Many thanks to Robert Livingstone for his outstanding artwork.

This is an excerpt taken from a much longer piece of work – Remembering the Victims of the Welfare “Reforms.”

131 thoughts on “The ESA ‘Revolving Door’ Process, and its Correlation with a Significant Increase in Deaths amongst Sick and Disabled People”

  1. Many of those that survive after losing ESA are then trapped in limbo because Jobcentres refuse to help them as they are already too sick or disabled or about to have major treatment so cannot attend interviews or do unpaid work placements. They should be entitled to sick pay at least and fast-tracked back to ESA. They also deserve a formal apology and compensation.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yes, it’s emerging that so many are denied ESA as Atos say they are fit to work, only to find that the DWP refuse them JSA on the grounds that they are NOT fit for work, and cannot therefore sign every fortnight to say they are available to work. It’s horrific that this government simply don’t care. I agree completely that we deserve a formal apology and compensation. But we ARE talking about the Tories here….and I am certain that this punitive approach to the vulnerable is deliberate and calculated

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Also, from April this year, those appealing will no longer be able to claim basic rate ESA. So many more people will try to claim JSA only to be turned down for the same reason, Penny. Meanwhile, they will have to wait for DWP to undertake a mandatory second review. There is no time limit for the DWP to do this either, and you cannot appeal until you have the decision from this review. In short, the Government have made it almost impossible to appeal. 😦

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Those on Incapacity Benefit were not (necessarily) required to have continuous assessments but it does happen. There is a ‘revolving door’ process in some cases when on IB where you would have a medical, wait for about a year for an appeal, win the appeal then shortly later be given another medical and it carries on… All the time (In my case) the anxiety and depression levels are very elevated. I would not be in the least surprised if I’m suffering something like PTSD now.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I am very sorry to hear of your experiences regarding IB 😦 I talked to Anne McGuire recently about this issue, and Labour are aware that there were some problems with IB, and many many more with the Tory-shaped ESA. Although labour piloted the ESA originally, it was not the same as it has been reformulated to be by the Tories, in line with the welfare “reforms”. It’s now all about taking benefits away from people , rather than supporting them at all. We must continue to challenge the current Government, and work with Labour so that they can address this and put it right when they get into Office in 2015.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. Reblogged this on Life, the Universe and a Gutter's-eye View of the Stars and commented:
    This evil, criminal coalition government is literally getting away with murder. Just because there are people who abuse the system (I’m not for one moment denying that), they punish everyone. Let’s face it, what they’re doing is to steal money most of us have paid in National Insurance contributions (note the name of the tax) to insure us against things like illness and unemployment and use it for their own ends – but they won’t demand a penny more off multi-billion pound corporations in taxes! Let’s hope that all the comfortably off people in jobs now who join in the mass vilifying of ALL those on benefits, genuine or not, never need those aforementioned benefits for themselves…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. 0.7% of claimants is the percentage that the DWP themselves have provided of so-called fraudulent claims. However, IDS has admitted that a number of those will have been DWP based systemic error rather than fraud. Hardly justifies the sweeping reforms and endless assessments. That happened and continues to happen for other reasons.

    Disability can happen to anyone at any time. Illness or accidents are not discriminating at all. People forget that.

    Cameron already admitted they are raising more money for the rich. It’s coming from us, and the tax payer of course.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. heres my story …. feel free to use it …

    due to the glacial slowness of the DHSS and NHS I and my family are now firmly caught in the poverty trap of the governments making … I was hurt in an industrial accident 6 years ago but recovered enough to carry on working for a while with painkillers … then in December 2011 my condition flared up and left me paralysed for 6 hours, at this point my GP signed me off so that the condition could be assessed …. you can all guess what happened next …. 1, The NHS with its usual rapid response (my Operation is scheduled for March 2013 at the earliest) , 2 ATOS found me fit for work (0 Point assessment), 3, The Appeal will not be heard til March 2013 at the earliest due to court backlogs …then to hammer the final nail in my contribution based ESA hit the 365 day barrier and because the wife works more than 24 hours a week (at a minimum pay job) they have cut off ALL my benefit entitlements … so now we have a Mortgage of £511 per month plus Gas/Electric/Water to pay for and we are supposed to live on my wifes wage of less than £200 per week …

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Hi to you at this excellent web site. I just wanted to leave a bit of information here that might be of use to some people struggling with debt, which of course will be putting another strain on their situation. These guys have a fantastic amount of knowledge regarding the lawful quashing of any credit card debt or bank loan debt, as it is unlawful. Don’t take my word for it, check out http://www.getoutofdebtfree.org.

    Once people have been through this process and had their unlawful loans quashed and their credit history rewritten, as they have to also do that with the info GOODF give you, then they should also check out via the companies directly if they were ever charged PPI on any of those loans or credit cards, as many people will have had, many of them unknowingly.

    This is easy to check, you don’t need a company to do it, you can check with the company concerned yourself. They almost all have a PPI dept. now, or someone doing it for them, just Google the company, making sure it is not a PPI claim company by checking the http web address. i.e. http://www.hsbc.co.uk/ is correct for the bank as here – http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/contact-us/payment-protection-insurance. Then go through the process with them.
    Please do not assume you don’t have PPI on any credit cards or loans, and these can go back many years, assume you have and make them disprove it.
    Kind regards

    Phil Watson

    Changing Lives St Ives

    http://changinglivesstives.wordpress.com/

    Like

    Reply

  13. Hi sorry I forgot to add that this current legislation as well as this current scandalously dangerous and useless government (And I use the word ‘government’ in the loosest possible way) is as bad as I have ever seen. I feel so sorry for all of those people who are being affected by their madness, not just from this mad legislation, but in the business world and other affects of their madness. Time for a change of them methinks.

    Like

    Reply
  14. Pingback: Clause 99, Catch 22 – The ESA Mandatory Second Revision and Appeals « kittysjones

  16. Hello friends’ – i have just come across this page and i feel a kind of relief that they are good people out here in this dark world who do care about people Thank you. I know you are writing about the new esa and what is happening but, there is also other problems’ going on for Mothers’ who’s youngest child has turned 5. Under the new rules the job centres’ call in all mothers’ when their youngest child has turned 5 to then either swap them to jsa or esa depending on circumstances. They have give no pre-warning to this to give the mothers’ time to adjust – try find work, try find someone to look after their children etc but, then once they have swapped the mothers’ over to either one they leave them a few weeks’ then all of a sudden they stop their monies which is then followed by housing benefit being suspended until proof of benefit is re-instated but, here is the problem the dwp are taking weeks’ to make decisions and all the while the mothers’ have no rent to pay for their homes and no monies coming in to support their children. This i have found to be a really underhand tactic. Oh and before this change the mothers’ could go in to the local job centre for advice and help etc to now be told ” no we don’t deal with that here you have to phone this number” then when they phone the number they are left waiting in a que for 30 minuets to then eventually here a human voice ( or could be a robot sorry lol ) when they hear this voice they have to then pass a selection of security questions’ to which so many get failed upon and told they have to phone back – start all over again waiting etc..
    ( Sorry if i have made any spelling mistakes etc, i had to type this fast )
    Kind regards to everyone xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. Hi again Emma, Yes there are plenty of us that care very deeply about what is happening, and to all of those who are most vulnerable and need support . I know I waited over 6 weeks for my last claim of ESA, and then it was stopped because of my assessment…rent stopped and so on. I know that the problem is likely to have got worse as well, since I claimed, because of all of the changes, and YES they are all underhand. I write about ESA mostly, because that’s what I am familiar with. You will see from what I have written that the reforms that this government have brought in are killing the sick and disabled people at a rate of around 73 per week. That’s horrific and must stop, and I write so that other people become aware of this awful situation we are in.

    DWP take money from people at EVERY SINGLE opportunity. I know people that have been sanctioned already for 3 years and for no reason, and as for claiming “hardship funding”, well that’s a government myth because I know of not a single person that has managed to get that, so far. Tory LIES. Lord Fraud.

    Yes I’ve been through the costly phone calls and been cut off only to have to start all over, I swore a lot! It seems everything we have to do to get by costs us so much money: being poor is so expensive. Benefits are no longer about supporting people, this government have made them about punishing people who need supporting. Many of us have paid taxes, everyone pays VAT yet this government treat OUR money for benefit like it is their own, to cut. It isn’t.. But DWP are making people go up to 3 years with NOTHING TO LIVE ON. That isn’t civilised, what kind of society would allow people to starve?

    I think the truth is that people don’t know what is happening to us because the government are not being honest, of course. It’s heart breaking to know so many are suffering this extreme hardship, and fighting for survival, yet the government are still saying we are “scroungers” or “workshy”. Poor people don’t cause unemployment and poverty: governments do. But they want you to think otherwise. The wealthy just got a tax cut of £100,000 EACH per year under this government, yet they are starving the poorest of us. Wonder if that inequality is connected… great wealth for a few grows together with increasing poverty for many more 😦

    I feel for single mums too, being one myself, but my boys are at college now. Women should have a choice about when they work if they are raising children, and I know that childcare provision is rubbish and very costly, that will only get worse under the Tories.

    We must make sure we let people know that this is happening, especially those not affected yet, and we must look out for each other and support each other as best we can, too. I can’t wait for the next election when we can vote these evil, inhumane, filthy rich, unscrupulous, aristocratic vermin OUT.

    Very best wishes Emma X

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  18. great article. will be sharing it on Facebook in a few minutes. i am a disabled pensioner with numerous conditions. i am aware that we pensioners are lucky as we are not being touched in this way …SO FAR. …………BUT……….. my kids are or will be more so when council tax comes in for those on benefits too.. i have 2 kids. one is my carer. i have to subsidise her fares now to get to mine because she moved 4 miles away from me through no fault of her own.the house she rented privately was sold from under her and she had only 4 weeks to find somewhere. again private rented. son is in ex council/housing association flat. most of my daughters carers allowance is taken off her as it is means tested and she is on income support. i often find myself buying her the odd loaf etc to help her out. i do think carers should be paid much more than the £58 they get. after all they are saving the government £300-400 a week they would be paying if i went into a home..
    the worst thing though is my other child. (incidentally both are in their 40s and single). he has fibromyalgia. is in constant pain. its taken years (possibly since his mid teens) to get a diagnosis which he got just before last Xmas.he has had medicals every year for the past 10 years. been failed then passed on appeal each time. just before he was diagnosed he had an assessment. one which concentrated on his depression (which he would not have if he was fit and had no physical condition) and nothing about his physical condition was mentioned or assessed. he got 0 points. he is appealing. (dont know if this appeal will be allowed to go on with these new rules coming into play in April. hoping that existing claims going through appeal already wont have to go through the intermediary thing with DWP). when he failed his assessment and he told them he was appealing. they told him he had to put a new claim in for ESA. which he did. now hes been told he cant put a sick note in for 6 months until hes been on ESA for 6 months. can only do one for 3 months. today he should have got his money (minus £30) in his bank. it wasn’t there. he had to phone dss/dwp whatever they are called these days.. costing him for an 0845 number yet again(the week he lost his assessment it cost him £17 for phone calls getting things sorted/. out of what he was getting by then its a big chunk.) my daughter and i have been helping sort his money out and i have had to help him money wise till we got his outgoings down etc. now i am in the red myself and worried that it will get worse . already this week i dare not go out. i need to use taxis to get me from A TO B.. so cant go to my daughters (cost £13 return..) ,or my sons £12 return),Drs (£7 return) i cant afford to put petrol in my nephews car (he cant afford to do it when its for my benefit) to get me out of my 4 walls sometimes. i dont drink or smoke. i dont play bingo or go to cinema. my only pleasure is to have these little drives out. i dont resent helping my son out. and this week i had to give him a further tenner., just this morning. because dss hadn’t paid him/ they did work quickly sorting it.ill give then that, his money is now in his bank/. they said they hadn’t received his sick note which he posted in one of their prepaid envelopes last Friday/same day as he received their letter telling him it was due for renewal. obviously they HAD received it otherwise they wouldn’t have paid him. but i want people to realise that it isn’t only claimants who this is hitting but those who care about them/i cant let my kids .no matter what age they get to before i depart this rotten old world, be without lighting,food or heat.nor let then get into a state of depression to the extent of them taking their own lives. as so many have done. not if i can help it. but i am worried that if things dont improve, i wont even have an overdraft facility big enough to help them.or be able to get out of it myself. what happens after ive gone doesnt concern me as i wont be able to help and wont be here to see it. can only hope things get better and they wont have all this worry and upset.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. I am very sorry to hear about your families difficulties because of the consequences of this inhumane and greedy government’s policies. I’m glad your son has a mother that cares and can help and support the way you do.

    Yes it isn’t only claimants that are affected by this, but their carers, family, loved ones and friends. None of us remain untouched by what this government has taken away, only the very wealthy don’t have to experience such despair inducing loss of civilised and essential support.

    The government lied when they tried to justify the horrific benefit cuts (and stigmatising claimants to make it seem reasonable in the press) when they said that they were “making work pay”. 60% of those visiting food banks are in work. Tories are and always have been about taking money from those who have the least to give to those who need it the least: the very wealthy. They always destroy our communities, well being and way of life to achieve this redistribution of wealth.The sell off our public services and social programs of support are dismantled. They always do this. This time, 10, 600 sick and disabled people have died as a consequence of their ideology. It must stop.

    I pray that come 2015, the public are wise, can see what we see clearly, and vote Labour. It’s the only way out of this mess, horror and increasing uncivilisation process that the Tories are thrusting upon us.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. Kitty – you’re to thanked and congratulated for this excellent and eye-opening blog. I’ll be posting a link at flythenest.freeforums.org, a site run by and for refugees from the Guardian comment boards, where the Graun happily praises the government and even had an OpEd piece last year entitled ‘In praise of Ian Duncan Smith’. I kid you not.

    Well done, and please come and visit.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  21. Thank you redscourge , this really does need to be shared around so people know what is happening to the most vulnerable people in our society because of Tory directed hateful and evil policies.

    I will most certainly come visit. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  22. Pingback: The ESA ‘Revolving Door’ Process, and its Correlation with a Significant Increase in Deaths amongst the Disabled. | johncresswellplant
  23. Pingback: Bedroom Tax: The Delight Of Our Sadistic Government | Gina Ravens. Human Needs

  24. An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you need to write more about this subject matter, it may not be a taboo subject but typically people do not speak about these issues. To the next! Kind regards!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  26. Hi all , I can understand the pressure on ESA claimants with mental health problems being as I’m one myself … ATM going through the revolving door of being told by Atos I’m fit for work , when the lastime this happened over a year ago JSA told my that it was blatantly obvious I had mental health problems … I had my last medical 8th feb 2013 to be told last week I’ve only scored 6 points ..I went through the anguish public breakdowns in front of full job centres and council offices where I’ve been treated so badly I’ve had my breakdowns and other related panic attacks ….. To then wait 8 mths for a tribunal have my ESA reinstated for 2 months then back to square 1……I really don’t think I have the strength to go through all this over again …. When you don’t know how your going to live etc and to be told by Atos I’m fit for work then the job centre who won’t allow me to claim as I’m so obviously not fit there words …I’m now on double the amount of medication and my mental state is getting worse …. sorry for this long winded reply

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  28. I am at breaking point despite winning my appeal and I am not fit for work I still lose all my benefit under the ESA 1 year payment my hubbie works more than 16 hours a month so I get nothing thats £400 income lost and my DLA was taken away we have a mortgage and only an income of £1180 a month we live in Bucks where cost of living extorcionate I have thought about suicide many times

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hi Alison, I am very sorry to hear about your circumstances, it’s so unfair that people are losing so much money that is awarded for essential living costs. You can appeal the decision regarding your DLA. I would also advise that you to talk to your GP about your feelings of despair and suicidal thoughts.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  29. Frank, I am so very sorry to read about your circumstances, which are so impossible. To be told you are fit for work and have your claim stopped, only to find that the DWP don’t agree that you are fit for work, that is so very cruel and beggars belief. I know so many people feel they can’t keep facing the same fight and uncertainty. You are not alone.

    Is there anyone at all that may support you? Have you been in touch with your local CAB, welfare rights or legal support centre, as any of them may be able to offer some support too. At the bottom of this article, there are some links to sites that may be able to help. It’s under the heading “Help: Potential sources of funding from Charities and Trusts that help people out of poverty and debt:”

    https://kittysjones.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/735/

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  30. Hi all, it’s so nice to here so many of your stories on here and I share the heart ache with you as 1 year & 2 months ago I phone Blackpool DLA to ask if I could get carers for my daughter as she is now looking after me, I had an MRI SCAN 6 years ago and was told I had 2 split discs and other stuff and ended up with ciatica down my left side [ very painfull ] 6 years on I’ve had another MRI SCAN and this time it shows I’ve now got 4 split disc L4/5 S1/5 and now have spinal stanosus and my health has worsend, I can not put my socks/shoes/boxers/trousers etc on by myself and hence asking for my daughter to claim carers for her looking after me,and the lady on the phone took my details and I waited, A week later I got a latter saying my DLA had not change and would remain as is, I called them back and said this is not fair on my daughter looking after me all the time etc and wanted to appeal this, so she took more details and I sent my diagnoses in to them, I then got another letter saying I’ve lost it all [ AMAZED I WAS ] so then the appeal started and now tribuneral on the 14th December 2012 so because I nor the judge couldn’t understand the DOCTORS wording she said we will have to ajourne and not forgetting DWP did not challenge this. We went back to court on 4th Feb 2013 and “WOW” DWP turned up and put a spanner in the works over a letter dated 05/01/2012 that I hadn’t recieved so guess what yes they said we would have to come back again, so now I get a letter saying please come back to court on the 4th April 2013 BUT on the 2nd I got a letter saying sorry it will not be going ahead on the 4th as the DWP can not make it on this day, SO NOW I’m just waiting for a new day and my heads up my arse thinking what the hell’s going on here, The moral of my storry is this, IF WE COULD OF READ THE DOCTORS PAPERS IN THE FIRST TRIBUNERAL IT WOULD OF BEEN DONE AND DUSTED, SO WHY DID DWP COME IN ON IT AT THE 2nd TRIBUNERAL AND DO WHAT THEY DID AS THE LETTER I DID RECIEVE IS NOT THE LETTER THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT AND I’VE NEVER HAD IT, HELPPPPPP

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  31. last year atos found me ‘fit to work’ and my ESA stopped, I was told to claim JSA. This was the first time this had happened and i didn’t know what to do. The letter just told me I needed to claim JSA, so I rang JSA to ask about claiming and got told I wouldn’t be awarded it because my GP has signed a sick note saying im not fit for work due to my depression and other issues. In the end I got help from a benefits officer who helped me appeal and won. 3 months later I had the forms again. Ive got my next ‘assessment in 2 weeks and im so stressed. The last one was done by a physiotherapist who when asked, by me, if she wanted to know anything about my illnesses she said “just answer the questions”. They were all based on whether or not I can raise my arm and walk a certain distance. Nothing to do with whats wrong with me. I actually left very upset and confused and nearly went into the jobcentre to complain but I was in such a state of shock. I couldn’t believe what had just happened I just went home.

    I don’t know what I’m going to do this time. I already know I can’t claim JSA and I won’t receive any money while the DWP ‘reconsider’ my case. (Because I just know ill be found ‘fit for work’ again because nothing has changed with the ATOS system, despite the documentary about it last year. its like most of the country is blind to what is going on. It won’t be long though before people start seeing it for themselves. Most people know someone on benefits and a lot of people will end up needing them.) What am I going to use to pay the bills i’m already struggling with? and food?

    Also, I was in the jobcentre a couple of weeks ago and witness a young woman telling a member of staff that she had no money, had tried to ring the number but kept failing the security questions. I felt awful for her. What on earth could she do?

    And why do the tories think that making us even poorer than we were (which until now I didn’t think was possible) will help the economy? What the economy needs is people spending. And its not like we all want to spend our money on drink and video games. We need clothes and shoes, shoe uniform, interview clothes (if jobseeking), money for transport, internet (whether at home or by the hour in the library), printing and posting cv’s endlessly in order to satisfy the jobcentre so they don’t sanction you. And HOW ON EARTH are people expected to survive a few weeks without money? let alone 3 years!! OMG could anyone be any more barbaric and sick? This is no government. They are definitely a ruling party. They will have all people on benefits wearing special hats or arm bands soon. And they will be reporting that unemployment figures have gone down all thanks to their austerity measures. I expect they will fail to mention that just means everyones been sanctioned, and people who have been sanctioned aren’t counted.

    The rich don’t need the amount of money they already have. They certainly don’t need any more. What’s the point of it all sitting there in their accounts? It isn’t getting spent in shops around the country, helping local businesses and allowing people to buy the things they NEED and pay the bills they CAN’T avoid.

    I will comment again once Ive had my ‘assessment’ and let everyone know what I was asked. I will be taking a friend with me to take notes. You are allowed to take people with you and even record the ‘assessment’. I read that on the DWP’s site after clicking on a link in a report I was reading. I suggest everyone check this out and if possible do this. It could help when appealing. I will also let everyone know the result of the ‘assessment’ and the subsequent penniless hell I KNOW is coming. I hope there is a food bank around here.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I’m glad your taking some one I think it’s the only way you win, I hope you keep in touch, and next time it’s with good news, wishing you the very best x

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  33. my son who you paid supermarkets to employ and he had a good standard of pay, just so these supermarkets employed him, thanked my son by sacking him at every placement, not his fault, but he needed support to do the job, which was free labour, he keeps getting called up for more medicals, to get incapacity, he can’t handle stress, can’t stand for to long due to a club foot, although he is a middle age man, finds life stressful, he went for a medical with Atos, the woman sat with the computer mostly, ask my son to get on the couch, didn’t look at his leg, he didn’t get undressed, she just asked him to raise his leg that is all that took place.
    He phoned the DWP, they agreed he should never have been called up, but told him to get a sick note from his doctor, he wrote on it learning difficulties, nothing else, he rang them again, said they need his whole life medical, he said he was going to see the advice people, I’m disabled myself and can’t travel the long distance, he was told don’t go to the advice centre, they can’t help, so you are blocking any support for people, do you know how you are looking in people’s eyes who are less fortunate, you are bordering on nazi behaviour, and may even salute some of his beliefs, he didn’t like disabled people, or how many people he killed, does this not seem familiar to you, if not then you are to far gone.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  35. After going over a handful of the blog articles on your website, I really appreciate your way of writing a blog. I saved as a favorite it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking back soon. Please check out my web site as well and let me know your opinion.

    Like

    Reply

  38. So sorry to hear about you and your son’s experiences, and yes the parallels with Nazi Germany are clear. It was the sick and disabled that were killed first there as well. You don’t need a gun or gas chambers to kill someone: just prevent them from meeting their basic needs, and they will die. It’s still wilful and it is still murder. By taking money from the vulnerable, that is exactly what this government are doing.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  39. Kitty, thank you for posting this information. I find myself in agreement with the views expressed here and appreciate the clarity and detail in what you have written about.

    Wanting to believe we live in a democratic and just society, or at least one guided by such principles, I have been trying to hold back for a number of years on resorting to the phrase “Fascist” for what this Dictatorship is doing, but I have finally given in because the evidence is overwhelming. Suffering from depression which makes focussing and processing information difficult, and anxiety which makes going out and interacting with people difficult, including PTSD, from serious threats of GBH (screaming: “I’ll f**king kill you! I PAY for you!”) by a person whose resentment of my being on (then IB) ESA led them to try to kick my door in, and me having to phone the police, I am on the sharp end of all the things you talked about and also the prejudice that has been encouraged in this society toward people with physical and/or mental disabilities.

    I was failed a first tier appeal for ESA on Monday 15th April despite strong evidence of the validity of the condition making my capability for work limited. The fact they actually agreed to give me 6 points shows that even they had to admit to there being validity in my case. Yet the strange points system seems arbitrary – “Oh, yes, it seems you do suffer from these mental health issues , but we’ve decided that this is irrelevant – you don’t suffer from them ENOUGH!” The whole system is dehumanising, humiliating and confusing and the so-called points system is a farce. I am now in limbo not knowing what is going to happen to me as I await what the next letter I get from the DWP says. For someone with anxiety problems this is terrifying. There’s no point me going into the details of my case or the cases of people I know as there are plenty of examples in this thread of the evil that is being perpetrated by this “Ruling Elite” upon the poor and vulnerable. Even a counselling entry form I have just received reads like a robot wrote it – zero empathy, and with an intimidating implication that to qualify, you have to go through an ‘ASSESSMENT phone call’ (their capitals) – which just echoes the tone of how this system seems to make you feel like you are a criminal if you suffer from a disability.

    The complexity of the information involved in the process of claiming, being assessed, being refused, appealing, being refused, and also the lack of clarity in how it is presented (I find nothing on the Direct Gov website that tells me anything about what to do if an ESA Appeal is refused) is devastating and despair inducing for someone whose condition makes concentrating and sorting out information very difficult. On top of this it seems they deliberately set new rules in how you see a GP simultaneously to when ATOS gave me zero points (which they obviously do no matter what you say or do in the interview). I had previously had a doctor with whom I had developed a rapport over years, who knew my case, my situation, and because of the familiarity, meant it was easier for me to see her without my anxiety kicking in. As soon as I started having to get Fit Notes I realised they had changed the system and it seemed I was literally being blocked from seeing the GP I was familiar with. The first GP I saw I had never met before and he used phrases like “Snap out of it!” regarding my mental health issues! It appeared he was some kind of plant, with either no knowledge or understanding of mental health and how to deal with someone with such issues, or with a deliberate policy of disdain for and ignorance of it. I had to get Fit Notes from four different doctors each time it was a very stressful process, till finally I managed to get an interview in March with the GP I was familiar with.

    They have changed all the names of the benefits to confuse people, they have changed how you see a GP to make it more difficult to get a Fit Note, to reduce the rapport factor so that people’s cases almost have no history so that every time you speak to someone in the DWP or a GP it is like you have to go through an ASSESSMENT all over again.

    Oh, and yes, coincidentally I have a spare room which means I have had my Housing Benefit reduced and have to pay for this room out of whatever money I get for a Living Allowance. Bedroom Tax.

    Now my ESA appeal has been refused I don’t know what is going to happen next. And it seems I am one of the ‘fortunate’ ones in that I set my first appeal before April 2013, so at least I was able to get the reduced ESA for the 6 months I had to wait for the tribunal hearing with HMCTS, and as you point out they have brought in a policy from April 2013to leave people with nothing if they appeal. It is a Catch 22 – You fail your ATOS medical assessment, you appeal, they take away your ESA, so your only options are either: to lie and say you ARE capable of work to get JSA thus undermining any appeal you might make as you have legally had to state you are capable of and available for work – or – tell the truth and say you’re not capable of work, and be given NOTHING – therefore become homeless and end up what? A beggar on the street? If you already suffer from depression and anxiety the kind of things that this system leads you to think about are likely to exacerbate those very conditions! It’s sick.

    I have lain there unable to sleep in a state of terror at night thinking “They are trying to kill me.”

    These policies threaten people at the most basic human level, their security, their feeling of safety that they will be able to eat, will have a roof over their heads, that they will be warm in cold weather. I am disgusted by what this inhuman, and smugly evil “Ruling Elite” is doing. They seem proud of it too, they seem to enjoy making PR photos of Osborne looking like a pantomime villain – it’s as if it is a joke to these multi-millionaire murdering weapons salesmen.

    Another depressing factor is that I am hearing no noises whatsoever from the so-called Opposition – and there seems to be very little mainstream publicity of what is beginning to look like a Fascist culling of the poor and vulnerable. Where are the voices in the ‘halls of power’ who are speaking up for the people who are suffering under this regime? I can’t hear them.

    An apparently Government and mental health organization charity MIND supported website TIME TO CHANGE seems to be ineffectual. They talk about educating society about mental health issues yet I have seen virtually nothing on their site about the wholesale culling and punishing of people whose mental health issues mean they have to rely on benefits. They pay lip service to the concept of increasing awareness and “inclusion” of people with disabilities, while in reality paying scant attention to the fact that this Government’s policies are causing people in difficult circumstances to suffer tortuously.

    It is heartening to know that people like yourself are doing the work you are doing Kitty. It helps to feel that I am not alone with this situation. So I would like to thank you again.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you Luke. Good summary of the catch 22 situation we face, and I am so sorry that you are going through it too. I would like to pick up on an issue you raise about Labour. The Opposition are opposing this loudly and clearly, Luke. I listen to the Parliamentary debates, and read the Hansard record of any I miss. I also campaign and talk to Labour MPs a lot. Labour have been calling for the WCA to be scrapped for a while.You won’t see any of the opposition and challenges in the media, because we have an authoritarian government that controls the media. Take heart, because Labour really are fighting for us,and many of us campaign to make sure they do, that they are aware of the devastating impact of Tory-led policies on our lives, and that they have the information they need to fight back for us.

      Here’s an example; 17 Jan 2013 : From Column 1050 – http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm130117/debtext/130117-0002.htm

      Lo and behold there was some coverage from the Guardian, though be warned that there have been news black-outs and evidence that even the Guardian are under government control, evidence for this is that labour MPs have told me that their press releases are not being published. – http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jan/17/atos-attack-emotional-commons-debate

      More challenges – http://www.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/21035307

      Here is Anne McGuire, listening to our concerns and addressing them, Labour have had a dialogue with the disabled community for a while, and this was a meeting in November last year that I wrote about – https://kittysjones.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/welfare-wrongs-and-human-rights-a-dialogue-with-anne-mcguire/

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Thanks Kitty. It is heartening to know that there is a voice opposing these inhuman policies. I am grateful for the amazing work you are doing here too, thank you.

        Liked by 1 person

  40. After looking at a few of the articles on your web site, I honestly like your way of writing a blog. I saved as a favorite it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking back soon. Please check out my website as well and tell me how you feel.

    Like

    Reply

  43. An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a co-worker who has been doing a little research on this. And he actually ordered me dinner because I stumbled upon it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time to talk about this topic here on your internet site.

    Like

    Reply

  45. Oh my goodness! Awesome article dude! Thank you so much, However I am encountering problems with your RSS. I don’t understand why I am unable to join it. Is there anyone else getting similar RSS problems? Anyone that knows the solution can you kindly respond? Thanx!!

    Like

    Reply

  47. Have just stumbled upon this site. For anyone reading my post, please check out Glasgow Against ATOS on fb, some of the cases there are heart breaking. What strikes me is the total news blackouts on anything to do with benefit changes. Channel 4 do pick them up from time to time, but to get in depth coverage RT, a foreign channel, brings it to the fore. We appear to be living in a Dictatorship and not a Democracy. The poor, sick, disabled and most vulnerable of our society are being stigmatised by the likes of IDS and this Tory Government in general. There is a dark purpose to this – divide and rule, play off an able bodied workforce against a branch of society who, due to circumstances often way beyond their control, cannot work and therefore have to rely on help from the State to live. If the British public knew the other side to the story, rather than the devisive propaganda spewed from IDS’s Office, the DWP, ATOS and David Cameron, maybe they would be able to form a more balanced opinion for themselves.

    Sadly, the voices of those so badly affected by these swingeing changes are muted through panic and fear. How can you pick up the gauntlet for a cause, when constantly in despair, worrying how to feed your family, pay your bills and keep a roof over your head? This Government isn’t just about changes to benefits, it is about changes to the society in which we all live – ‘them and us’ with a massive void in between. Back to the Rich and the Poor. Workhouses were a product of Victorian England, Work Fare is today’s Tory equivalent. “Work pays” they say, but to encourage employers to take on the sick, disabled and vulnerable, “Do away with the minimum wage for that lot” is their solution. Pull the cripple’s stick away and kick him when he’s down and when we’ve finished with him, he’ll be too battered and bloodied to put up a fight. Better still, he may even die – that’ll save us some money! I’m not an activist, but we have to do something about this before it goes beyond the point of no return. Bombard the press, the media in general with factual information about the effects of the changes, the suffering, the hardships and yes, the deaths.

    I do not desire to be contoversial, the following is a atatement of fact; in Hitler’s Germany the Jews were required to wear the Star of David as a means of identification…………………

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to car insurance Cancel reply