The current form of austerity was introduced by the Conservative-Liberal coalition government that came to power in 2010. The world was still recovering from the aftermath of the financial ‘crash’ of 2008; the most significant global economic downturn since the Great Depression (1929-39). It is effectively a campaign of budget cutting designed to reduce the UK’s (at the time) unsustainable
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School children and parents staged a protest outside The Highland Council headquarters in Inverness on Friday over planned cuts to pupil support for those with additional support needs. The children walked out of lessons to protest the Independent run Highland Council’s three-year “phased approach” to reduce the number of Additional Support Needs teachers (ASNs) and Pupil Support Assistants (PSAs). Highland
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Disabled workers on Tax Credits can currently receive additional premiums, a Disabled Element (WE) and a Severe Disability Element (SDE). However, if they’re moved to Universal Credit there’s no provision for these and it will see claimants lose over £4,000 a year. There’s been much talk on the news about the loss of the Severe Disability Premium (SDP) for claimants
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A study by The University of Lancaster on the effects of austerity in the social security system has labelled the policy as ‘social murder’. While this is of no surprise to many, it does add weight to the growing calls to end cuts to the benefit system. The research titled:“‘Violent proletarianisation: social murder, the reserve army of labour and social
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The DWP has revealed that claimants used to receiving the one-off Christmas Bonus on legacy benefits such as Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), are no longer entitled to the additional money once they’ve moved onto Universal Credit. The Christmas Bonus is a one-off, tax-free £10 payment made to people on certain benefits in the first week of December. It
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Professor Philip Alston, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur for Extreme Poverty and Human Rights will deliver the preliminary findings of his investigation into UK poverty tomorrow. Conveniently for the government, the mainstream press will likely be to busy covering Brexit to push the findings. This will be the fifth, (yes fifth), report by the UN since 2010 and although
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The Times have reported that Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey has told Cabinet colleagues that about half of lone parents and nearly two thirds of couples with children would lose a whopping £2,400 a year. Tory MPs are finding it harder to defend the under fire benefit as they deal with more and more cases related to Universal Credit
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It is well know that Universal Credit is causing hardship, suffering even death. While the public are all too aware of this, employees of The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are living it everyday. That’s why I’m proposing radical action. I will admit that this may not be the most popular of ideas but ask that you hear me
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I naively thought the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) couldn’t make any more “errors” in my case. Well no they have gone and told Motability that I no longer have a Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claim. This is despite me being awarded enhanced PIP just two weeks ago and having previously been on DLA.
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Planning has recommended for a massive new back-office HQ for the Department for Work and Pensions – DWP in the welsh town of Rhondda Cynon Taff. You’d wonder were they’re getting the money when they are claiming they need to making savings. Well in true Tory fashion like over £1 billion other government assets it is “forward funded”, (ie;rent due), by
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Hi everybody, My name is Bayard, I am a former telephony agent from Universal Credit. I was an employee there for two years and my duties consisted of answering queries, calculating and issuing payments, handling complaints and requests for reconsiderations, booking appointments, issuing advances, and quite a few other things. Our responsibilities on telephony evolved over the time I was
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“You are the government, and we should know what you are doing and what you are spending.” This is what High Court Judge Justice Lewis said when ordering the Department for Work and Pensions – DWP to disclose details of a compensation settlement made to two men the High Court ruled were unlawfully discriminated against because of their disability.
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Work and Pensions Secretary lies through her teeth at a speech to Reform think tank whilst begging for their ideas. In a shock twist, a BBC Journalist was barred from attending. He has called out the DWP for their substandard roll-out of Universal Credit before and now McVey has gone full Trump. Yesterday Esther McVey made a speech to think tank
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This is a press release from the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), on Universal Credit which I think is import to publish.
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