Tag Archives: mental health

Jobcentre Staff to ‘Assess’ Claimants Mental Health

Jobcentre Plus Exterior with Logo on sign

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has come under fire after it announced a scheme whereby jobcentre sdtaff assess claimants mental health. The £100,000 scheme being rolled out in Cornwall will see claimants on Universal Credit assessed by the work coach to as “to avoid seeing their GP”. The DWP have announced a controvertial £100,000 scheme for benefit claimants

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Stuart’s Diary – My lowest points on Universal Credit – WARNING

Mental health conception on white background

Stuart has written for the site before. He is on Universal Credit and I allow him to share his story in exactly his words. I don’t edit anything. The spelling and flow may sometimes be off but, in this article he is sharing some of his innermost thoughts he wrote at a real low point. Nothing at all has been

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4,600 disabled claimants wrongly stripped of benefits, still not told a year on

DWP - Department for Work and Pensions sign

Minister for Disabled People, Sarah Newton MP gave a statement on the 20th of December updating the House of Commons on the progress of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). What seems to have gone largely unreported is that at least 4,600 people who were found to have incorrectly lost their Disability Living Allowance (DLA) in 2017, still haven’t been contacted by

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University study labels Austerity as ‘Social Murder’

Philip Hammond Budget 2018

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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Stuart’s Diary – My next 6 months To the point of death & gaining control of Universal Credit

NOTE to readers Everything Stuart writes is unedited and raw. I don’t believe in touching it bar a few layout changes. He writes what he feels and has experienced. Alex Stuart’s Article l wrote this email to one of the heads of UC and tried to hit him hard with the true facts that i still could prove about his

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Two in Three Personal Independence Payment decisions overturned at Tribunal since 2013

DWP - Department for Work and Pensions sign

A Freedom of Information request has shown that since Personal Independence Payment (PIP) came into being in 2013, over two-thirds of cases that go to Tribunal result in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) decision being overturned. This will come as no surprise as the number of decisions emerging in favour of the claimant has always been high. What

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DAMNING study shows Universal Credit IS to blame for rise in poverty and foodbank use

Universal Credit Foodbank Use 2017

National foodbank charity The Trussell Trust have released their latest study on the effect Universal Credit has had foodbank referrals and other poverty factors in the UK. The comprehensive study is damning for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) as it shows that the new benefit is directly to blame for the rise in foodbank use. More worryingly it

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DWP data shows claimants with a Mental Health condition 5 times more likely to be sanctioned than others

Data released in a Freedom of Information request (FOI) by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) shows between 2010 and 2014, Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants with a mental health condition were 5 times as likely to be sanctioned than those with other health conditions. The FOI request submitted by Jack Dutton on whatdotheyknow.com asked for; “A graph showing the employment and

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Personal Independence Payment study shows claimants are confused, stressed and misled

DWP - Department for Work and Pensions sign

A report by The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed that over one third of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants don’t appeal the decision made during the mandatory reconsideration (MR)  stage because the process would be too stressful. This comes as figures show that the DWP spent £200 million fighting disability appeals.   The report released by the DWP shows

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Proof the DWP intentionally misleads Personal Independence Payment applicants

DWP - Department for Work and Pensions sign

Following my journey through the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) application process and first stage of appeal, I can show how the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are intentionally misleading applicants. The way they are operating is leading to disabled people losing out purely on how things are worded. It’s no secret that applying for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is

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DWP suddenly find debts to recover from Universal Credit back payment

Jobcentre Universal Credit Sufferer - Alex Tiffin

Just a day after telling me that they had overturned their original decision on my fitness to work and stating that I’m due back payment. The Department for Work and Pensions – DWP have now suddenly found debts to recover from it. The catch they couldn’t tell me what they are yet. So I last wrote about the DWP’s sudden

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DWP dramatically admit to damaging my health.

DWP - Department for Work and Pensions sign

In a strange but welcome turn of events, the Department for Work and Pensions – DWP have cancelled my tribunal and recognised my health affects my ability to work. This morning, 29th August, I received an email for Universal Credit stating that I had a message in my online account to read. I was slightly worried as I barely ever

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DWP demand I send medical reports for PIP appeal as they never used any for their original decision.

DWP Sign Caxton House

I wrote before that the DWP had told me that my mental health was not an issue when they gave me my Personal Independence Payment – PIP Assessment decision. Despite saying they’d contact my psychiatrist it appears they didn’t. I called the PIP helpline this week to see if my Mandatory Reconsideration had been done yet. As I previously advised,

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