Friday 21 February 2014

An interesting week

Well, where to start?  "Welfare" has certainly been in the news this week.

On the outsourcing front, we knew that there were moves to oust ATOS from their WCA contracts and move the work to other providers.  Today we learn that the company has announced that it wants out.  They gave the information to the Financial Times, perhaps significantly, giving as the reason the abuse of their staff.  They say that they've been trying to agree an early exit for some months (the contracts are due to end in August 2015) but won't walk away until there are other providers in place.  The BBC news website reports that the government is furious at this announcement because it will probably mean that other companies will put in lower bids to take on the work than they otherwise would.  Which other companies would pick up this poisoned chalice?  Capita already has half the PIP contracts, along with ATOS, so they might be keen.  Then there are the other usual suspects, including A4e.  This is not, after all, payment by results (not officially, anyway) so it's a guaranteed income.  But would it be worth the hassle?

The row between the government and church leaders escalated this week.  27 Anglican bishops and 15 nonconformist church leaders wrote a letter, published in the Mirror, which attacks in no uncertain terms the government's creation of a "national crisis" of hardship and hunger.  This forced the whole subject onto the agenda, with much discussion on TV and radio about Cameron's claim to a "moral mission".  The debate was further fuelled by the publication of the latest sanctions figures.  Record numbers have been plunged into destitution in the year to September 2013; 897,690, including 22,840 ESA claimants.  This compares with 500,000 in the year to April 2010.  Iain Duncan Smith's response, parroted by his colleagues, was, "sanctions are used as a last resort".  We remain unclear as to whether he actually believes that.  My congratulations go to the Bishop of Manchester who, in the face of a very hostile interview on BBC radio, was extremely coherent and accurate about the hardship inflicted on individuals for no good reason.

However, a leak to the Guardian this week showed that, just when you thought they couldn't sink any lower, they do.  The idea has been considered by the DWP of charging people who have been stripped of their benefits to take the case to appeal.  At the moment 58% of appeals are successful.  This is clearly too many for the DWP, so slapping on a charge which no one could afford to pay would cut this figure admirably.

While the expected drivel poured from the right-wing commentators and their readers, I do suspect that a lot of people who had previously taken no interest in the subject have now woken up to what is going on.  It probably won't change anything in the long run, but getting all this out in the open can only be a good thing.


13 comments:

  1. Just heard that Whitehall has just branded ATOS "unprofessional". Funny how the government took no notice of ATOS's unprofessionalism when conducting work capability assessments. They ignored and dismissed ATOS clients. But now ATOS has embarrassed the government, and ATOS finds its operating environment uncomfortable, they turn on one another.

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  2. The problem is.. the cheapest gets the contracts at the moment not previous success.

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  3. ''Last Resort'', that's interesting considering the fact if you put a foot wrong the first thing that happens is a sanction.

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    1. Quite so. Sanctions are the first, last and only resort and are regarded by the DWP as an "achievement" and a "positive outcome".
      See:
      http://skwalker1964.wordpress.com/2013/05/12/dwp-calls-benefit-sanction-achievement-and-positive-outcome/

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    2. Historians remark about the 'unraveling of the Welfare Reforms' by this coalition has just been handed another bombshell.
      For the hundreds of thousands of PiP claimants, for the nearly 1million sanctioned benefit claimants (year end Sept 2013), for those punished by the Bedroom Tax, the thousands of out of work individuals badly let down by the W2W program. For all this pain I say good riddance to rubbish and wait the day of the next General Election.
      Maybe we can have a more liberal (possibly maybe not the best choice of word here) and people-centric welfare system- putting you and me at the heart of the system. Cut out the middleman politics - A4E, G4S, Capita and their ilk contracts ALL scrapped.
      I personally would retrospectively look into detail at the behavior of these organisations over the last 5 years - no more commercial confidentiality nonsense- get it all out in the open.
      Yeah I know you say - 'dreamer' get real, but I believe it can eventually be done.
      'A fairer Britain - a better Britain' how's that for a political slogan - bring it on guys- lets all join together and give one almighty push. _Tom

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  4. I don't know if this has been mentioned recently but a4e is rumoured to be bidding for Jobpath contracts ..... What a nerve! - http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/g4s-among-three-private-firms-to-bid-for-jobpath-contracts-1.1700819

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    1. Speaking of Ireland, how about this - an article (advertorial?) from the Irish Independent just over a month ago?
      http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/thinking-the-unthinkable-to-cut-dole-queues-29924374.html

      It's such a massive pile of cobblers that, for once, I think I'll let the article speak for itself.

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  5. Sanctions are a first resort with the DWP.

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  6. I am getting tired, it seems that everyones hands is against the poorest, the sickest, those who are unemployed, No one seems to be listening to us, and if they do there are millions of others who call us liars. I lost a good friend because they fell for the benefits street stories, and the lies spread by the dwp.. I told them and showed them the truth with documentation, yet they didnt want to know. This is the insidious power of the dwp.

    I am getting so tired its harder and harder to fight. hopefully someone will realise whats happening, but i think by that time they will not care

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    1. Keep going. We all know how hard it is, but don't let them grind you down.

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    2. Would it be useful to have a place online where people could post details of unreasonable sanctions made against them?

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    3. There's a website the details of which I've forgotten which posts instances, often culled from the press.
      I am quite willing to act as a depository for such details (I do already) but it would have to be with actual names and dates - not for publication, obviously, but so that I can say I have such details. Otherwise it can always be dismissed as unverifiable and untrue.

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