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MSE News: Fears raised over digital benefits system
Former_MSE_Helen
Posts: 2,382 Forumite
"People from disadvantaged backgrounds may suffer if the government goes ahead with plans to digitise the benefits system ..."
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Who is paying for the broadband and computer?
Some people can't even get a crisis loan for a cooker.
How about for a computer and broadband?0 -
Well its the responsibility then of everyone to brush up on their IT skills.0
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Well its the responsibility then of everyone to brush up on their IT skills.
Yeh. I'd like to see someone visit her home, persuade her to let them in, climb through the mountains of clutter, find a power point that isn't falling off, get an internet connection and then, whilst standing up on one foot as there isn't anywhere to sit or stand normally teach my elderly, pretty much housebound, dyslexic mother, partially deaf and going blind, how to use a computer when she only just about uses the standby, volume and channel ± buttons on the remote control.
Genius idea.
And before anyone asks, no, I can't teach her. It's taken thirty years of having remote control televisions to get her to the point of mashing the keypad until it gets loud enough instead of changing channel when it's too quiet. And she has an unfortunate habit of hitting people that she thinks make her feel inadequate.I could dream to wide extremes, I could do or die: I could yawn and be withdrawn and watch the world go by.Yup you are officially Rock n Roll
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More scaremongering.....if you read the quoted story you will see that telephone access and face to face help will still be available. Why are people afraid of change?Be Alert..........Britain needs lerts.0
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paddedjohn wrote: »More scaremongering.....if you read the quoted story you will see that telephone access and face to face help will still be available. Why are people afraid of change?
Agree. Heard a BBC radio piece on IC yesterday in the car, various take's on it, mostly biased. The one I recall was a charity spokeswoman who said '' in my flat the only broadband I could get cost £30 p.m.'' Clear implication, this new system would cost those needing to claim an additional £30 p.m. She wasn't called on it.
Don't know if it'll affect pensioner's. My mother will never use a computer or the internet. But as long as there's face to face and/or telephone options, I don't see the problem.0 -
I welcome everything that becomes available online as I use the internet for everything and you do need the internet when looking for work and computer skills for many jobs but I hope that the cost involved for people to get online and pay to be online is factored in when calculating benefit levels.0
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Surely it's an improvement on the current system. Those who can use it will, and those who can't use it will have less of a queue on the phone. Win/win, surely?!DMP Mutual Support Thread member 244
Quit smoking 13/05/2013
Joined Slimming World 02/12/13. Loss so far = 60lb in 28 weeks :j 18lb to go
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I haven't read the full article but assume it is about benefit claimants with no IT skills or internet knowledge/access which I've seen on other websites.
Perhaps this move will ultimately help to tackle digital/internet exclusion in deprived communities?
People will be incentivised, and local community groups and libraries, will be motivated to help with the knowledge/infrastructure gap.
For example, banks can offer basic bank accounts now that they never used to offer those with poor or no credit history? Big issue sellers are helped with bank accounts and that sort of thing. Pensioners can have their benefits paid into a bank account where it used to be all cash based. That's a big help to tackling people who have never had a bank account.
Many councils have services that can be requested online (anything from booking bulk rubbish collection to moving addresses following a house move for the electoral register, library and council tax and so on)
A lot of information and help can be sourced from the internet - helping people go online for their basic services has to be a good move.
The worries about those who are hard to reach in terms of their unwillingness or suspicion of or access to facilities for online services are valid, though.0 -
And how far will people be expected to travel for face to face help? There are some who already have to travel miles to sign on costing them precious money for necessities.
There has to be some kind of home visiting for the very elderly and very infirm to get help if they move offices away from towns surely.0 -
grandma247 wrote: »And how far will people be expected to travel for face to face help? There are some who already have to travel miles to sign on costing them precious money for necessities.
There has to be some kind of home visiting for the very elderly and very infirm to get help if they move offices away from towns surely.
Warrington - that's where the call centre will be:undecidedWell Behaved women seldom make history
Early retirement goal... 2026
Reduce, reuse, recycle .0
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