More dirty tricks from Dave's men!

Brassedoff

http://m.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/sep/03/disabled-benefits-claimants-fines-work?cat=society&type=article

The good old Conlibs think people's minds can write cheques their bodies cannot cash!

Richie-from-the-Boro

The JSA sanction doc you refer to was published in May this year and is called Code: DWP09 v2.0 (May 2012)- the previous name for this sanction doc was Code : DWP1002.

Did you notice the original originator of the current ATOS / LiMA [ Professor Michael O’Donnell's - bio-psychosocial model ] Peter Lilley has been commenting on ************ the DWP's hatchetman running the revolving door of (1) WCA, then (2) fail, then (3) appeal, then (4) Tribunal, then called in for another (1) WCA, then (2) fail etc. The nice Mr Grayling who used to be the hatchetman for the DWP delivering the ATOS targets gets promoted to SoS Justice - here he gets the power to decide on the Tribunals service budgets. Essentially ****** the originator of the whole Conservative designed model during Labour rule gets his original DWP/ATOS design job back, and Grayling moves up to manage the department that pays for / allows / funds / appeals. That's nice - init ?

Lord Freud (Westminster’s Minister for welfare reform) claims that it is based on evidence. It is not. It is a right wing model led by profit and the market. It incorporates the worst aspects of neo-liberalism. It targets disabled people and ridiculously claims that we can think ourselves out of being disabled. Its underlying theme repeats the mantra that ‘work will set you free’. But this is not about work, despite the endless rhetoric; this model is an ideological cover for attacking disabled people and reducing every single right to financial support that has been achieved. Additional fringe benefits are provided to the insurance market of Unum, to the profits of Atos and to the big Disability Charities who all capitalise on the new notions of risk being imposed on disabled people. We can identify a clear pattern for the construction of the bio-psychosocial model, and its advocates.

Yesterdays 11am - Atos Healthcare debate in Parliament

Tom Greatrex:

The work capability assessment was rolled out to millions of people on incapacity benefit under this Government, despite pilot projects in Aberdeen and Burnley highlighting serious concerns. The Minister said, during our previous debate—I paraphrase him slightly—that in his judgment, the Government should get on with that process and try to work on the basis of the expert reviews as they were going on, rather than fixing it in the first place.

Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab):

Is my hon. Friend as concerned as I am that the chief medical officer of Atos is now Professor Michael O’Donnell? He was previously employed as chief medical officer by the American insurance company, Unum, which was described by the insurance commissioner for California, John Garamendi, as an “outlaw company” that has operated in an unlawful fashion for many years, running claims denial factories. Is that the kind of person that the Government should allow to be in charge of a work capability assessment system?

Tom Greatrex:

My hon. Friend makes an important point about the organisation of the company contracted to undertake that work on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions. I shall go on to make points relating to other legitimate concerns about Atos Healthcare that need to be addressed. In many respects, given that the cost of appeals has more than doubled in two years, from £25 million in 2009-10 to £60 million in 2011-12, the performance by Atos Healthcare has, in many ways, been extraordinarily poor.

.. .. read the whole debate here.. ..

.. .. see the attemps of California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi to Bar 'Outlaw' Insurer From California. For back ground on Professor Michael O’Donnell's - bio-psychosocial model here.

.. .. see here for a two day old British view of Unum and Prof O'Donnell.