ESA Support group in for a ROUGH ride 2017 (Support group to be CRUSHED!)

FBaby

The stress of working people have to make due on yet more pressure at work but a reduced income, whilst benefits pay better, will mean more and more people claiming benefits for stress related MH issues!

parkrunner

gemmaking wrote: »

This will have an affect on the sick people, especially to their mental health.

Do you think this can be overturned with a petition ?

No as it's a green paper.

missapril75

curty510 wrote: »

Tax the working man/woman even more, to increase benefit handouts??? Yeah, that will be popular

One man's benefit handout is another man's lifeline.

I know which man I prefer.

Sixer

sangie595 wrote: »

You missed the point. The consultation includes discussion about whether additional options could be healthcare led rather than job coach led. I don't disagree with any of what you say about what has happened, or what could happen - but if everyone simply writes of the chance to have a day on what should happen, then you have lost any chance of influencing anything. That is no different from always dividing the gov't and never voting - if you don't vote, then you have got what you deserve.

Anyway, it seems fairly obvious now that people would mostly like to !!!!! about what is wrong rather than discuss how it may change and how that can be achieved, or even if that is what we are prepared to pay for to achieve it, so I won't be bothering with the thread any more. It's always easier to blame everyone else and complain about the government rather than do something about it. Guess that's still true.

I think there may be some sticky wickets appearing given the publication of the UN report. There has been little consideration of the impact of benefits system on existing legislative frameworks: human rights and equality legislation. If pro-bono lawyers can be found, we will see a case or two making their way up the court system given the government's failure to conduct proper impact analyses to ensure their policies don't fall foul of UK legislation.

But yes, we should all be thinking of ideas.

Personally, I think the £20bn implementation cost of Universal Credit has been wasted. We had perfectly adequate systems in place for unemployment, disability, low pay top ups, rent assistance, etc. That £20bn could have built 150,000 council houses and used to bring the Housing Benefit bill down.

Why not abolish Child Benefit and add the £13 a week (or, say £15 if we average out the extra money for the first child) to Tax Credit child allowances?

Why spend £1.5bn on disability testing to save £1bn on the benefit bill after testing and appeal and tribunal costs are taken into account?

Why cut social care when every £1 cut adds more than £1 to the NHS bill?

Why not consult to see whether increasing Carer's Allowance and reducing the criteria to claim it would save more on social care expenditure than the increased Allowance would cost?

Just some possibilities that don't involve making people's lives even more of a misery than they are currently. There is an awful lot of spending a pound to save a penny going on in government.

Galeeno

Wonder what this years budget will announce relating to benefit cuts, what do you predict ?

campervan33

My husband has alzheimers and just four weeks ago (applied in february) he was put into the support group for esa. Last week we both had a letter from JCP to attend a meeting with a job coach. I work part time as well being his carer, he has also been diagnosed with acute asphasia so it will be an interesting appointment. I got really stressed when the letters turned up but have calmed down and will just attend, it will also be interesting to see how the job coach will communicate with a man who can barely string 2 words together.
I did call the DWP to see if they had made a mistake calling us in but apparently not. I just dont get it, Im working he has AZ diagnosed several years ago !!

pmlindyloo

campervan33 wrote: »

My husband has alzheimers and just four weeks ago (applied in february) he was put into the support group for esa. Last week we both had a letter from JCP to attend a meeting with a job coach. I work part time as well being his carer, he has also been diagnosed with acute asphasia so it will be an interesting appointment. I got really stressed when the letters turned up but have calmed down and will just attend, it will also be interesting to see how the job coach will communicate with a man who can barely string 2 words together.
I did call the DWP to see if they had made a mistake calling us in but apparently not. I just dont get it, Im working he has AZ diagnosed several years ago !!

This is WRONG

If you are in the Support Group then you do not have to attend any work focused interviews.

Look at this link and use the information/legislation to question this.

http://dpac.uk.net/2016/09/template-letters-for-esa-support-group-harassed-by-job-centres-again/

Of course, you can go voluntarily if you wish.

campervan33

Thank you for your reply pmlindyloo, we will still go as I do not trust that they wont suspend him if he dosnt attend. I just hope that once they see us and I confirm that I am already working and (they will see he has az) show them his diagnosis that they will leave us alone

tooldle

My brother is in the support group, and gets call in for appointments from time to time. He tells me it is more of a check on how he is, and if anythign could be offered to help him.
This would make sense, in that brother is severely sight impaired. He has spent his life working in retail, and can no longer do this. However, depending on the abiility of the individual it might be possible to retrain into another type of work, and this is where the support group would help.

KxMx

I do believe for the Support Group those meetings are voluntary and not compulsory.