Friday 29 March 2013

Universal Credit: But we're still on track!


EDIT, April 26th:
The following blog post was posted on March 29th. Following this story, I simply HAD to update it and add in the final, hilarious killing blow.

The Universal Credit Time Line thus far


Government: Universal Credit will be Universal. It will take all those complicated benefits into one simple benefit for everyone all round the country by April 2013, by means of a universal IT system working seamlessly with the tax system.
Us: Sounds good. But, er, what about contributory JSA, council tax benefit, child tax benefit, contributory ESA, Pension Credit, Attendence Allowance, Statutory Sick Pay, Carer's Allowance...
Government: Well, except those benefits. Apart from those it will be Universal.

Some time later.

Government: Universal Credit will be Universal. It will take all those complicated benefits (apart from those it doesn't) into one simple benefit for everyone  from 4 dedicated job centres by April 2013, by means of a universal IT system working seamlessly with the tax system..
Us: Um. 4 dedicated job centres? Wasn't it supposed to be universal?
Government: Well, yes. But it will be universal by October 2013. But we're still definitely on track.

Some time later.

Government: Universal Credit will be Universal. It will take all those complicated benefits (apart from those it doesn't) into one simple benefit for everyone  from 4 dedicated job centres by April 2013 (universal to come in October 2013), by means of a universal IT system from which you will be able to enter your details and do job searches.
Us: Er, wasn't the IT system supposed to be universal and work with the tax system?
Government: Well, yes. But that will come later. For now only part of the system will be operational. But we're still definitely on track.

Some time later.

Government: Universal Credit will be Universal. It will take all those complicated benefits (apart from those it doesn't) into one simple benefit for everyone  from 4 dedicated job centres by April 2013 (universal to come in October 2013), by means of a computer on which a jobcentre advisor will enter your details on the system and use a spreadsheet to calculate your entitlement.
Us: Er, wasn't a universal IT system supposed to have been developed to work out all this and claimants do everything online?
Government. Well, yes. But that will come later at an undetermined date. But we're still definitely on track.

Some time later.

Government: Universal Credit will be Universal. It will take all those complicated benefits (apart from those it doesn't) into one simple benefit for everyone  from a single dedicated job centre by April 2013 (more to come later at undetermined time), by means of  a computer on which a jobcentre advisor will enter your details on the system and use a spreadsheet to calculate your entitlement (IT system to be implemented at undetermined time).
Us: Er, weren't 4 dedicated job centres supposed to be implementing Universal Credit?
Government: Well, yes. And more definitely will later. But we're still definitely on track.

I am filled with confidence.


UPDATE April 14th: A few days ago the Government announced it would be abandoning its "digital by default" scheme which was the original cornerstone of Universal Credit. This would have seen all claimants apply and use the benefit scheme online with the developed IT system. No further comments were forthcoming.  (But they're still on track...)

UPDATE April 26th:
Progress at last! It seems claimants will be able to enter their details remotely via a form that takes a minimum of 45 minutes to fill in. Sadly there is no save function so if they need to stop to fetch a form they then have to start again from scratch.

On the other hand the trial has been even further restricted. Only 300 claimants will take part and must satisfy the following criteria as it is feared the system cannot cope with anything more complex:

• live in a specified postcode area but not be homeless, in supported or temporary accommodation or a homeowner
• be single, with no dependent children, a British citizen and aged between 18 years and 60 years and 6 months
• be fit for work
• not have a claim to Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) that ended in the last two weeks, except where ESA ended due to a decision that you no longer have limited capability for work
• not be pregnant or be within 15 weeks after the expected date of birth;
• not be receiving existing benefits (including Housing Benefit) or Tax Credits or awaiting a decision on, or be appealing against, a decision not to award any of those
• not be in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• have expected take home pay no higher than £270 per month (under 25s) or £330 per month (25 or over) and not have savings in excess of £6,000
• not have any caring responsibilities
• not be self-employed, in education or have to rely on an appointee; and
• have a valid bank account and National Insurance Number.

What about everyone else I hear you ask? Well... they'll be sorted out later... somehow...

Friday 22 March 2013

Spartacus: The Day the Government Condoned Plagiarism


EDIT: March 25th
My analysis of the situation has now been corroborated by Professor Beresford himself in an open letter to DWP ministers.


Let's say hypothetically that I wrote a book or an academic paper.
Let's also say hypothetically that a famous person were kind enough to write and sign a foreword to my book or paper.

What do you think would happen if I then tried to pass off what they had written as my own work? Let's say I quoted something from their foreword and said it was from me because it was now part of my book or paper.

Quite rightly there would be outrage. The famous author or academic would come down on me like a ton of bricks. And I would deserve it. No one should ever take credit for someone else's work.

But equally this goes the other way. If the famous person had written something someone found controversial, no one could say that I personally wrote it.

Yet on Thursday 21st March 2013 I was astonished to see our government do exactly this.

The minister for the DWP Mark Hoban had categorically refused to see a delegation of disability representatives with MP Michael Meacher. When pressed why he insisted that he would not see Spartacus in particular. Michael Meacher was shocked by this given that he feels that Spartacus is currently one of the leading disability groups and prepared for constructive discussion about important issues surrounding ESA and the WCA. He therefore asked for an adjournment to discuss this " wholly unreasonable and unacceptable behaviour of DWP ministers".

The adjournment took place on Thursday. The full video of the debate can be seen on this blog. Also available on Michael Meacher MP's blog is a text transcript of his opening statement (lovely praise for Spartacus incidentally :) ) and all objections raised.
Mark Hoban was absent and his place was taken by minister for disability Esther McVey After a lot of waffle the reason given was that they felt a meeting wouldn't be "constructive".
Their justification was a single quote out of the 6 or 7 reports produced by Spartacus. Her precise wording is as follows:
[the Minister for Employment] did not necessarily feel that the dialogue would be constructive because of the words used by Spartacus in this regard:
The WCA is a statement of political desperation. The process is reminiscent of the medical tribunals that returned shell shocked and badly wounded soldiers to duty in the first world war or the ‘KV-machine’, the medical commission the Nazis used in the second world war to play down wounds so that soldiers could be reclassified ‘fit for the Eastern front"

The problem is that the quote is not by any of the Spartacus authors. It is in the foreword to the People's Review of the WCA, written by Professor Peter Beresford OBE, BA Hons, PhD, AcSS, FRSA Dip WP Professor of Social Policy Brunel University.

Were I to quote anything from that passage in any academic text or book, I would HAVE to put the author as Professor Beresford, not the spartacus authors. The source is a Spartacus document, yes. The author is not.

The difference appears to elude McVey who by the by, not only attributed the quote to Spartacus, but mentions "other such comments".

I personally wrote a great proportion of the original "Spartacus Report".
There were no other such comments. In fact there were none at all. I took great care to be polite throughout.
What was said yesterday came perilously close to slander.

I'm not even going to go on to address the reasonableness of refusing to meet a delegation on the basis of that single quote when held up against Spartacus's strong history of constructive, reasonable, rigorous and factual research and debate.  

If the government is desperate enough to cherrypick a single quote out of literally hundreds of pages in order to justify ignoring us, and if the only one it can find is not even written by one of our authors, then I don't think there is much more to say.








Monday 18 March 2013

#Beddingout: Lost Life? Busy Bed!

Artist Liz Crow is currently performing "Bedding Out". During this she takes to a bed in a gallery for 3 days to show the hidden side of disability which no one usually ever sees. It is a reaction to the current welfare rhetoric.

As part of this she organised a photo competition  #beddingout for fellow disabled people who are also house or bedbound depicting their bed and what it means to them.

This really got me thinking. I'm not a particularly good photographer, but I went ahead anyway and made the following arrangement and photo. It was more for my own benefit and pleasure than anything else and I don't intend to submit it. For one thing it is rather personal and needs a bit of explaining, which rather defeats the purpose!

As many of you may know, after 6 months stuck in my bedroom I replaced the sofa in my lounge with a daybed. This has proved to be one of the best decisions ever made and completely changed my life. My lounge is big and bright and a lovely place to spend time in.

I took the photo on a sunny day with the light streaming through the large windows onto my daybed. Most of my friends and guests don't get to see my lounge during the day, so this is a chance for you to see what I enjoy while you're not here!

I've given my photo a title (click to enlarge):

Lost Life? Busy Bed!



Many of you who know me will understand what I mean.

The left hand side of the bed shows what most people see when they think of my life: a life lost, in darkness where the wheelchair and the wolf (illness, lupus) lurk.

The right hand side of the bed is a mess! It is supposed to be! Bathed in light it shows that life has gone on, even though it is in bed. I threw on some of the things I do, all from my bed: books, games, audiobooks, sewing, laptop (and everything that allows, from campaigning to skyping to surfing the internet). Many of these things I enjoy doing with friends who continue to visit regularly.
I included small ornaments indicating interests I still enjoy, like Dr Who, Science Fiction, Science, and even my fish tanks.  The 3 pictures above the bed are ones I made myself and depict my love of wildlife and nature which I now indulge via documentaries.
I also added the toybox that my goddaughter and little sister love to play with when they come on their regular visits. Only, they don't play with the toys on the floor. Oh no! They love nothing more than to clamber up on the bed and play with me, dragging as many toys up as possible. The bed becomes a place of adventure, imagination, giggles and joy.

So yes, my life has become restricted. There is no doubt about that. I am extremely ill and I do need help and support. But at the same time life has gone on. People often ask me if I am bored. I think my bed has the answer to that!

P.S. As an aside, this is where the Spartacus Report was mostly written: in that bed, under the duvet with that laptop and a bucket load of painkillers!