Well this is a new fucking low....

[CherryMyBrandy]

Tories are now proposing to stop benefit claimant's access to medicines if they have been deemed not doing enough to look for work....

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/michael-heseltine-hate-politics-jobless-prescriptions-b2449412.html

It's not enough to sanction them, so they basically have next to no money to live on. Now they want to take away their access to medicines, some of those will of course be life-saving.

It was the sarcastic tone of your post I found nasty, as if people with conditions are somehow trying to opt out of the necessities of life. Many, many chronically ill/disabled people struggle to do the most basic things in life, but it doesn't mean they're not aware of them or are trying to weasel out of being functional.

Also, a statement like 'finding jobs is not so hard', for someone with medical issues that many employers can't or won't accommodate, is just not true.

🤣 This shows how many people don't bother reading posts properly! I mean, circus acrobat?

I think the current headless chicken mode in Tory land is due to the fact that it's starting to dawn on them that actually, for all their "it's what the public want" guff, no - this isn't what most people want. Most people want to be able to feed and heat their homes and families. And stealing from the most vulnerable in society ain't gonna do that.

Agreed. I'm incredibly lucky to have a supportive employer and be skilled at a very sedentary job that can be done from home propped up in bed on a bar day. Most people with my condition are very much unable to work and quite desperate about it. Many of them talk with huge sadness about jobs /careers they miss

It's pretty shit being ill and poor.

So, to summarise this discussion. We are all in agreement that there are people who scam the system and there are those that need the help and should be supported.
For those of us who struggle day to day with seeing the amount of people who abuse the system on a daily basis- why should we not expect the government to try to ensure that only valid claimants are claiming. Despite the people claiming they are few and far between- I have come across many in my job. To the extent that they are demanding gym membership for their whole family and other absurd requirements. (Yes- I do wish I could afford that for my family).
Perhaps I am just unlucky but the number of people who I have come across who are claiming benefits is becoming a joke. Dropping hours so they can claim UC, so they get childcare paid for. And these are ‘professionals’. Since when did we become a nation of takers rather than being proud to support our own families.
I 100% want people who are unable to work to be supported, but I wholly object to those who could and would work but won’t because they are being supported to not do so by the welfare state.
I have been lucky enough to be physically/mentally able to always work, however there are MANY who are also able but choose not to and the tax I pay is supporting that. Why should I not expect there to be repercussions for those who abuse this?
Please don’t respond with the Boring ‘what about big businesses’ comment. That is a very valid but separate conversation.

It already happens. I work but get UC because my income is low. I can't work more because of a disability that requires medication. The rules changed and I no longer get free prescriptions because, despite my wages not being enough to live on and therefore getting a top up from UC, I earn too much for the free prescriptions. You now have to be in receipt of UC AND the amount of UC you receive be over a certain amount ie your wages be under a certain amount, in order to get them free.
I regularly have to take less than my prescribed dose so I can make my meds last longer then collect them every 6 weeks rather than 4 to save money.

Why are they targeting disability claims when more fraud is committed by those who claim they unemployed but are working several jobs cash in hand. Or claiming they live alone when they don't.

@Babyghirl you must know that couple very well to be sure there is nothing wrong with them. Most sicknesses or disabilities aren't visible.

That's outrageous! This government makes me so angry!!!

Why not target the reasons that the rich pay smaller proportion of their income in tax than teachers and nurses? It would be far more lucrative than going after a small number of benefit cheats on low incomes?
Why not target the billions of pounds in fraud that the Chancellor permitted during covid?

You know what I've never understood?

All these posters who are envious of free gym membership, long-lie-ins, free Range Rovers, etc, who think it is soooo easy to fraudulently claim enough money to live comfortably, why don't they leave work and sign on to UC if it's so great?

And FYI, free gym membership is an NHS thing, not UC. If you want it gain weight and develop health issues related to weight. You can get discounted gym membership from some gyms on UC but honestly, unless you are one of these UC claimants who can afford multiple holidays a year on £360 a month, who only appear to exist in MNLand, you won't be able to afford gym membership even at a discounted rate.

Have you looked at a pre payment card? They're about £108 a year. You can pay this in monthly installments.

Give over. This is the most left conservative government we have ever seen.
There is such a small gap between labour and conservative now you'll barely see a difference if labour get in.
These daft threats you see will never materialise, they are to appease the (real) right and give them glimmers of hope. The sad thing is that governments are very much lacking spine so would never carry through.

Give over. This is the most left conservative government we have ever seen.

Do you actually believe that?? Good grief.

This is the most left conservative government we have ever seen

Left? They're unhinged. There is nothing left-wing about removing tents from homeless people in the middle of winter.

@TigerRag I have, but thank you for checking. I only have one to collect each month so it doesn't save any money unfortunately!

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/benefits-sickness-wfh-sunak-autumn-statement-hunt-b2450898.html

As for checking claimants bank accounts monthly, what about mps and Lords and barronesses accounts being checked. Michelle mone for a start.

Seems a lot of people haven't yet realised where they sit in the social and legal standing of society. Bloody peasants.

Exactly I'm finding age is definitely against me (over 55).ive been asked about my age twice in interviews and that's without any disabilities. So certain criteria does make getting a job more difficult. Don't get old, don't get ill, don't have a disability or this government will persecute you.

ive been asked about my age twice in interviews and that's without any disabilities.

What do you reply ?

The first time I was taken aback last time I said in a jokey manner you can't ask me that but he pressed saying he had to ask. I replied why? He replied its incase you were having a knee op next week. My mind still boggles at that one.

My response would have been if you're to thick to work it out, I can't see myself working here. Good day.

But then I have pointed out spag errors in "tests" they try to give, and told one interviewer their "ace coder" had made a mistake in a question they set.

Which they had, and 3 other candidates hadn't seen.

For some reason I can spot a typo at 100 paces before even reading the whole slide. Not sure what it means.