DWP should hang their heads in shame

[SmashingEgg]

www.disabilitynewsservice.com/dwp-dismisses-300-pages-of-evidence-linking-its-actions-with-countless-deaths/

I have no words to describe how appalling this is.
This isn't a complaint from Fred Smith, this is in depth research that's been dismissed.
Absolutely disgusting.
I'm in a very fortunate position of never having had to deal with them but I really feel for those who do.

It's heartbreaking this government have so much blood on their hands.
They'll happily line their friend's pockets but won't put money where it's so desperately needed.
So many people have been failed by this system and it's only getting worse.

There was meant to be a full stop after 'heartbreaking' 🤦‍♀️

Their use of capitA says it all

I suspect there's far more to this. They don't just sanction you for no reason at all.

They don't sanction you for no reason, and if you are sanctioned you can apply for a recoverable hardship payment.

They make zero allowance for circumstances. People have been sanctioned for missing appointments when they were in hospital. And yes, those sanctions have often been undone - but they should not have happened at all.

There's no consideration for people who are seriously mentally unwell either.

The system is punitive and intended to be so.

I don't know @TigerRag it seems that they sanction you for the least thing.
I know there have been genuine cases of people being unable to keep their signing on appointment, such as being taken to hospital or being genuinely poorly.
If the diabetic man was poorly from being unable to take his diabetic medication and unable to keep his appointment, then I can see him being sanctioned.
It's a shocking state of affairs.

Well yes, we knew about this ten or twelve years ago and unless you were directly impacted there were very few people who cared.

That is why at demonstrations the banners read 'Atos kills'. Atos was the privatised company who treats people as less than human in so called 'assessments'.

Meaning people do and did take their own lives because of the DWP actions. I'm glad it is better publicised now, but to believe the DWP is all hearts and flowers is sadly very misguided.

I suspect there's far more to this. They don't just sanction you for no reason at all.

They really do.
In my role I have to contact the DWP almost daily to request sanctions are removed.

I have been dealing with a UC claimant since November who's situation while complicated is not impossible to work around and during that time I have liased with their work coach to try and solve it. On Friday their WC told me he was sick of this claimant and their problem and would not be dealing with it any more and put the phone down. The claimant is at real risk of losing their home and is surviving on food banks and family just to survive.

Yes they do!
I don't know how people still can seriously think this. The DWP are incompetent and have sanctioned people in error or just being arseholes to people who can't fight back.
Here's my mums story of being sanctioned I suppose my mum got sanctioned for being Ill in hospital having emergency operation is reasonable is it?
My mum was sanctioned whilst in hospital awaiting emergency treatment. She missed a health assessment as she was lay seriously Ill in hospital. Then to make matters worse when she had to appeal it they said she had attended the assessment and she was fit for work. They had mixed her up and copied and pasted notes from someone else. This had to go to tribunal and took 18 months to appeal.
18 months of no sickness benefit she was entitled to due to them sanctioning saying she didn't attend, then saying she attended but she was fit for work whilst she lay in hospital.
So yes they do sanction people for no reason.

Would the two of you accept and defend an equivalent "sanctions" system being applied to state pension? Hospital care?

If not, why not? If so, why?

This isn’t new. My father in law’s “assessment” was a work of pure fantasy in 1996. It was overturned on appeal 8 months later, but he had died 6 weeks before the decision came through. It wouldn’t have saved his life, but it would have made it a damn sight easier

YABU OP because you assume this government has done shame. They don’t. They simply don’t care. The sound of ministers this week saying they are standing up for integrity and public service has made me feel sick to my stomach.

It’s disgusting. Sadly too many people think like @TigerRag or simply don’t care.

And yet so many people quick to defend the billionaires using tax dodges, tax avoidance schemes, non-dom statuses, other legal or shady avenues to avoid paying taxes.

”You must have gone something wrong.” Sometimes you really haven’t.

The may not do. However is missing a sweaty appointment punishable by starvation and in some cases death/suicide. Come on Tiger ffs, even convicted criminals aren't left to starve.
Also I don't know how people subjected to desituion are going to be any fit state mentally physically and financially to look for work.

No offence love but you don't understand the article. Nor the concept.

Had issues recently with Dwp/Capita. OH had been on PIP as has a lifelong history of mental illness that impedes his ability to function, the report after his assessment seemed to have been written by someone listening to a completely different interview! Appealed and was rejected, now we need to take it further but OH has all but given up. Which is what they want people to do. It’s outrageous.

Preeeettyprettygood I worked in welfare rights. A good chunk of our work was sorting out benefit sanctions. Our clients were mainly disabled/mental health issues and had genuine reasons for missing appointments. In a lot of cases they shouldn't have been getting called in for appointments. Getting sanctioned also means that HB/CT stops and some people are then threatened with eviction. It really is an attack on the vulnerable.

I had to go through appeal for PIP. They turned me down a third time. When I got the letter I wondered if I could sue the NHS, because the DWP said the complete opposite of my Consultants, so who was wrong? I then had another episode and was awarded it. It was all about me not getting the £5k that I was owed in backpay.

There's another investigation into tax evasion as well as general millionaires, it includes premier league footballers. Let's see if it's another loophole that they've been allowed to jump through. The last investigation findings wasn't upheld by the final court hearing and was worth billions to the country.

@Preeeettyprettygood my above post didn't tag you. I could add in stories about people who have Lads, as everyone working in welfare rights could. The whole point of DLA was to remove poverty from disabled people and the Tory's have removed that protection with the changing of criteria.

I despair. They are truly awful. The stories I've read of peoples experiences are just shocking. The assessments that are exaggerated or twisted. Their aim is to make it so difficult and decline to put people off so they don't appeal. It's ironic they ask for medical evidence which they then ignore in favour of their own assessments. I read one where they queried on the report if a blind person was really blind as "their eyes followed them in the room".
I agree with you OP. DWP and Immigration are the two factors of government where are depressingly inhumane.

There's no consideration for people who are seriously mentally unwell either.

I have had a brilliant experience when seriously unwell with mental health with Job Centre and DWP - not everyone who works for the DWP is an asshole. I was treated with care, compassion, given support, advice and a lot of support. My case worker, assessor, job coach were all excellent.

The only people who were not were the Debt service part who said I owed money but still cannot explain why. I am paying it back 50 pounds per month and it is being investigated now - but this was the only part I have found to not be up to standard.

If you are seriously unwell then you don't have to go to appointments in my experience - my job coach filled in the exemption - maybe some don't know about this?

DWP = Corporate Manslaughter for disabled people.

It was designed this way.

Completely agree. As a disabled person I've been through this and know the assessment fear all too well. I've had to go to Tribunal several times myself.

However I suspect you won't find a huge amount of empathy from MN. Some, of course! But the overwhelming majority on here, in my personal opinion, are highly judgmental of anyone on benefits for any reason and believe benefits are the sole biggest scourge of the UK ☹️

😔 I’m not surprised. My DH had his PIP totally taken away two months before he died of cancer. He’d been terminal for too long according to the system. He got a ‘seeing as you’re getting better…’ letter. Then I did end of life care at home on my own with two young DC because there was no hospice space. And then he died. So no ‘getting better’ 😔