#frothers Unite!! Time for change.

[northernmonkey]

Hello to all you #frothers
Thought I'd take the liberty of starting us a nice new thread as the other is getting rather full. :)

Ah, there's so many issues with ESA that I don't know where to start. I could easily write a 10,000 word piece on it. I had cut the blog down by masses - originally it ran to 4 pages!

ESA claimants getting put on Workfare 3 months BEFORE they are possibly going to be classed as fit for work, Terminally ill Cancer patients not getting ESA if they take too long to die, Being unable to get JSA if they are not fit for FT work...the list goes on and on.

And as for the new Universal Credit - that's just going to make things worse. I suppose the only saving Grace is that the disability Working Group has won a small concession that people in residential care will now be allowed to keep their mobility component of DLA (as the Tory Cun ts were going to take that away...)

Hunty
Great post. It is such a shocking and terrible thing.

Can you do one thing though - could you "translate" the abbreviations? I don't actually know what ESA is, and had to think about JSA for a moment.

Some readers will know this, some might not. Might be good to ensure that we give a bit of background, or link to other sites where the reader can read up.

ESA - Employment and Support Allowance. Benefit that replaced Incapacity Benefit. Paid to people with disabilities that are out of work.

JSA - Job Seekers Allowance.

IB - Incapacity Benefit.

DLA - Disability Living Allowance.

PIP - What is going to replace DLA in 2014.

PIP - Personal Independance Payment. Will also replace Direct payments to disabled people who pay for their own personalised disbality help now. Will be subject to much stricter criteria than DLA is - and the DLA form is a 40-odd page form...

Direct payments - a payment from Social Services paid to a person with a disability in order for that person to pay for services that they may personally need in order to live independantly, like carers etc.

Maybe an idea for a separate post? The benefits system with explanation of who can claim what?

In ESA, there are 2 groups. One is the support group, for those that are considered to be so severely disabled that they will never work again. Which is meant to be only 5% of those claiming ESA, as far as the Government and the DWP are concerned - so only 5% of genuinely disabled people are allowed in this group.

The other group is the WRAG - Work Related Activity Group. They are expected to undertake courses etc with a view to moving them OFF ESA and onto JSA .

So 95% of people with disabilities are intended to move into the workplace.

Hope the Government and the DWP has told employers this...

However - The Governments OWN FIGURES show that they expect at least 20% of people that are moved from the WRAG onto JSA in the future will not meet the condidtions for CLAIMING JSA. In other words, they are not medically able to work FT.

So they will be too ill for JSA, but too well for ESA.

And I will fall into that category when DS3 turns 5yo (if it is still 5yo to be switched from IS to JSA - it will probably be 3yo for him...)

I'm shitting fucking bricks to be frank.

YY, Good idea, MmeLindor.

Yy to all of these ideas. Great stuff. I'm off to read Hunty's blog post and catch up.

I know HUnty I am too. I'm going through it at the moment. Like you I am capable but unemployable, but the ATOS people don't look at anything beyond what you appear like in 10 minutes on a certain day - no reference to consultant records or anything which would make any sense. I will prob be placed in the work group but no one will employ someone off sick so much in a fluctuating way. It's so frightening.

Shit. That means the whole ESA thing is a bomb waiting to go off and the couple who committed suicide were just a start.

I'd read about bits of this but having then all laid out is startling.

The good thing is that we have Frothers who are experts in certain area and those who know nothing. We must ensure that the posts are so explained that those who knew nothing come away with a clear understanding of the issue.

I am pretty ignorant of most of this stuff do am happy to be sounding board.

When dh lets me in pc, will add badge to my blog and page with description of what Frothers is about.

We should work on a mission statement which we can all use - I use basically same one in blog, twitter, FB profiles.

I have been warning my dad about this but he is convinced that his DLA is safe cause he is already a pensioner. He has COPD and uses DLA for mobility vehicle as he can't walk far.

Does anyone know how many people receive DLA? And how many mobility cars there are on road at present?

I thought I'd do a little survey and ask people how many people they thought were presently receiving benefits and compare that to reality.

Could be interesting

We could all post the survey on twitter/FB and ask friends to fill in.

I think it's something like 3 million? Not sure about motability.

Hope your dad is ok and his dla safe. My disease is under copd banner as well but not the usual copd. Horrible horrible thing. They will start ATOS assessments for all dla claimants from 2013 as well, intending no doubt to get many dla claimants off the benefit in similar style to ESA. It's so, so worrying :(

What is the difference in amounts received in DLA and ESA, and how does that compare to JSA?

Huge sympathy for anyone going through this - have had v bad asthma recently, where the spectre of not being able to work because of not being able to breathe raised its ugly head, and I really, really feel for anyone with COPD - must be v hard to live let alone worrying about working.

How to feed blog posts to Facebook - Not sure who owns the Facebook page?
Here are the instructions:

? Log in to Facebook with the correct account. Go to facebook.com/notes.php. Go to that address directly, as clicking the "Notes" link on your main Facebook page might not bring up the right link.

? Click "Edit import settings" on the left side of the screen.

? Paste our blog RSS feed into the "Web URL" field, tick the box agreeing with Facebook's terms of service, then click "Start Importing."

Our RSS feed is: toomanycuts.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Questions answered as best as possible:

MmeLindor - Yes, it is a HUGE bomb waiting to go off, is ESA. Why do you think the Government have issued the JCP staff (Job Centre Plus) with Suicide Guidance?

How many claimants? Well, for DLA combined with ESA, I'd guess at around 1.5 million? Maybe 3 million tops for total claimants?

His DLA ISN'T safe - in 2014 they are abolishing DLA, even those with lifetime awards will have to undergo a medical done by ATOS in order to claim the new PIP.

Breadandbutterfly - Simple explanation: DLA (Disability Living Allowance) is a benefit paid to cover additional costs caused by having your disability. It can be paid to you whether you are in work or unemployed.

ESA (Employment Support Allowance) is an out-of-work benefit for people with disabilities that either cannot work (apparently only 5% of people with disabilities according to the Government), or people with disabilities that mean they aren't available for work immediately.

JSA (Job Seekers Allowance) is an out-of-work benefit paid to those who are available and able to work FT.

Rates depend on ages etc. Take me, for example. I am a 30yo woman. ATOS class me as fit for FT work, yet my Neurologist will only sign a fit note stating that I am 'fit to work PT on light duties only'.

Right now, as DS3 is under 5yo, I get £67.50 Income Support each week as an amount for myself. I am under no obligation to seek work, as I am caring for a child under 5yo as a Lone Parent. JSA is also £67.50. ESA for the WRAG is £94.25. ESA for the support group is £99.85.

When he turns 5yo, I will not meet the criteria for Income Support, so I will be told to claim JSA. I will not be accepted for claiming JSA as I do not meet the Criteria that I must be available and able to undertake FT work. So I will have no money coming in.

I will then get told I need to claim ESA. When I go for my medical, I will be told (again) that I am fit for FT work. And therefore not eligible for ESA.

Then my only choice will be to appeal the decision not to award me ESA. Appeals are taking 6 months to be heard. That means I will have to go 6 months without any money. 70% of appeals are successful. Then, after a year, I will be transferred from the WRAG of ESA back to JSA. Where the cycle will start all over again, and leave people with disabilities without any income for roughly 6 months in every 18 months.

My head is spinning.

How can anyone in government even think for a moment that this will not cause massive suffering? They must know this.

I've had to take a break from frothing. I fear I may have a stroke or something I am so enraged.

I will be back to frothing tomorrow and will update FB with the blog feed (thanks garlic!) and the avatars on FB and Twitter and collate the thoughts for The Plan.

I have had to start a jokey chat thread and cuddle my family to feel better

Hello my friends

Am back from weekend away from t'internet

You are wonderful people, just caught up from the weekend

Nothing more to say for now x

HuntyCat - and yes all that for people who are already so, so exhausted and downtrodden by the very fact of living with chronic illness. It's so wrong, and yet there is this stealth campagn to label us all as feckless benefit scroungers. It's terrifying :(

I, for one, would be happy for a more twitter/blog savvy person to repeat anything/everything I have ever said on these threads

Some fabulous thoughts here that are singing only to the converted

I am so annoyed with myself that I am not better at the other stuff

At the risk of making you all froth yourselves into a frenzy, I am going to link to this blog.

brokensinglemum.blogspot.com/?m=1

Absolutely utterly ashamed to be British when I read something like that.

Yet another example of abhorrent plans to hit those who least need or deserve it:

Chemotheary patients to undergo benefit checks

Sorry, typing affected by froth.

Knotty
I read about that yesterday. MN may yet explode with frothy Frothers