WTF are Frothers? Have you seen them around and wondered? Not a quiche, but a protest group. Tory, Labour, Lib Dems - Common Goal - Protest Against the Cuts

[MmeLindor.]

What are the Frothers?

The term "Frothers" came about one dank and dismal November day in 2011. A frustrated user of the parenting forum Mumsnet started a thread about her dismay at the cuts that the Conservative/Liberal Democrat government was inflicting on the British public.

She stated that she was not "quite a frothing berserker but I am getting rather cross with our government messing with the good stuff".

The good stuff - policies, benefits, institutions that had taken years to achieve were being cut for no good reason, often leaving gaping holes in the fabric of British society.

The NHS, with which we Brits have a love-hate relationship, but like a favourite sibling, we wish to protect from harm.

Sure Start, a successful scheme that supported parents who were struggling and offered children from deprived backgrounds a better start in life.

Universal Child Benefit was cut for those families who had one earner bringing in more than £44k a year. If both parents each earn less than £44k, they keep their UCB payments. This obviously hit single parents and families with a single earner hardest.

Disability Living Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance - which enabled those with disabilities to live a decent life, without feeling that they were begging for assistance or were a burden to the taxpayer.

Student Fees, the introduction of which, contrary to Lib Dem pre-election promises, means that a whole generation of young people will have to think carefully before applying to higher education.

These and many other cuts are being made in the name of austerity. We are "all in this together", but some of us are deeper in this than others.

We all understand that there are sacrifices to be made but why should these sacrifices be borne by those who already have so little?

The general public seems oblivious of the dangers being faced, they are unaware of the injustices being wrought on the already disadvantaged.

The government is winning the war of the headlines. They have blasted the recipients of DLA and ESA as scrounger and cheats so often that the general public believe it. They misinterpret data to "prove" their points. Teachers are painted as being irresponsible and greedy, while the bankers rake in the money.

The poster on Mumsnet was not alone for long. Within a few days, a group of over 30 posters had formed. They asked themselves, "What can we do?".

The idea of a blog was born. Three days later the blog had over thirty authors signed up, a Facebook page and a Twitter account.

The Aims:

• to open the general publics' eyes to the injustices being created by the governement

• to inform those who are facing cuts about their rights

• to link with other activists and charities, in order to put pressure on the government

Are you a Frother?

Come and join us.

BLOG

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

I would hope that tribunals would keep doing the same, there's nothing solid saying they won't. The fact that they need to have tribunals working differently just proves how crap the ATOS system is though.

I am fairly sure they have said PIP will pay out more than higher-rate DLA - there should be some soundbite quotes for that somewhere - that's how they justify saying they are giving more money to disabled people.

Apologies, am under a pile of woolly squares at the moment. Will try to keep up with you all.

Am fuming at Gove along with others. I'm formulating a post as I stab wool with a crochet hook.

disability alliance's breakdown of what we know about pip so far

So they are going to pay more to much fewer people then? They must be if they are going to reduce costs by 20%?

That's what I understood to be the case. However i can't find any figures so maybe best to just stick to we don't know the exact numbers yet.

I think we could do with some blogs about how all rates of DLA help people and are essential to them. Case studies. Perhaps we could ask on twitter? I can't help with this one as i don't get it.

garlic could you write it? I need to go out and think it would be best if we could get something up to day.

azazello posted this on the thread on this in AIBU:

"Loss of DLA / ESA or reclassification into a different band (currently 3 rates: low middle and high - being reclassified into 2 - low and high). people in the middle band currently receive higher than normal tax credits and housing benefit. If they are reclassified as low needs, they will have their tax credits and housing benefit reduced without any change in their actual needs.

Higher rate mobility DLA also is usually a pre-requisite for obtaining a blue badge. This in itself can make life a lot more bearable for disabled people and in many cases, enable them to work. "

good explanation of how the band changes will affect people.

@garlic I have sent the housing benefit post. Keep it for later if you want. DLA needs to get out there first.

Just checking in and catching up, have managed a bit on Twitter

From the factsheet Te linked to, PIP looks fair enough (as fair as DLA, anyway). I rather think the problems are the Govt's target 20% reduction and ATOS's continued involvement. ATOS shareholders are concerned that the company isn't managing to find enough 'healthcare professionals' to meet the new demand. Since the current assessors are mostly crap, it looks like a disaster waiting to happen.

And - underlying the whole shebang, in my opinion, is the fact that welfare savings are one big fucking red herring. There simply aren't that many savings to be made, only increased revenues from ATOS, A4E and whoever's selling the new IT system (may be ATOS, haven't checked.)

From www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dla-reform-wr2011-ia.pdf (Govt impact assessment of DLA reform)

Description and scale of key monetised costs by ?main affected groups?

Costs of £675m to implement a new benefit and move existing DLA recipients to the new benefit.
Net costs to individuals of £2,170m from reduced benefit expenditure from focussing support on disabled people with greatest needs.
Due to forecast growth in working age DLA expenditure, reducing working age DLA expenditure by 20% in 2015/16 means returning working age DLA spending to 2009/10 levels in real terms.

.
31% of the saving is going to ATOS (mainly)

Am I being stupid? Does this table show the cost of PIP will outweigh the savings until at least 2016?

Evidence Base - Annual profile of monetised costs and benefits* -
(£m) constant prices

......... ......... ..... 2011/12 ... 2012/13 ... 2013/14 ... 2014/15 ... 2015/16
Transition costs ......... 35 ........ 60 ........... 145 ........ 235 ......... 110
Annual recurring cost ... - ........... - .......... 380 ....... 1,020 ....... 1,305
Total annual costs ....... 35 ........ 60 ........... 520 ...... 1,255 ....... 1,420
Transition benefits - - - - -
Annual recurring benefits - ........ - ............ 325 ....... 950 .......... 1,250
Total annual benefits .... - ........ - ............ 325 ....... 950 .......... 1,250

It must have been in the Spartacus Report? Does anyone know, please?

PLEEEEASE will somebody have a look at the draf so far? I'm not sure what to put in & what to leave out!

OM, thank you - it's arrived but haven't opened it yet.

I need a break. Please, someone, finish my post or tell me what to change!

Thanks :)

I'm having a look now.

It would be easier to fill in the action part if I could find the arsing list of proposed amendments.

Thank you, Te :)

This page any help? I was tempted to quote it wholesale ...

What you've written is great - only qui bble is the passported benefits bit, maybe change the examples to blue badge and the benefit-sacrifice scheme which allows people to rent their mobility cars? Only because the wheelchair system seems totally crap from what I have read!

Just looking at how to emphasise the parts that aren't fair iyswim.

It's difficult because a lot of it is based around knowing that atos is crap, and that a lot of people being deemed not-disabled under the new scheme are disabled...

sorry I mean, which bits of the bill we want amendments for specifically.

Well, quoting yourself

Amendments we're looking for on tuesday:

effectively pat's petition - a pause to reconsider the impact cuts are having on disabled people before anything else is pushed through

exemption some people for whom face-to-face interviews aren't going to tell them much and who will find it very difficult to cooperate (for eg, people with autism)

keeping a lower paying entitlement for those with more moderate difficulties who DO need the extra cash to help them live as normally as possible (and be as employable as possible) but aren't severly disabled.

Agree, if you understand the stuff about cars, pls change it. I really appreciate this Te, thanks.

Peachy summed up what most claimants feel about ATOS:

PIP is far from fraud proof!

Thirty minutes ATOS assessment by someone who knows nothing about your condition- nah.

In reality old cheater who goes oooooh me back convicingly for thirty minutes is more likely to get help than someone with ASD who can't play the game, or someone with a bit of dignity who can't do the whole poor me thing.

I put home heating in because I got it! Am eternally grateful, Taxpayer, thank you! - DLA was the 'passport'.

I've posted it garlic - I think I waffled a bit, but hopefully it is good enough! Thanks for doing this.

I just posted it before I saw your reply! am going to add home hetaing back in

That is really, really good. Thank you so much - I couldn't marshal all the issues properly, but you've done a brilliant job :)

I'm baaaaaack!! Sorry I vanished - I couldn't get to town to pay my net bill due to the agonising pain from my broken rib (it was broken, not just cracked), so I had no net for a couple of weeks. I will catch up on the thread tomorrow morning, and will be back on full power in the morning. The rib is down to being just painful rather than full-on agony now. Still frothing though!! Have had a baaaad few weeks though - someone accused me of having my Ex-P still living with me so I had to prove to the DWP that he WASN'T, and my rib ouching, and my mobile broke so have no phone either. Not a great start to 2012!