Tories propose new plan to stop the sick and suicidal from receiving life-saving benefit payments

court

Make no mistake – this is a plan to stop people who deserve sickness and disability benefits from getting them.

It is a continuation of the old Iain Duncan Smith “chequebook euthanasia” scheme in which the very ill are denied the money they need to live, driving them to despair and suicide.

Having represented a friend at an ESA tribunal, I am certain that the only reason that person was finally granted benefits was because of the threat of suicide prompted by the government’s behaviour.

This measure is intended to ensure that such warnings never reach benefit assessors’ ears, so the government can plead innocence again.

There is a consultation running on the proposals, and you can provide your opinion here.

The Benefits and Work website, from which the following excerpt is copied, suggests that the result is a “foregone conclusion” but that doesn’t mean we should let them say there was no dissent.

The government is poised to bring an end to the shaming success rates at benefits appeals, but they will do so by nobbling the appeals system rather than by improving decision making.

In the future many more appeals will be “on the papers” where success rates are drastically lower, hearings that do take place will be on the phone or via Skype type links and most appeals will be decided by a solicitor (often retired) sitting alone, without a medical wing member or a disability wing member.

The introduction of the mandatory reconsideration before appeal system was intended to bring appeal success rates for claimants crashing down to earth. In fact, whilst it has drastically reduced the number of claimants who lodge an appeal, success rates remain sky high.

A new online system of appeals brings the twin advantages for the government that it will hugely cut costs as well as cutting success rates.

The plan is to go almost entirely digital for many areas of the justice system, with Social Security and Child Support tribunals being “one of the first services to be moved entirely online, with an end-to-end digital process that will be faster and easier to use for people that use it.”

The proposed changes – which are currently open to consultation but are virtually certain to be adopted – include
More use of case officers for routine tasks
More decisions made “on the papers”
More virtual hearings
More cases resolved out of court
Simplifying panel composition

The whole plan is open to consultation until 27 October 2016. However, judging by other recent consultations, the outcome – regardless of the evidence submitted – is a foregone conclusion.

Source: Virtual abolition of PIP, DLA and ESA appeal tribunals as we know them

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10 thoughts on “Tories propose new plan to stop the sick and suicidal from receiving life-saving benefit payments

  1. Florence

    Is there no end to the heartbreak of the constant and largely successful pursuit of the disabled and sick, as a means to simply make them disappear?

    This is allied to the disgrace of the attacks on those who are not yet pensioners – and probably never will be, because of being forced in to the degrading and lethal clutch of the DWP and the ideological dark heart of Social Dawninism.

  2. jeffrey davies

    even more afraid that they take away tribunals now the disabled can quietly go away and die that they are part of aktion t4 seem more probable day by day sanctions to the end

  3. Brian

    There is a sever contextual problem with this proposal and a great risk of perversion, whether intended or not. In the big picture it may make sense to have digitized correspondence, but the interpretation of such by a 2nd or 3rd parties is subject to the skills of the defendant and the perception of the reader with the way in which the data is viewed and used. Who, has not come across typographic impossibility from the demands of standardized field filling! As an ‘out of context’ example the Vox website could be considered in the same light, as no facility exists for edit or withdrawal of comments, nor is the spell check perceived English! The point is, fields can be designed to give a specific response, and that can be whatever the receiver favors. Add to this, specific singular field content, that will no doubt be drawn upon (search – find – list) and used without the contribution of other fields context, you can draw whatever conclusion that fits your requirement. There are also other major holes within this proposal that will only come to light when it is to late. The notion that humans are binary does not compute, the sooner mankind realize this the better for all.

  4. Linwren

    I don’t think it will go unchallenged. It’s awful, against human rights & unjustified abuse. If we allow this to happen without a fight we are all dead. We must pull together & get these bloody murdering Tories out.

  5. gary

    I am not on ESA, I am on Universal credit. However because of the different amounts I get for working. £115 per week on average I find that the amount of the housing element varies dramaticly from month to month as low as £38.00 some months. In a situation where I am being threatened with eviction now even though I do pay £20.00 per month regular.

  6. Fiona McCormick

    This is Simply shocking and inhumane. Claiments should go straight to their MP ask for a face to face tribunal at the earliest date? If they are fobbed off by letter from Parliament they should ring the DWP office and keep ringing until they speak directly to the work&penshions Minister?

Comments are closed.