These Tory lapdogs have earned tasty treats for hounding benefit claimants to the grave

Sir Robert Devereaux.

These are the civil servants who have been rewarded with huge bonuses for creating a ‘benefit’ system that causes hardship and death:

Department for Work and Pensions Permanent secretary Sir Robert Devereux last year got up to £20,000 on top of his £185,000 salary. This year there was no bonus but his pay hit £190,000.

Neil Couling, director general of Universal Credit, got a bonus of up to £20,000 last year and a £125,000 salary. This year instead of a bonus his salary leapt to £145,000 a year.

Jeremy Moore, strategy director, had a £20,000 bonus two years running – taking his total pay to £155,000 a year.

Mayank Prakash, director general of digital technology, got up to £20,000 this year on top of his £200,000 salary – so he earned more than his boss Sir Robert.

And Andrew Rhodes, operations director, had a bonus of between £10,000 and £15,000 this year, taking his pay to £155,000 a year. He also claimed £37,600 in travel expenses.

(Information from the Daily Mirror article.)

These are not people who have been forced into carrying out this attack on decent people who have no choice but to claim help from the state; there is no low-payment poverty trap hanging over them like the Sword of Damocles.

They are very rich people, who command high prices for their work – even though that work has been substandard to the point of causing harm to the public.

What conclusion may we draw from the high rewards they have received?

Simply that their work was always intended to harm the public, and they are happy to have achieved that aim.

There will be no penalty for these five while a Conservative government – even a minority government – runs the United Kingdom.

But let us hope the Labour Party does not declare any amnesty for these villains. Evil on this scale deserves the strongest possible punishment.

Five highly-paid civil servants have had bonuses of up to £20,000 – and even pay rises – for devising a new benefit system causing hardship and misery for thousands.

Many people claiming the new Universal Credit have had no money for up to six weeks because of computer issues and slow helplines in trial areas.

A national roll-out of the benefit – meant to replace Jobseeker’s Allowance, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Child and Working Tax Credit, and some ­disability benefits – is behind schedule.

But bosses at the Department for Work and Pensions got bonuses for “top performance” and “leadership” – sparking fury from Labour MPs.

Read more: Civil servants pocket bonuses of up to £20,000 and pay rises for creating bungling benefits system hurting thousands


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No Comments

  1. Brian August 14, 2017 at 9:19 pm - Reply

    It’s comforting to know their spoilt children will have to hide the source of their legacy.

  2. Justin August 14, 2017 at 10:00 pm - Reply

    as there civil servants and there policies have shown and caused hardships as well as self-harm and suicides then they should also be held publicly accountable for there actions,they won’t not with this current bunch of ignorance that is trying to say it is a strong and stable government, remember this though for each bad assessment there is a adequately skilled advocate that knows how to make a complaint and so when you have your tick box exercises, remember that,do things correctly or find out the hard way!

  3. Samuel Miller (@Hephaestus7) August 15, 2017 at 1:38 am - Reply

    I totally agree with you, but for the sake of argument see this response from the FDA Union https://twitter.com/FDA_union/status/897078132464914432.

  4. Dez August 15, 2017 at 10:03 am - Reply

    I wonder how many other civil servants have been party to this cunning little plan of fooling the public. By paying them ludicrous bonus payments one year and then practically matching and paying the same amount as salaries fhe following year the plebs think the top guys are only having modest pay increases year on year when in fact they are getting ridiculous covert pay increase on their actual salaries which also reflects in how much their final salary pension scams will be. Bonus payments are not usual integrated into final salary pensions. . What a bunch of low life greedy criminals that are running this country.

  5. joanna August 15, 2017 at 2:36 pm - Reply

    robert devereaux is a Slime ball, in a select committee he was talking about penalising job seekers, he didn’t care one bit that they would be destitute, when question about it he kept repeating the C***p that he came out with “if people want public money they should work for it no matter what their circumstances are” That is Ice Cold!!!

  6. Barry Davies August 15, 2017 at 3:00 pm - Reply

    What are the bonus’ for anyway, how many people get a bonus for doing a job in other areas?

  7. Ian McGibbon August 16, 2017 at 11:04 am - Reply

    We have an independent civil service that implements the policies of the government of the day.

    Is that a difficult concept for you to understand?

    • Mike Sivier August 16, 2017 at 11:10 am - Reply

      Oh dear. Here’s someone who needs to check in with reality.

      • Ian McGibbon August 16, 2017 at 10:09 pm - Reply

        Explain why.

        • Mike Sivier August 16, 2017 at 10:49 pm - Reply

          You think these civil servants are independent.
          Fact is, they’ve been hand-picked by Tory ministers to do what the Tory ministers want, the way the Tory ministers want it.
          If the civil service really was independent, the ministers would have had to put up with whoever was in post – or chosen for a new post – by the civil service, and that hasn’t happened.
          These people are there because they agree with and will do whatever it takes to support the Tories in their plans to harm benefit claimants. That’s why they’re getting the big bucks.

    • Justin August 16, 2017 at 3:56 pm - Reply

      this independent civil service that gets bonuses for flaw medicals and misery should all be sent out to work in foodbanks,homeless night shelters, mental units and anything else there misguided policies have created as volunteers and they can drag there ministers and advisors along as well, they all need educating not bonuses for stupidity

    • Dez August 16, 2017 at 8:18 pm - Reply

      It might even be a thinly disguised sarcastic comment ….I’m sure regular readers of this column might have got the gist of what this governments lackies, or civil servants, or paid for contractors are working towards.

      • Ian McGibbon August 17, 2017 at 10:34 am - Reply

        Robert Devereaux is a career civil servant who has served under both Labour and Tory governments. Was he ‘hand picked’ by Labour to run the Dept of Transport? Maybe he got the job in Dept of Work and Pensions because of his experience working in the Dept of Social Security under Labour.

        Neil Couling was PPS for Andrew Smith (Labour).

        Jeremy Moore a career civil servant who has worked under all governments and has been in DWP since 2001.

        Mayank Prakash it is fair to say can be described as a specialist in a specialist field.

        I’ve worked in Westminster under two governments. One of the people I have worked with was a former Labour PPC and special advisor to a Labour cabinet minister. He subsequently has become a senior strategic director in two different ministries under the Conservative administration.

        Sometimes you post some absolute tripe. This is such an occasion.

        • Mike Sivier August 17, 2017 at 11:59 am - Reply

          Rubbish.
          All the civil servants mentioned were hand-picked for their current jobs by Tory ministers.
          It doesn’t matter that they’ve worked for governments of both colours; what matters is where their loyalties lie.

  8. Ian McGibbon August 17, 2017 at 12:49 pm - Reply

    You have not given any evidence to support your argument.

    Has Neil Couling changed sides and gone from being a PPS to a Labour minister to supporting the Conservative.

    Shoddy in the extreme.

    • Mike Sivier August 17, 2017 at 1:11 pm - Reply

      If a civil servant works for a Labour minister under one government and a Tory minister under another, it doesn’t mean they’ve changed sides. That’s a ridiculous argument. You can hardly accuse me of being “shoddy in the extreme” if you’re coming up with nonsense like that.
      But these people all have their own views, no matter which political party is in charge. The fact that the appointments all had to be approved by the Secretary of State (and in at least one case, the Prime Minister) shows there was political interference, and the fact that they happily took bonuses for their work shows that they are enthusiastic about causing harm to benefit claimants. It’s as simple as that.

  9. Ian McGibbon August 17, 2017 at 1:45 pm - Reply

    You are arguing against yourself now. My whole point is that the civil service is independent and works for whichever government is in charge. Why would someone be appointed to be both a Principal Private Sector for a Labour minister (political appointment?) and be a political appointment by the Conservatives. Maybe he is just a good civil servant.

    Moore has worked in DWP since 2001. Maybe he is also good at his job and got promoted?

    Devereaux replaced the previous Permanent Secretary who retired. He came from the Dept of Transport where he was appointed as Permanent Secretary under Labour. So, has he been ‘hand picked’ by Labour ministers and by Conservative ministers?

    The point of the civil service is to implement the policies of the government if the day.

    You’ve still not found one bit of evidence to suggest they are doing anything but that.

    • Mike Sivier August 18, 2017 at 12:20 am - Reply

      No, I’m not arguing against myself. The civil service is supposed to be independent but the fact is that these people have political views and they have won their bonuses because they supported the Tories wholeheartedly, after being selected by the Tories for the job they’re doing.

      You have yet to produce a single piece of evidence to suggest that my assessment of these creatures is wrong.

  10. Ian McGibbon August 17, 2017 at 9:04 pm - Reply

    So now you are censoring comments, none of which breached your ‘rules’ on the use of bad language.

    I broadly agree with your political views, yet you censor discussion and debate.

    You are a flat track bully.

    Disappointing.

    • Mike Sivier August 18, 2017 at 12:28 am - Reply

      Nah – you were trolling.
      Suggesting I was arguing against myself when you put up a straw man argument that had nothing to do with the real issues.
      Please.
      On this site, we expect better.

  11. Florence August 28, 2017 at 11:42 am - Reply

    The harm is intentional and built into the system. Its created a modern workhouse where you have to be desperate to even think of paying for benefits, to abandon all hope once inside the system.

  12. concernedkev August 28, 2017 at 2:49 pm - Reply

    This can be better explained in class and establishment terms, Who were the originators of the destruction of our welfare system? It is a worldwide phenomenon with it’s objective to drive more people into destitution and death. The Central banks have been the drivers forcing Governments to adopt Austerity to balance their books.
    These civil servants have long been the promoters of these policies and have convinced various Ministers that this is the way forward to keep the Mandarins in the Treasury happy. Then they get the bonus

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