Another Angry Voice on the Tory Policy of Destroying Embarrassing Evidence

Last Updated: September 16, 2013By

Another Angry Voice is with a different host service which means we can’t reblog it directly. The Beast has omitted a direct link as well, so here it is: http://anotherangryvoice.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/destroy-evidence.html

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7 Comments

  1. nick September 16, 2013 at 6:46 pm - Reply

    Anyone who missed the Hitler program last night on channel 4 needs to watch it ASAP

    Two-part drama tracing the young, developing mind of a burgeoning madman, following Hitler through his formative years
    http://www.channel4.com/programmes/hitlers-rise-the-colour-films/4od#3572328

    It was in two parts episode one was last Sunday both need to be watched as you get a good likeness of what was then and now

    you will clearly see that those that were comfortable in life just like today were completely indifferent to the suffering that went on and carried on with their lives as normal while death and destruction went on all around them in secret

    A very chilling program IDS and his friends the BBC also like to turn a blind eye to any event where the sick and disabled are concerned as to be caught out broadcasting any event would lead the government to their downfall

    It only takes one persons abuse or death to trigger a panic in the government

    As it stands now the DWP just blame the claimant for not supplying the correct information with regards their health

    How a judge would see that however remains to be seen

    If i were the prime minister i would ask the police to track down all of those that were responsible for any death involving negligence i would also broadcast a party political broadcast telling the public what to do in the event of a wrong DWP/ATOS decision being made with a special hotline set up to deal with these errors so that all concerned were kept in the loop

    as prime minister i would take time out and make sure all was well and court punishment for all who were found guilty of negligence weather a death had occurred or not i would be taking control showing true leadership qualities of which this country has never seen

    this would ensure that the public felt safe at all times’ yes errors can be made but personally i don’t do errors where people lives are concerned I’m all about justice first second and third

    Hitler went on conning all of the German people including all of the mp’s across the whole of their government and by the time they found out it was to late so we need to be mindful of what can happen when you take your eye of the ball

  2. Paul Jackman September 16, 2013 at 7:10 pm - Reply

    let see if the gmc cover up doctor andron case the phso did cover up its disgusting and downgrading to cover up is a crime the cps as all on tape but dont want to investigation in this case it show if mr hunt want to cover up they can news will cum out about that disgusting doctor cover up soon off the gmc they cant cover this up

  3. nerdbrain September 16, 2013 at 7:29 pm - Reply

    I need to alert someone to something I’ve noticed, in the hope they will let those who need to know, know. I hope you, Mike Sevier, will find this as interesting and frustrating as myself, you may have already noticed the thing I want to speak about. I think it is relevant to this article.

    I received my third ES50 last month (first one received in May 2011, second in May 2012). I dug out my photocopy of my last ES50 and duly began copying what I wrote (as so little has changed, only got worse) from that copy to my new ES50.

    The first thing I noticed was that the ESA50 has shrunk, it is smaller than A4.

    It wasn’t long before I realised the boxes on the form (where one is asked to write answers) have shrunk. They have really shrunk, many are literally half the size. On several pages I noticed that the text of the question they asked contained enough text itself to fill the entire box where we are expected to answer. I was absolutely fuming, I’m autistic and this is exactly the type of thing that makes me CRAZY. On every page there was 70-80% of emptiness containing their questions or blank space and just 20-30% of box to write answers.

    Needless to say, my answers last year exactly filled the old (bigger) boxes. I am not able to write less, my autism means I write and write and write, brevity is not a skill of mine, so I filled every inch of every page with my answers. I also wrote in large capital letters on most pages “WHY ARE THE BOXES SMALLER?”. I had to stop filling the form early on, because I got so upset about the shrunken boxes that I wanted to tear the form to pieces, when I wrote “WHY ARE THE BOXES SMALLER?” it was everything I could do to stop my pen ripping through the paper in anger.

    I know their game, they are making it harder for us, they ask a really complicated question, ask us to give examples, tell them how it varies, yet they give no space to answer. This is obviously so they can then refuse benefit, and say “you didn’t give enough information”. It gets worse. I finally finished the form. I printed my 9 page personal statement to support my form, and realised before even trying to fit it in the envelope that THEY HAVE SHRUNK THE ENVELOPE. Their prepaid envelope for returning the ESA50 to Atos is now not big enough to fit an A4 piece of paper inside (folded in half of course). I immediately cut a centimetre off the long edge of my 9 page statement, as obviously I can’t fold such a thick document twice. I also had letters from my psychiatrist and GP, and as these were one page each I simply folded them twice to fit them in the envelope.

    It goes without saying that I have found life very difficult dealing with the ESA50 and WCA, when I receive the form I get ill immediately, I can be feeling quite OK, on the road to recovery from my depression and anxiety, but seeing that form destroys me, leaves me unable to function or experience happy thoughts. The Sword of Damacles swings above me. The fact they shrunk the form and the envelope has compounded my distress and fear to the Nth degree. Disgusting, disgraceful tactics. Designed to stop claimants providing enough information, firstly because the form is now skewed to give no space to answer effectively and secondly because they made the envelope too small to fit a piece of A4 paper folded in half. Do they think claimants will just not bother submitting their reports, medical evidence and supporting information because they shrunk the envelope? Has anybody else noticed this? Please tell everyone who is interested about this new tactic to hamper claimants and thanks for reading.

    • Mike Sivier September 16, 2013 at 8:39 pm - Reply

      Nerdbrain is exactly right.
      I experienced this when filling out Mrs Mike’s latest form, the ESA3 for income-related ESA. The experience was less frustrating, though, as I did not have to submit supporting evidence – the form is basically asking if the claimant’s condition is the same or worse, and then goes into financial matters. Having said that, if I had run into the same issues as nerdbrain, I would have written “Please see attached sheet” in the box, and typed out the full response on my computer, along with any other answers that required the same treatment. Then I’d have printed that out and sent it with the form. In fact, as my writing is not wonderful, this is probably a preferably modus operandi.
      Mrs Mike is now extremely disturbed by any communication with the DWP, which is why she leaves the form-filling and letter-writing to me. I do the physical work but she still has to read it and ensure that everything is correct before it goes off. This opens up several cans of worms as her medication means she might not grasp what is being asked of her, or remember details she needs to mention, and also there is the risk of causing further mental instability.
      She began suffering panic attacks again, after a long period without them, once it became clear that the DWP had made a complete mess of her claim. Not only does this make it more difficult to resolve the problems, it also creates huge emotional problems. She’s a trouper and will not let this defeat her, but it is easy to see how others, who perhaps are more vulnerable or don’t have the support available to Mrs Mike, might succumb to the torments that are being foisted on them by an uncaring bureaucracy.
      What I’m saying is: This is how the deaths happen.
      (In my opinion.)

      • nerdbrain September 16, 2013 at 9:29 pm - Reply

        I feel Mrs Mike’s pain, I firmly believe that I would be so much better by now if I wasn’t stuck on this ESA/WCA merry-go-round, I feel like I’m having a perpetual panic attack and I’m certain that (at this stage) my anxiety is solely due to the fear that all my benefits will be taken away on a whim. Life is hard enough dealing with mental health issues without the constant threat of having your income taken away. I should add that I worked for 20 years paying my NI before my mental health disintegrated and also that I don’t suffer from autism, I like autism, which isn’t a mental health problem :) I’m a self-advocating autistic, partly because I’m educated and have always enjoyed arguing with the DWP, but mostly because I would never, ever allow anyone to fill in a form on my behalf. This has caused problems between me and advocates or support workers in the past but we have all learned to work together on things with me wielding the pen. Indeed, most advocates express delight that they did not have to fill it in and praise me for my eloquence and depth of detail. I do need someone to stand over me with a whip to ensure I start and finish things, and to counsel me when I throw a tantrum, but we get there.

        Your response leads me to explain another problem for me with filling in their ‘improved’ form. I have terrible trouble getting on with things and tackling tasks and have a crippling case of executive dysfunction, common in stressed-out autistics. So copying the old text is a simple and effective method for me to fill in the form with minimal stress and in a timely fashion, I could try to fill it in from scratch but the mere thought of doing so makes me implode (because why the hell am I filling in this form again when a doctor’s letter should do?) so probably not. Like Mrs Mike, I can’t remember all the facts about my situation at any time, especially if I’m medicated, and because it’s mental health we have to put forward a very complex argument, I could never do the form from scratch, I have to refer to what I’ve written before, forget things that are no longer relevant and tell them about new things. It is a fact that because I do fill in the form myself this can count against me as they will say I am super capable of doing all things (cos I done a form) so I supply the 9 page personal statement to further explain my answers and I’ve submitted the same document (edited) 3 times now because so little has changed, only got worse.

        I considered writing *see additional personal statement* on each question but I was too fearful that they would say I didn’t give any answers and refuse my ESA. I’m convinced that their plan is to dismiss claims on the grounds that we didn’t give an answer/enough info on the ESA50 itself. Obviously this argument would collapse at tribunal, assuming, like me, everyone details their additional documents on the form and takes copies to their WCA and also a support worker with them as I do… basically I had my way of doing it, and they messed with that, the thought of doing it differently was not possible to me, and I could not think of a way that felt ‘safe’, a way that would not give them a loophole to shaft me. So I literally covered every page of (part II) of their ESA50 with my text. I guess my method is to drown them in information, to repeat myself… repeatedly, and give them a flipping headache! I know this approach is not possible for most claimants, and this makes me sad. I’m an argumentative autistic who knows what she’s entitled to and I’ll fight them to the death. But their tactics make me so very anxious still, and I know only too well how easy it would be to give in when they refuse ESA and to decide to kill oneself. For so many people living with terrible illnesses, disabilities and mental health problems, the benefits they receive are literally the only thing they have to rely on, I am certain that the figures for suicides (if they were being collected and published) are way higher than we can imagine. I spoke to someone recently (while walking my dog) whos brother had killed himself as a direct result of having benefits stopped and his suicide was not one that would necessarily be attributed to that reason at inquest and I believe even if the figures were available the real figures would be much higher again.

        Logically you would think that each time I get the ESA50 it would be easier to tackle, but quite the oppposite. Being constantly scrutinised and judged and asked to relive all the bad things is the most debilitating and painful experience of my life. And lots of painful things have happened to me, which I can cope with, but living in a fascist state is not something I expected to happen to me, and you, and all of us.

        Best wishes to you and Mrs Mike, reading your blog gives me hope in these troubling times. Thank you.

  4. gingerblokeblog September 16, 2013 at 9:04 pm - Reply

    Reblogged this on gingerblokeblog.

  5. Thomas M September 17, 2013 at 6:11 am - Reply

    I have Asperger’s Syndrome-it’s not hugely severe, but it does de facto make me unemployable. I have not so far been bothered by ATOS, but dread it hassling me and making me totally dependent on my savings.

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