Iain Duncan Smith has stated* that the Work Programme “revolutionises the way we provide support to those who are the hardest to help, supporting a move from dependency to independence and getting people into work so that they have financial security for the future”. This is because he can no longer distinguish facts from his own deranged imaginings. *https://www.gov.uk/government/news/work-programme-boosts-prospects-of-long-term-unemployed-in-wales

A scandalous picture of suffering, trauma and destitution is painted by a former Work Programme adviser who was tasked with getting claimants off the employment and support allowance (ESA) sickness benefit, according to Melissa Viney in The Guardian.

Anna Shaw (not her real name) said some clients were homeless, many had had their money stopped and were literally starving and extremely stressed.

Many had extreme mental health conditions, including paranoid schizophrenia, psychosis, bipolar disorder and autism. One – diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and homeless – said he had not eaten for five days.

Shaw can only speak out anonymously, because when she resigned, after just a few months in the job, her employer made her sign a confidentiality clause.

Ask yourself what kind of government department forces departing employees to sign a confidentiality clause about matters not covered by the Official Secrets Act.

There can only be one answer.

A criminal government – or at least, one that fears exposure as such.

Crucially important for those of us who study the government’s behaviour towards ESA claimants is the revelation that “fundamental issues”, such as physical and mental conditions, homelessness or domestic abuse, simply were not addressed.

And many clients were wrongly assessed as fit to work, including one with multiple sclerosis – a degenerative condition from which it is impossible to recover.

For the full, sorry details of Ms Shaw’s “non-job” of “ticking boxes” and sanctioning benefits, visit the story in The Guardian.

Follow me on Twitter: @MidWalesMike

Join the Vox Political Facebook page.

Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:

Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
bringing you the best of the mainstream media!
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:

The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here: