Woman who was used by Tories as a public relations tool has her benefits cut off
Joy Watson [Image: Joel Goodman].
It seems unlikely the assessor in this case had any idea what Mrs Watson’s condition entails – nor would they have cared.
They would have had their tick-box computerised assessment to fill in, and a target number of people to shift off-benefit and into the gutter.
The fact that this was a woman who had been praised by former prime minister David Cameron is unlikely even to have been mentioned.
Mrs Watson was used as a public relations tool when it suited the Tories; now they want her to starve.
It is well-documented that Mr Cameron himself claimed Disability Living Allowance for his late son Ivan. After the child’s death, the Tories replaced DLA with PIP, which has a much harsher assessment system, intended to make it almost impossible for disabled people to survive.
It’s typical of the Tories: After they get what they want from a service, they close it to ensure that nobody else can.
A woman praised by David Cameron as an ‘ambassador’ for people living with Alzheimer’s has had her benefits stopped.
Joy Watson, from Eccles, has been left struggling to pay bills after an assessment by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) decided she was able to look after herself. This means she has £400 less each month.
The 59-year-old, who was diagnosed four years ago, was forced to give up her job as a carer. But showing remarkable fortitude she became a champion for people with dementia giving lectures raising awareness, teaching nursing students and showing local businesses how to help those with the condition. Her efforts earned her a doctorate and praise from the former Prime Minister Mr Cameron.
Joy was assessed by a health worker from the DWP at her home in April following the recent government changes to move claimants on Disability Support Allowance to Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
After this assessment, Joy’s support payments were stopped.
She appealed, but was rejected and returned an even lower score than the original decision. Joy’s Personal Independence Payments were stopped, and the Carer’s Allowance her retired husband Tony received for supporting Joy was also rescinded despite him caring for her round-the-clock.
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Just discusting typical tories its amazeing to me that anyone whos a torie isnt swinging from a lampost another one bites the dust another victim of torie cruelty ….they get of on it they must do..cruelty espesialy to the most vulnerable turns them on it must do …how long ..how long is this going to go on before we either break or people start fighting back and kick the tories heads in…how long
Karma
I’m still waiting for the result of my recent assessment… more stress!
its like we are all just waiting for the hammer to fall on each one of us who are on these benefits. its a walking time bomb for us all.
oh dear just another whose lost out while action t4 rolls on
The DWP oversees the PIP/WCA contracts and created the assessment descriptors—the contractors are merely the DWP’s henchmen.
The DWP is out of control and its litany of human rights abuses needs to be forcefully countered. I’m recommending a crowdfunded lawsuit.
I’ve been persuading grieving families of wrongly deceased benefit claimants to file lawsuits against the DWP. But so far they haven’t gone the litigation route, probably due to the fact that they lack financial resources, in addition to the high cost of legal advice. But initial consultation fees with law firms can probably be raised via crowdfunding sites, and it might even be possible to crowdfund a DWP lawsuit if it is planned and executed properly, with the assistance of a law firm.
The Assessments haven’t been fit for purpose for years, the definition of disability has been shrinking, and the way in which the restricted areas of concern are considered is ridiculous, after why would you be able to work for 8 hours a day 5 days a week if you can walk 50 metres once a day?