Cynical: Tories pilot 30-minute phone appointments for ‘claimant commitment’ interviews – to impose sanctions quicker?
Isn’t it amazing how the Tories can go straight into action on some plans, while others take forever?
So we see them testing fast-track phone interviews lasting a brief 30 minutes to get up-to-date claimant commitments for Universal Credit claimants.
This is because the Tories promised not to sanction anybody’s Universal Credit payments until up-to-date claimant commitments were established.
They had suspended conditions attached to receipt of Universal Credit during March, meaning that the millions who have claimed the so-called benefit since then have never been subjected to the sanctions that have so badly harmed the finances of so many poverty-lashed claimants.
Well, they’re about to find out what it’s like!
You can tell that the haste with which this measure has been imposed means the Tories are just itching to start taking food out of the mouths of needy people who they can label as undeserving.
In its Coronavirus Touchbase Special, the Department for Work and Pensions promised that nobody would be asked to do anything “unreasonable”, particularly “claimants who are shielding, have childcare responsibilities because of COVID restrictions, etc.” – so you know that these people will definitely be asked to do unreasonable things.
Times may have changed but the Tory-run DWP remains the same.
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Keep on eye on Newsnight tonight who will be covering Unite Communities Day of Action on Universal Discredit. There will be an profile of a claimant – lets hope it is a fair edit of the extended interview that took place yesterday. Also had confirmation, whether or not in response to this planned coverage, that claimants living in sheilded households are not expected to go out to work. Whether that applies after 1 August will be another matter. Anyone is this position should obviously check with their local office.