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Viewing entries tagged with 'dwp'
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The Department of Work and Pensions are submitting increasing numbers of people to medical examination. The purpose is to establish a person's capability to work. Whilst this is laudable, the other agenda of getting as many people as possible off sickness and disability related benefits is not. Should we be concerned?
Unsung heroes win benefit overpayment trial
Tucked away in White Lion Street near the Angel tube station is the main office of Child Poverty Action Group. Their recent Court of Appeal victory will prevent distress for people with social security benefit overpayments.
The two purses
I’ve been to see Joe again in East Lancashire whose wife died in July and he is still trying to get his benefits settled into regular payment. See blog post - Just when you think it can’t get worse, it does. Now he's got a letter from the DWP Debt Management asking him to pay back £135 paid to his wife after her death! How insensitive can you get?
What’s wrong with Attendance Allowance?
In the Government Green Paper on ‘Shaping the Future of Care’ there is a proposal to replace Attendance Allowance with a ‘new offer’, whatever that means. Action for Blind People will not back any plans that threaten to reduce the income received by blind or partially sighted people, and I fully support this stance. I do however have my own views on the way that entitlement to Attendance Allowance is decided at present and how this could be changed for the better.
Who’s lying?
Twenty four local authorities across the country are piloting the use of lie detector technology. Voice Risk Analysis (VRA), supposedly analyses the level of risk in telephone conversations when taking claims and reporting changes. The government is likely to spend in excess of £1.5m on the project, but is it right, does it work and how could the money be better spent?
Fighting Hypocrisy
My work as a Welfare Rights Officer for Action for Blind People in Lancashire involves helping visually impaired people to obtain their correct benefit entitlement, and it looks impressive when large amounts of money are involved.
‘Ere Wot’s This 60 quid?’
‘Ere wot’s this 60 quid?’ has been the question of the week. Several people have rung me to ask about a mysterious £60 that has been paid into their bank account by the DWP in the last month. Allow me to explain.
Tag cloud
accessibility, apple, assistive technology, beauty, benefits, big society, burnley, carers, christmas, coping, digital inclusion, disability, disclosing disability, discrimination, dla, dwp, employment, esa, family, fashion, grieving, happiness, holidays, human rights, ignorance, inclusive design, inclusivity, independence, iphone, life, living with sight loss, love, pension, people, registration, respect, rp, sailing, shopping, sight loss, social inclusion, stereotypes, style, technology, travel, vi people, web accessibility, welfare rights, white cane, work capability assessment,
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