Sue Marsh reports on the Mail and Telegraph misreporting of disability benefits.
Sue Marsh blogs at Diary of a Benefit Scrounger
Oh how very depressing days like today are if you’re sick or disabled. Disability campaigners spend months trying to build up awareness of sickness (ESA) and Disability (DLA) benefits, only to have their work totally undone in just a few minutes by a government intent on twisting the facts to suit their agenda and a media who don’t even know the difference between the two benefits.
“Two million claimants on disability living allowance face being stripped of payments”, shouts the Telegraph, whilst listing a range of at best dubious claims from the Department for Work and Pensions.
The most persistent of these claims is that claimants are simply given DLA by the wheelchair-fairy based on no evidence and are never checked again.
This is nonsense. Claimants must fill in a 40-page form accompanied by evidence from consultants and health professionals. Their claims are reassessed regularly, usually every three years unless an indefinite award has been granted.
The Mail go further, claiming:
• Up to 500,000 are ready to start work immediately;
• People on lifetime benefit are more likely to retire or die than get a job;
• 38 per cent just need the right support to get back to work.
Sadly, the Daily Mail actually have the wrong benefit.
Letters aren’t, as they claim, being sent out today to people claiming DLA asking them to submit reassessments. Letters however are being sent to those claiming Incapacity Benefit summoning them to assessments for the migration to Employment Support Allowance (ESA).
In a staggering bit of misreporting, the Mail also claims:
“Out of the 1,626 people assessed in Burnley and Aberdeen a third of those questioned were taken off the DLA and instead put onto Jobseeker’s Allowance.”
No, that would be Incapacity Benefit too.
Of the 500,000 “ready to start work immediately”, the Mail forgets to point out that assessments have been called “unfit for purpose” by every main investigation into them, including the Citizens Advice Bureau and the government’s own advisory committee. whilst 40% of these “miracle cures” are being overturned at tribunals, costing the taxpayer £19.8 million.
Most people awarded DLA for life have severe, degenerative conditions that will never improve such as cerebral palsy, severe learning disabilities, total paralysis or kidney failure. The government seems unduly shocked that people with lifelong disabilities should receive awards for life.
Surely constant reassessment of those people whose conditions will never improve is the single most ridiculous waste of taxpayers’ money since someone decided MPs ought to get expenses on top of their already generous salaries?
Coalition plans to reform ESA and DLA are flawed and many of us spend our lives trying to inform people and fight for modifications to the welfare reform bill that could end up saving great distress.
This level of reporting is not only lazy, but it could be dangerous. Sadly, all the while the DWP are happy to twist the figures themselves; I can’t imagine things will improve.
121 Responses to “Right wing press need to check facts before screaming at disabled”
Elaine
Considering the costs of the assessments and the fact they are designed to fail people no matter what their care needs or if these are being met in any way and then add the cost of tribunals and we see that they are spending more to make genuinely ill and disabled peoples lives more difficult. They are not giving incentives and help back to work they are bullying and exacerbating peoples health conditions telling them they are fit for work when they are not. It nearly killed me off but when you are part of a group of people being unfairly assessed and then made to wait 3/4 of a year to attend a tribunal, where thank god they still treat you as a human being more often than the so called medical assessments it makes you wonder what their real agenda is.
Sue Marsh
I think we’re pretty much answering the quetions aren’t we? If those needing help were getting it, it would all be fine, but they’re not. Almost ALL people with long term variable conditions are being found fit for work, but they’re clearly not.
THIS is the problem, the system is failing and if we don’t do something about it, people are going to suffer badly.
The CAB know it, the government’s own advisory committee know it, Harrington knew it Compass know it and even the professor who designed ESA says it’s chaotic and failing. How much more evidence do we need??
Anon E Mouse
gwenhwyfaer – Charming. And how ‘New Labour’ you are. Let me guess you voted for Gordon Brown.
I disagree with your opinion and instead of putting forward any challenge to my argument you resort to smearing and threat: “Go away and stop trolling, before we make a concerted effort to discover your identity and report your wife for gross professional misconduct.”
My wife is perfectly entitled to speak to me in generalisations – the type of state control I suspect you would like to live under isn’t here yet.
Once again when faced with facts they disagree with, Labour supporters act in a totally disagreeable manner…
Anon E Mouse
TiddK – Godwin’s Law at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law – Don’t call me a Nazi please.
You say I’ve been “told” in this blog items you claim as fact. Where? – Don’t do Strawman on me please.
If the fraud is as low as you say then why on earth are you complaining about more means testing? Your argument is pointless and nothing more than a tribal rant.
And please don’t accuse me of being uncaring – you have no idea of my situation and are ignoring what I have posted. Like the person with the threats above you are simply resorting to smearing and by the way being called a troll by anyone who voted for Gordon Brown, as I suspect you did, couldn’t be an insult…
Anon E Mouse
TiddK – And by the way, just because a person has a disability doesn’t mean they deserve my respect – compassion yes, care possibly but respect is not a given and nor should it be. Everyone should be treated with dignity regardless.
It seems I see people with disabilities as just that. No different to anyone else – just with a disability.
Perhaps if people started seeing people as human beings a bit more like me, we may be able to move forwards without feeling the need to be rude in public forums. Bit like your reply…