The chance to move the battle over the Work Capability Assessment and Employment and Support Allowance forward seems at hand after both Panorama and Dispatches covered the issue on the 30th July.
Disability is something that can effect anyone and lives can change instantly as both Panorama and Dispatches showed the support just isn't there with help we can change this the more people who stand up and say this isn't right the more the powers that be will take notice.
If you wish to help you can do in many ways the best way is to send a letter to your local MP expressing your feelings about what is happening to disabled people , please include your feelings and how you would like the system to change.
If you do not have the time to contact your MP or you think they will not listen to you please at least look at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/20968
and think about signing it or passing the link on to people you think might be interested in signing it.
Links:
For contacting MPs:
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/
To watch Panorama or Dispatches
Panorama : http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006t14n
Dispatches: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/4od#3388055
Wednesday 1 August 2012
Monday 30 July 2012
Letter to Mr Beith 30/7/2012
Dear Mr Beith
While i understand parliament is on holiday i felt the need to send this e mail to express my concern again about the WCA but this time from a different point on that cannot be simply argued away.
On the 30th July i watched both Dispatches and Panorama both covering the issue of the WCA and ESA , i watched these programs in horror at the treatment honest disabled people got from the system that is supposed to help and support disabled people. In my opinion it showed that people who are tested are treated worse than animals and we have the RSPCA to protect animals who do we have to protect disabled people ? .
Tom Greatrex MP says he has secured a debate for the 4th of september i hope you can attend this debate and express my concern that disabled people are not being treated correctly.
If you get a chance to attend this debate i would like you not only to raise the issues of the WCA and ESA but also the portrayal of disabled people in the media as i feel news papers and other media are publishing stores not based on true facts and these can and do in some cases fuel disability hate crime and i feel this is an issue that needs to be looked into.
Thank you for your time.
Thursday 19 July 2012
EDM 295
Recently i came across a man named John McDonnell who had started http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/295 while these EDM's are largely symbolic it helps get a feeling of what a local MP takes a stand on. As someone who is effected by the work ATOS healthcare does i decided to pick up my pen and write to my local MP , i sent a nice long letter including how ATOS and the WCA effects me as i hoped it would help him understand why its such an important issue.
here is his reply:
Dear Mr
" Thank you for your email of the 11th of July. i have a number of constituents who have problems and concerns about their Work Capability Assessments, it would not be true to say I have thousands and for that reason I am not able to sign the motion. I have taken the issue of the assessment up with Ministers on a number of occasions and I am now raising with Ministers concerns that you have identified by your support of the motion".
Yours sincerely,
Sir Alan Beith, M.P.
It is a shame Sir Alan Beith was unable to sign the motion but he is not alone.
We have many MP's who have not signed it if you are interested in having an MP in the area you are in sign it please check http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/295 to see if they have signed it , if they have not please look at http://edm295.blogspot.co.uk/ a lovely blog set up by Jamie Cartwright to help with contacting an MP's on the issue to see the MP you wish to ask is able to put his name on the motion.
Even if the issue does not effect you it would be lovely if you could read the motion over and see if you could help by contacting your local MP.
here is his reply:
Dear Mr
" Thank you for your email of the 11th of July. i have a number of constituents who have problems and concerns about their Work Capability Assessments, it would not be true to say I have thousands and for that reason I am not able to sign the motion. I have taken the issue of the assessment up with Ministers on a number of occasions and I am now raising with Ministers concerns that you have identified by your support of the motion".
Yours sincerely,
Sir Alan Beith, M.P.
It is a shame Sir Alan Beith was unable to sign the motion but he is not alone.
We have many MP's who have not signed it if you are interested in having an MP in the area you are in sign it please check http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/295 to see if they have signed it , if they have not please look at http://edm295.blogspot.co.uk/ a lovely blog set up by Jamie Cartwright to help with contacting an MP's on the issue to see the MP you wish to ask is able to put his name on the motion.
Even if the issue does not effect you it would be lovely if you could read the motion over and see if you could help by contacting your local MP.
Campaigning and contacting MPs
I find it great in what they call the age of social media we can talk to an MP as if he was the guy next door or the postman.
While many people feel contacting his/her local MP is a waste of time i have found writing to my local MP to be useful as we get to discuss my ideas on important issues and he gets to interact with one of his constituents. When my MP reply's i often get information i didn't know about before i wrote to him and that makes it useful as it helps others not just me.
In the age of social media and the internet its great to see MP's miles away from you taking up a fight on an issue important to you while it might not be directly because of you its nice to see that more people are speaking out and it gives you the chance to change the country one voice at a time.
If you drive along a road and think this could use a fix or walk past an old building and think this could be used better then you could write to a local MP and tell him and then you get to be one of the people changing the country one step at a time and while you might feel you can not change it alone if you tell a friend what you did then that friend might also contact an MP and then you have started something brilliant.
If its not just a local issue but one you think 100s of people could benefit from you could try an online petition while it might seem hard to get thousands of people to sign it if you share it with people online it can get filled up quickly.
While many people feel contacting his/her local MP is a waste of time i have found writing to my local MP to be useful as we get to discuss my ideas on important issues and he gets to interact with one of his constituents. When my MP reply's i often get information i didn't know about before i wrote to him and that makes it useful as it helps others not just me.
In the age of social media and the internet its great to see MP's miles away from you taking up a fight on an issue important to you while it might not be directly because of you its nice to see that more people are speaking out and it gives you the chance to change the country one voice at a time.
If you drive along a road and think this could use a fix or walk past an old building and think this could be used better then you could write to a local MP and tell him and then you get to be one of the people changing the country one step at a time and while you might feel you can not change it alone if you tell a friend what you did then that friend might also contact an MP and then you have started something brilliant.
If its not just a local issue but one you think 100s of people could benefit from you could try an online petition while it might seem hard to get thousands of people to sign it if you share it with people online it can get filled up quickly.
contracting things out
Watching in the news how the Olympics security is going seems to be a perfect example of why contracting out important event services is a bad idea.
I watched in horror the news this week of G4S failing to provide the correct security for the Olympics and was shocked to see how it seemed to be taken as one of these things that just happens , as this is one of if not the most important event this country has ever held i would have expected it to be taken more seriously and private security ignored and the police and the army used from the start. This was a chance to show how great this country is but sadly it seems that chance have been shattered by people not taking the Olympics seriously.
I watched in horror the news this week of G4S failing to provide the correct security for the Olympics and was shocked to see how it seemed to be taken as one of these things that just happens , as this is one of if not the most important event this country has ever held i would have expected it to be taken more seriously and private security ignored and the police and the army used from the start. This was a chance to show how great this country is but sadly it seems that chance have been shattered by people not taking the Olympics seriously.
Saturday 14 July 2012
Remploy
It was very sad this week to get an email saying the petition and emails sent to Iain Duncan Smith had no effect in saving Remploy. while some factory's have been saved most have sadly closed and it looks and feels as if the Government still doesn't understand the needs of disabled people , while it didnt have many workers for some Remploy would have been a safe place a place they could call home with friends. i understand the opinion of some that its like trying to hide disabled people away but some of these people get into a routine and will feel the need to still be part of it and that is sad because they might never get over it.
Tuesday 3 July 2012
The Work Capability Assessment
The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) has divided opinions between many people who have different ideas on how things should go one way or the other below is my opinion.
I believe the WCA should be done away with as it has negative effects on many people and replaced with a system that works like this.
Forms would be a one time only things as filling out forms for a lot of people is hard and can cause anxiety that is easy avoided. the assessment would be done away with as this also causes anxiety and depression that can be avoided and would be replaced with a set of reports from medical professionals who deal with the claimant on a regular basis as they are in a better position to judge the persons ability and frame of mind to exist in the workplace. i would keep the system for appeals as sometimes you can get the odd problem.
I believe the WCA should be done away with as it has negative effects on many people and replaced with a system that works like this.
Forms would be a one time only things as filling out forms for a lot of people is hard and can cause anxiety that is easy avoided. the assessment would be done away with as this also causes anxiety and depression that can be avoided and would be replaced with a set of reports from medical professionals who deal with the claimant on a regular basis as they are in a better position to judge the persons ability and frame of mind to exist in the workplace. i would keep the system for appeals as sometimes you can get the odd problem.
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