Podcasts about support allowance

Almost 15 years on from the coalition government's white paper Universal Credit: Welfare that Works, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has finally concluded that its overhaul of the benefits systems is nearly complete. A few thousand people are yet to be transferred from tax credits, income support and Jobseeker's Allowance, and a rather larger numbers are still on Employment and Support Allowance, but the DWP is confident of completion by the end of the year. The Universal Credit programme board has been closed down and the department plans to publish its version of “lessons learned” from a programme that was meant to have taken seven years from the white paper but will have taken 15.   So what can this and future governments learn from the delivery of this major reform programme? How was the Universal Credit project turned around from near disaster in 2013?  And, as it nears completion, what is the impact of Universal Credit?   To explore these questions and more, the IfG was delighted to bring together an expert panel featuring:   Neil Couling, the Senior Responsible Owner for Universal Credit for a decade until March this year Tom Loosemore, Co-founder of Public Digital and Co-author of Nesta's report on how to transform government services Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government Tom Waters, Associate Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies   The event was chaired by Nicholas Timmins, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government and author of the IfG's 2016 report Universal Credit: From Disaster to Recovery? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Almost 15 years on from the coalition government's white paper Universal Credit: Welfare that Works, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has finally concluded that its overhaul of the benefits systems is nearly complete. A few thousand people are yet to be transferred from tax credits, income support and Jobseeker's Allowance, and a rather larger numbers are still on Employment and Support Allowance, but the DWP is confident of completion by the end of the year. The Universal Credit programme board has been closed down and the department plans to publish its version of “lessons learned” from a programme that was meant to have taken seven years from the white paper but will have taken 15. So what can this and future governments learn from the delivery of this major reform programme? How was the Universal Credit project turned around from near disaster in 2013? And, as it nears completion, what is the impact of Universal Credit? To explore these questions and more, the IfG was delighted to bring together an expert panel featuring: Neil Couling, the Senior Responsible Owner for Universal Credit for a decade until March this year Tom Loosemore, Co-founder of Public Digital and Co-author of Nesta's report on how to transform government services Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government Tom Waters, Associate Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies The event was chaired by Nicholas Timmins, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government and author of the IfG's 2016 report Universal Credit: From Disaster to Recovery?

RNIB, along with other stakeholders, has been in discussions with the Department for Work and Pensions, after claimants of the Support component of Employment and Support Allowance ran into problems with the renewal of their claims.Claire Connolly from RNIB's Legal Rights Service spoke with our Lynne Morgan about the problems claimants have faced and the work their team has undertaken to solve the issues. For more information and help, contact RNIB's Sight Loss Advice Service on 0303 123 9999.Image: Words RNIB in black, underlined with a bold pink line and with the words 'See differently' underneath. 

Nemcsak egészségügyi de gazdasági is a katasztrófa, hogy erre hol milyen megoldásokat kínálnak a különböző kormányok, erről mesélt Marci Amerikából, Szandra Olaszországból és a könyvelőmester Péter az Egyesült bolond királyságból. Az említett anyagi segítségekhez vezető linekeket alább találod. Ha segítségre szorulsz a kiigazodásban, Péter cégét megtalálod itt >> AWOC.co.uk (https://awoc.co.uk/) Self Employment & Universal Credit (https://www.gov.uk/self-employment-and-universal-credit) Employment & Support Allowance (https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance) Covid-19 Small Business Government Grant (https://smallbusiness.co.uk/how-do-i-get-the-government-3000-coronavirus-grant-2549866/) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (https://smallbusiness.co.uk/how-do-i-apply-for-a-coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-2549863/) Citizen’s Advice (https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/help-if-on-a-low-income/if-youre-struggling-with-living-costs/) Emergency Funding (https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/emergency-funding.aspx) Oh majdnem elfelejtettem idetenni ...A búvármaszkból készített lélegeztető megoldáshoz ITT A LINK (https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10216682977770292&id=1336443945) Furcsa podcast... egyensulyozni probal a beteg faszsagok es ertelmes gondolatok terhe alatt -neha sikerul, neha nem. Szinte minden episode mas. Talan pont ez kell neked most.

Nemcsak egészségügyi de gazdasági is a katasztrófa, hogy erre hol milyen megoldásokat kínálnak a különböző kormányok, erről mesélt Marci Amerikából, Szandra Olaszországból és a könyvelőmester Péter az Egyesült bolond királyságból. Az említett anyagi segítségekhez vezető linekeket alább találod. Ha segítségre szorulsz a kiigazodásban, Péter cégét megtalálod itt >> AWOC.co.uk (https://awoc.co.uk/) Self Employment & Universal Credit (https://www.gov.uk/self-employment-and-universal-credit) Employment & Support Allowance (https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance) Covid-19 Small Business Government Grant (https://smallbusiness.co.uk/how-do-i-get-the-government-3000-coronavirus-grant-2549866/) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (https://smallbusiness.co.uk/how-do-i-apply-for-a-coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-2549863/) Citizen’s Advice (https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/help-if-on-a-low-income/if-youre-struggling-with-living-costs/) Emergency Funding (https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/emergency-funding.aspx) Oh majdnem elfelejtettem idetenni ...A búvármaszkból készített lélegeztető megoldáshoz ITT A LINK (https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10216682977770292&id=1336443945) Furcsa podcast... egyensulyozni probal a beteg faszsagok es ertelmes gondolatok terhe alatt -neha sikerul, neha nem. Szinte minden episode mas. Talan pont ez kell neked most.

The UK budget for 2020-21 has finally landed, with some clarifications to SSP and other support available amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We look at this and also some principles, specific tools and delegation tips to consider if you decide to bring in remote working to your small business to cope with the inevitable self-isolation brought about by corona virus. Budget 2020-21: A whole bunch of measures are in place to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, including clarification that the government will reimburse employers with fewer than 250 employees for up to 14 days of SSP per employee, including those who self-isolate. 'New style' Employment and Support Allowance is the alternative option to SSP for the self-employed, and it will also be payable from the first day of self-isolation or sickness. This plus the changes to National Living Wage and the effect on the Minimum Income Floor for Universal Credit claimants is discussed. Remote working principles: Working remotely as a team can be a challenging setup. A recent article from Harvard Business Review helpfully outlined some of the important principles you may need to adopt, such as reinforcing goals and roles, especially clarifying any changes due to the new working setup. Refer to the article for an outline - it's helpful stuff. Remote communication tools and delegation tips: A messaging platform with status and availability indicators can be great for showing who's available or busy and who's working on what, which is particularly important for workers to be able to stem the all-too-human suspicion that they might be shirking. In previous employment, I used Lync - now Microsoft Teams - which was useful for synchronising my availability and 'status' to my calendar, but there are other options available that at least offer always-on communication like Signal, Google Hangouts and Slack. When delegating tasks, especially if by email, I like to use the 7 golden rules of delegation - see this in detail, and how to apply them 'upwards', in the show notes. Show notes and links, including all the other platforms we post on, can be found at https://aegisaccounting.co.uk/blog/podcast-7-budget-2020-21-remote-working-principles-and-tools

Angela Mason, Camden Councillor and lead on matters concerning children and families, talked with Camden Community Radio about her concerns re the roll out of the Government’s policy of Universal Credit to Camden. All new claims for Child Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Income-based JobSeekers Allowance, Income-related Employment & Support Allowance and working tax credit will be replaced by Universal Credit and claims will have to be made online rather than in person. In 2019, all Housing benefit claims, excluding those of pensioners are to be replaced by Universal credit. Early rollout of the scheme suggests that it will drive people into deeper poverty and great hardship. Package: Marian Larragy Government on Universal Credit :: Citizens Advice Bureau on Universal Credit :: Back to Camden Community Radio home page :: Follow Camden Community Radio on Twitter :: File Download (17:13 min / 16 MB)

Angela Mason, Camden Councillor and lead on matters concerning children and families, talked with Camden Community Radio about her concerns re the roll out of the Government’s policy of Universal Credit to Camden. All new claims for Child Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Income-based JobSeekers Allowance, Income-related Employment & Support Allowance and working tax credit will be replaced by Universal Credit and claims will have to be made online rather than in person. In 2019, all Housing benefit claims, excluding those of pensioners are to be replaced by Universal credit. Early rollout of the scheme suggests that it will drive people into deeper poverty and great hardship. Package: Marian Larragy Government on Universal Credit :: Citizens Advice Bureau on Universal Credit :: Back to Camden Community Radio home page :: Follow Camden Community Radio on Twitter :: File Download (17:13 min / 16 MB)

Nathan and Scotty discuss I, Daniel Blake on this week’s podcast. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, I, Daniel Blake tells the story of a 59-year-old carpenter fighting the bureaucratic forces of the system in order to receive Employment and Support Allowance. This is a tremendous achievement in filmmaking. Plus, Andydrogynous mansplains Wonder Woman during Crap Night. This episode is sponsored by Philz Coffee.

Crime in the Armed Forces - Laurie Taylor talks to Emeritus Professor of History, Clive Emsley, about his pioneering, historical study into criminal offending by members of British armed forces both during and immediately after the two world wars of the 20th century, and concluding in the present day. For a quarter of the 20th century, the UK had large conscripted armed forces and it is these services, and in particular the Army, that are the principal focus of this study. Emsley argues that the forces "reflect the society from which they come, both the good and the bad", pointing out that it's predominantly made up of younger men, the social group that commits the most crime. He also examines two popular assumptions about crime and war; namely, that crime decreases when wars begin as young men - those likeliest to commit crimes - are swept up into the forces; and that crime goes up at the end of war as men brutalised by combat returned to the civilian world but, unable to cope with 'peacetime', engage in crime and violence. Dr Deirdre MacManus, from King's College, joins the discussion, having recently completed a study into the relationship between combat experience and violent crime amongst British soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, Ruth Patrick's research into the lived experiences of welfare reform. She's interviewed a range of out of work benefits claimants between 2011 and 2013. Talking to single parents being moved from Income Support onto Jobseeker's Allowance, disabled people waiting to be migrated off Incapacity Benefit and onto Employment and Support Allowance, and young jobseekers experiencing the new Jobcentre/Work Programme and sanctions regime, her study gives a unique insight into the impact of a revolution in 'welfare' provision on 'real' people. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Autism; claiming employment and support allowance

Transcript:Deborah: Hello and welcome to the second Where's the Benefit? Podcast. The Where's the Benefit Podcast is now available on iTunes and if you've found us there, you may be interested in our blog at wheresthebenefit.blogspot.com and our twitter feed @wheresbenefit – no “the” in that.I'm Deborah, the Goldfish and today I'm talking to my boyfriend Stephen about form-filling. This last week we've been working on his Disability Living Allowance Renewal form. Disability Living Allowance or DLA is a state benefit which is supposed to help pay for the additional cost of being disabled, such as help getting around, preparing food, keeping clean and so on. DLA is probably the most difficult benefit to get and yet the government are wanting to cut the case-load by 20% and replace the benefit with something called Personal Independence Payment.Stephen, I wanted to talk to you about form-filling because this is something that I don't think many people understand, the sheer emotional weight of this process.Stephen: Yes, it's interesting, isn't it? Everyone has to fill in forms at some point in their life, whether it be a mortgage application or a marriage certificate, application for planning permission or whatever. Forms are a part of life, but when people talk about the stress of form-filling, I don't think they've known stress in form-filling until they have tackled the monster Disability Living Allowance form. In previous years, I have photocopied my previous answers to keep track of exactly what I've said because you get lost, especially coming from someone with an invisible chronic illness. I have ME and as anyone with ME will know – and anyone who knows anyone who has gone through the process of living with ME, it's a condition which is, or has been and is still by some people, questioned. It's questioned whether people are actually ill, whether they're making it up, whether it's psychological. And I mean obviously, dealing with the DLA form, it shouldn't really matter if the condition is physical or psychological because either way you have symptoms and those symptoms need looking after. But that's easier said than lived by. It does feel like you're being judged and your entire life is being analysed to see whether you are worthy, whether you are sufficiently pathetic, whether you're doing all that you can possibly do to be as well as you possibly can be. Whether you are simply being lazy. All of those things are turned over and after doing even a sixth of the form, you feel like the next page is going to ask how you intend to top yourself.D: I think because of the way these forms are worded, there's this sort of mentality that you're guilty of fraud or you're guilty of trying to swing the lead until you prove yourself innocent. And I also I think you're drawn towards presenting yourself as a kind of archetypal “good cripple”. You've got to have the right dose of suffering and the right dose of possitivity, because you're describing you're life...S: And suffering and possitivity in the correct kind of way.D: Yes, it's not at all “Social Model”, is it? It's very depressing. Do you think the questions that are asked are relevant to assessing your functional impairment?S: The questions themselves seem designed for no-one and everyone. Do you know what I mean? In trying to cater for every single person, the questions about walking for example, nowhere does it simply ask, how do you have problems walking? It asks, how do you have problems with the speed of your walking? How do you have problems with the way that you walk? Do you walk with a slight limp, a light limp I think it says, a heavy limp? Or do you drag a limb – presumably after it's been amputated and you're carrying it around with you afterwards. Do you need physical support? It also goes on to ask about how fast you can travel a certain distance. It says, can you walk 40 metres in less than two seconds – or something like that, I can't remember the speed at which they want you to be travelling. But what if you can't travel 40 metres? What if you could travel 40 metres if you were pushed down a flight of stairs quickly or you know. The lack of sensibleness in the questions, the lack of care in the questions, means that you're constantly feeling battered down by the answers. And battered by the questions. And it is amazingly depressing.D: You almost feel like your particular condition doesn't count, because it doesn't fit.S: Yeah, yeah, quite.D: It strikes me that the process of this form-filling is the polar opposite to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a sort of applied stoicism which teaches you to avoid negative thoughts and avoid negative behaviours which lead to those thoughts. And yet, there couldn't be a more negative exercise for focussing on your symptoms, your limitations, the losses of your life.S: Exactly, it's exactly the same set-up as when we learn as good poorly people, not to answer “Hello, how are you?” with any sort of truth. You say, automatically, “I'm fine thanks, how are you?” Now, there are negatives to this. You do find yourself in a position where you are not able to be honest with others, but on the flip-side, you do find a certain positivity in...D: I think after you've been ill many years, you forget that you're ill, effectively.S: Especially if you're able to construct a life, carefully, in which you're able to achieve and be happy whilst minimising the damage done to you by poor health. And this is where you need Disability Living Allowance or any sort of disability benefit because you need monetary support in order to function in a way where you're not miserable all the time. I like to read very much. I've done a degree recently and that required a huge amount of reading. In order to achieve this, I bought myself a book-holder which means I can set up a book, lie in bed and not end up with pain in my arms and hands and shoulders from holding said book while I read. I still am limited, I can't read for a great period of time without my eyes getting sore and you know, various other depressing stuff that I don't like to go on about but which I've had to go on about in the form. As it is, I've got the benefit, or have had the benefit – I might not have by the end of this form-filling process – but I've had a benefit which allowed me to buy that book-holder and be able to read and be happy and productive without moaning.D: As somebody with chronic illness, you don't wake up every morning thinking, “Goodness me, I'm an ill person, I'm out of work, I can't walk down the garden, I need a wheelchair, I need this equipment.” It doesn't actually occur to you and if it did, your life wouldn't be worth living.S: Exactly. And not waking up thinking, “I'm a poorly person.” is a sign that you're doing well. That you're using your resources, that you're balancing your life, especially in the case of chronic illness. I imagine that it might be very different if you're only problem is that you're paralysed and wheelchair-bound, in that you might not be able to avoid thinking, “I'm paralysed” but I'm not sure that's true, I should imagine that people just get on. And the point about a disability benefit is that it's there to allow you to get on. It shouldn't have anything to do with how miserable you are unless you're claiming because you're so miserable you can't get out. And if a form makes you feel so miserable that you have to thump a pillow, or that you end up crying, then you end up having to claim for psychological reasons as well as the other ones that got you there in the first place.D: We all pay National Insurance, so in many ways claiming benefits is claiming on that insurance. Everybody's entitled to it when those circumstances arise, just like any sort of insurance. But I can't really imagine an insurance claim that would be so emotionally loaded as this.S: Well indeed. Recently my father was in a car accident and had to claim on his insurance. He had to even say that it was his fault the accident occurred even though it was quite obvious to everyone that the other driver was speeding. But because my father was in such a state that he wasn't able to call the police, it meant that he had to accept blame. But no-one, no-one on the insurance team, no-one in his home, no-one in the streets, no-one in the newspapers, no-one in parliament, talked about him like he was some fraudster, or liar, or even a bad driver.D: Many years ago, my sister had to make an insurance claim on the grounds of a broken nose. It wasn't very badly broken, but it was broken and it wasn't like it was before. But she didn't have to write an emotional essay about how her broken nose had effected her. She just needed the medical evidence, she needed a photograph of before and after. So even with a medical thing, it wasn't loaded with the sort of emotion that these claims are.S: And this is where I think that there's an error in relying on a form for these things, like this form. I'm sure a form could be created, but there needs to be more trained, professional and caring human interaction with people – which would also cut out the vast majority of these frauds that go on. Because any form, when a form is the one thing that is relied upon, can be used incorrectly. If you know how to fill in a form. It's like my exams when I was doing A-Levels, I knew exactly how to fill in the exam papers in order to get an A, because there was a set response, that if you went through the right process, then you got it. And we know, through filling out this silly form, that if you stick to just ticking the boxes - which is really all you ought to need to do if you're going to have some other, further response - then you don't get the benefit. Because you need to write in these horrible big boxes, “Oh my life's so awful, I can't do any of this, eugh!” otherwise they don't listen to you. And it's a war of attrition.D: I should point out that the benefit isn't granted on the grounds of merely the form, but they do contact your doctor and so on, always. And very often they send out an independent doctor to check you out.S: But that doctor isn't always that good. I've never – the one time I had a doctor visit me at home, he merely filled out the form again, but just asking my opinion about things at the same time. He was useless.D: But it is, as you say, very much a matter of attrition. So many people I know have been turned down for DLA at some point for no particular reason. There's no pattern when it comes to conditions or mistakes they could have made. They simply test you, really, to see if you're prepared to fight for it. And of course the most vulnerable people, the people in most need of this help, are the least able to fight for these things.S: Indeed and the least capable people, in this sort of situation where a form is so destructive, mentally – I mean, it's been destructive to me, physically and the amount of pain it caused is unbelievable. And that was with huge amounts of help from Deborah.D: And your Mum!S: And my Mum. And all of the times that have gone before, doing this form, means I've got all this experience to work on. But it's a huge amount of hours and pain and whatever. I didn't sleep properly last night, I have forms flittering through my nightmares. And that's coming from someone who claims at least to be relatively mentally capable and mentally healthy – although I do get a certain degree of anxiety from the pain and symptoms. But we have seen, at Blogging Against Disablism Day, we saw someone who had mental illness who hadn't reapplied for her – I think it was her benefit, it was a lady – she reapplied for her benefit because it was too much for her. How can that, how can that be? How can we look after people if we're looking after them with a form they're incapable of dealing with?D: Of course, you've filled in your renewal form now, I filled in my DLA renewal form at, well it was Christmas by the time I sent it off, it took me a couple of months. But in the next couple of years, we'll both be facing the Employment and Support Allowance assessment and if the proposed changes go ahead, we'll both have to fill in the forms for Personal Independence Payment, which is going to replace DLA. So we're going to have to go through all this, all over again.S: And the problem, it's not just the form. It's the process of filling in the form, of feeling judged and then, of actually being judged, of receiving a letter – Deborah received one saying that the fainting that she suffers from is something that she can “make reasonable measures to guard against”. Which yeah, it's fine, she can do that. If she doesn't ever get out of bed, or, et cetera. We're all judged, in the process of gaining benefit. And it's a soul-destroying process. And it changes us from being people to being a set of conditions, a set of problems and so this makes us disabled. We become worse off, through seeking help. Deborah will be all right if she only stays in bed, she doesn't have to worry about fainting. And that's not what a benefit, a disability benefit is meant to do for people. It's meant to help them. It's meant to make things possible that weren't previously possible.D: Thank you very much for talking to me, Stephen. I shall see you later! And thank you for listening. As I said at the top, but I'll say it again, the Where's the Benefit Podcast is now available on iTunes and if you've found us through iTunes, you may be interested in our blog at wheresthebenefit.blogspot.com and our twitter feed @wheresbenefit

Lisa's note: WtB has a podcast! I'm so very excited. I have to say a huge, huge, huge thanks to Goldfish for all her hard work this week making this audio file into a podcast by doing all the research as to how one actually sets up a podcast. She typed up the transcript that's beneath the jump too. I also have to say thanks to the people that spoke to me on Monday. We'd have no audio file if it weren't for them.You can find our podcast in iTunes here. The feedburner feed is here.Lisa: Hi and welcome to the first episode of the Where’s the Benefitpodcast. I’m Lisa, one of the founders of WtB.This week from the 9th to the 15th of May is a “week of action againstAtos” organised by the campaign group Benefits Claimants Fight Back.Atos Origin are the private company contracted by the government tocarry out the medical assessments to determine whether or not a personis eligible for benefits. This includes the controversial WorkCapability Assessment to deem if a person is eligible for Employmentand Support Allowance.On Monday afternoon I went down to the protest and picnic outsideAtos’s headquarters in London and spoke to some of the protesters. Iasked people who they were and why they’d come out to demonstrate andthis is what they had to say.Marmie: I'm Marmie. I'm here with the DPAC. I'm also here as anAfrican woman with impairments and I'm really here to say that whatAtos is doing against disabled people is inhumane, is outrageous andis quite barbaric. For years, they've been making huge amounts ofprofits on the backs of our oppression. It needs to stop. We're hereto get the message across to Atos that we will not stand for this. Weare very united as disabled people. We must keep up the pressure. Wemust continue the struggle. And eventually we will win.Our message to the Con-Dem government is you cannot carry onoppressing us. We are here to stay. We're going to carry oncampaigning and protesting. And we hope that the whole of the UK willwake up to Atos Origin, as just another greedy multi-national companywhich is on the backs of disabled people, destroying our lives andmore or less killing people! Because people are living in fear.They're living in fear of oppression. They're living, having theirbenefits cut. They're living against all these assessments. It's allinjustice, it's all inhumane and it needs to stop.Carol: My name is Carol, I'm the mother of a disabled child. And thereason I'm here is because I want to show my opposition to thegovernment cuts. I'm outraged by Atos and the methods that they'reusing to basically get people off disabilities. I think this“check-box” system where they invite people in for an interview and,you know, they have that computerised system which they justbasically, uh. It's a really inhumane way to treat people and I'moutraged to hear people are being thrown off benefits,. It's almost asif the State wants to slough off a whole section of people and leavethem to fend for themselves. It seems to be that that's what thepurpose is; just to get people off benefits, remove them from publicsight and just leave people, you know, without any support.Yeah, so that's why I'm here and, um, I intend to come to as many ofthese as possible. I hope that I can come to as many of these aspossible. I hope the movements grows and we can link all thesestruggles together. I feel that disabled people are kind of at theforefront of the struggle. Really I just think that, you know, the wayin which the government has targeted them, as if there would be noopposition. I'm glad to see that people turned up here today and Ithink the vibe has been very good and strong.Yeah, I just wanted to mention David Cameron as well because before hewalked into Number 10, he had said that he understood the situation ofdisabled people and that he would make sure that they were protectedand their benefits would not be touched and so on. And then for himto, you know, as soon as he walks into Number 10 that completelychanges. And it's like there was this language where they say onething and then they do the complete opposite as if we're too stupid tonotice that they're basically making these cuts. And considering thathe had a disabled child, he also relied on the state for basicservices. How can he do this to a whole swathe of people? It's justhypocritical.Adam: My name's Adam Lotun. I'm here for myself personally, and alsoto represent those people who can't be here because of theirdisabilities. I'm here to try and further the argument and raise thevoice of the disabled community against the use of the Work CapabilityTest by Atos and their involvement in the whole process of assessingpeople with disabilities. And also, the non-consistency in how Atosoperate. You have assessors who are nursing officials, nursingpractitioners. You have doctors – who may be medical doctors – or youhave “medical professionals” who could be a podiatrist, could be anoptician or could just be an ENT person. And they're going to talk toyou and make a ruling on you as a disabled person even though theyknow nothing about the disability they're looking at or howdisabilities effect people in their lives today. So that's what I'mhere for.Also to have a go at the Con-Dems today, about their policies ofdiscriminating against people with disabilities. The one thing Icannot understand is that we do have the Equality Act and the DDA butstill the government break that. That's about it.Eleanor: Hi, I'm Eleanor. I'm a co-founder of DPAC and we're heretoday to protest about the Atos Origin and the 300 million pounds theygot from the DWP. But basically we're here to protest about what Atosis doing and about the assessments which has created an environment offear for a lot of disabled people. So much so that some of them arethinking of committing suicide because they are at great risk oflosing the support system which has been what is, for many of them,what is used to keep them going.Sam: My name's Sam, I'm nineteen, I work on organic farms. I've got afriend who uses a wheelchair and claims Disability Living Allowance.She lives in Leeds so she can't be here today but she uses on-linedisability forums and she told me stories of people who are waitingfor the day that their letter arrives to be reassessed on a systemthat's not basing the decisions on facts but simply on targets forrandom cuts they've been told to make by the government. And some ofthese people who are waiting for their letters to arrive arecontemplating suicide and serious consequences in their personal andfamily lives based on whether they can get the disability benefitsthat they've been claiming for years and that they're entitled to.Keith: I'm here because of the systematic abuse of disabled people.Our people are disabled by society. One of the lies put about by theDaily Mail and the other yellow press is that disabled people don'twork. The reality is that most disabled people I know do work, theyjust don't get paid for their contribution to society. Obviously,within their resources, and many conditions are you're better somedays than other days and when you're not well, it really effects youfar more. Everyone has good days and bad days. The differences is forpeople with impairments is the bad days means they can't go out orthey can't function at all. Impairments effect us all. And if you'venot now got an impairment, bare in mind that in the future you'relikely to, statistically speaking, to have an impairment and to be inthe same situation as the people being cut off now.Let's say no to Dignitas, Atos and the stealth culture. We're the forthrichest country in the world, one of the smallest rich countries inthe world and we can afford to give civilisation and dignity, becausethe two main aspects of equality are dignity and respect. And we'reneither getting dignity nor respect from this government, in order tosupport their tax-fiddlers in the multi-national companies. .Amx: I'm Amx Waters, I'm here from Queer Resistance which is ananti-cuts group, an anti-cuts collective made up of LGBTQI people.We're fighting the cuts and also defending the right to protest. Alot of queer people are suffering from the cuts to benefits at themoment, especially cuts to HIV support services and mental healthcare. Basically, Queer Resistance is here to stand in solidarity withall of those people.Sam B: My name is Sam Brackenbury. I'm here to defend benefits. I'mhere to defend independent living. And I'm here to defend people whocan't speak for themselves because they are locked up in nursing homesand they're being deprived of DLA.People think direct action means hitting it on the streets andblocking roads. It doesn't. It means picking up the phone, writingto your MP, writing to the papers, phoning your local radio stations,saying that you're not going to put up with this. Right. Peoplevoted for a government that's let them down. The government has letus down systematically, doesn't matter what political colour they are,they have let us down systematically throughout the years. Right. It'snot governments that make the difference, it's people that make thedifference. As has been proved in Egypt, it's been proved in Yemen.It's been proved all over. So if disabled people really want to changethings, it's up to them to get out on the street. They can't write totheir MP, expect an able-bodied MP to understand what they're goingthrough. If they're really irritated about something, it's up to themto get out on the street, start picking up the phones and askingawkward questions.Lisa: For more information on Benefit Claimants Fight Back theirwebsite is at benefitclaimantsfightback.wordpress.com or they tweet as@claimantprotestWe’ll be back again next week, or sometime around there. With us allbeing sickly types we can’t promise we’ll be able to keep to a strictschedule of weekly podcasts. But we’ll try our best.In the meantime you can find our blog atwheresthebenefit.blogspot.com, you can ‘like’ us on facebook by goingto www.facebook.com/wheresthebenefit. You can follow us on twitter@wheresbenefit (there’s a character limit on twitter usernames and wedidn’t have room for the “the”. So we’re just @wheresbenefit) or ifyou’ve got anything you want to ask us, or you’d like to pitch us aguest post for our blog then you can Email us atwheresthebenefit *at* gmail *dot* comThanks for listening!