British Government Set To Starve Disabled

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British Government Set To Starve Disabled

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3940#newspost_

(http://www.theoneclickgroup.co.uk/news.php?start=2980 & end=3000 & view=yes & id=3940\

#newspost)

 

28 October 2009

_Bending the rules_

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/oct/28/work-capability-assessment-incapa\

city-benefits)

By Melissa Viney

 

Critics of new medical tests aimed at getting claimants off benefits and

into work say they are target-driven measures that penalise genuinely ill

people.

 

 

Anna Wood, who has severe ME and is

dependent on help from her home carer,

was initially deemed ineligible for the new

form of incapacity benefit

 

Had Anna Wood realised that by bending down to pick up an object off the

floor she would be deemed fit to work, perhaps the 33-year-old former

academic would have thought twice. Wood, who had been forced to give up a

prestigious fellowship position at Strathclyde University last year after

developing severe ME, was made to perform the exercise as part of a medical

test

that all claimants of the new sickness benefit for ill and disabled people

have to undertake.

 

" The doctor came and asked me lots of questions and filled in a form, " she

recalls. " I then got a letter saying, 'You've only got 12 points. We need

15. You don't qualify.' He had asked me to bend down and pick something off

the floor and I did it. The point is I can't do it repeatedly, and I don't

see how that can mean I can work. There was nothing in the test that

related to my stamina and energy.

 

" How any normal person could read my medical report and think, 'Oh yes,

she can work', is absolutely beyond me. "

 

Wood points out a section in the report that states: " The healthcare

professional opined that Dr Wood is likely to have significant instability

regarding walking, standing and using stairs. She cannot hoover, wash dishes,

make a bed and struggles to stand in the kitchen and needs to hold onto the

rail using stairs ... due to fatigue and pain. "

 

This tough medical test, called the work capability assessment (WCA), is

at the heart of controversial changes to sickness benefit that were

introduced last October when employment support allowance (ESA) replaced

incapacity

benefit (IB) for new claimants.

 

The test contains a series of questions, called " descriptors " , that relate

to physical and mental functions, and from which claimants score points.

The test fails to include questions relating to energy, stamina, illness and

malaise. Instead, it focuses on specific physical functions, such as

reaching, bending and continence. In some cases, the " descriptors " are the same

as they were in the IB test, but are now awarded fewer points, making the

test harder to pass.

 

As a result, claimants who " risk losing control of their bowels or

bladder " (six points) and also " need verbal instructions as to how to carry out

a

simple task " (six points) will not gain the 15 points required to pass the

test, so they will be found entirely fit for work and placed on jobseeker's

allowance (JSA). Of those who do pass, a third are not expected to work,

but two-thirds will be expected to prepare for finding a job with help from

a personal adviser employed by Jobcentre Plus.

 

Critics of the medical test, conducted by doctors and nurses supplied by

ATOS Healthcare, a private company contracted by the Department for Work and

Pensions (DWP), say it is so stringent and heavy-handed that it raises the

bar too high and fails to determine those who are genuinely ill.

 

Since its introduction a year ago, only 5% of ESA claimants have scored

enough points to be deemed unable to work and to receive benefits of up to

£108.55 a week, while 36% have been placed on JSA, where they will receive

just £64.30.

 

A further 11% of ESA claimants have been found eligible for the " work

related activity group " at a weekly rate of £89.80 per week. Here they receive

tailored help and attend compulsory work-focused interviews. If they do not

comply, their benefit is liable to be stopped. Under the previous medical

test, up to 83% of IB claimants were found unfit for work.

 

The remainder of ESA claimants either stopped claiming benefits before the

assessment was completed or were still being assessed at the time the

statistics were being compiled, between October 2008 and February 2009.

 

Mark Baker, chair of the Disability Benefits Consortium, an umbrella

organisation representing more than 25 national disability groups, says it is

extremely worried about these statistics. " They show quite clearly that the

'work capability assessment', the gateway to ESA, is extremely tough. We

believe, as we said all along, that it would lead to people being put on to

other inappropriate benefits where they don't get the support or help they

need, and don't get the extra money that people who are out of work for longer

periods of time need. "

 

He accuses the government of refusing to acknowledge its concerns. " We

believe it's been the government's intention to dramatically reduce the

numbers of people on disability benefits. When this new work capability

assessment was designed a couple of years ago, we felt throughout the process

that

our concerns were ignored and, at the end of the process, we said that the

report did not reflect our input, did not reflect our concerns, and was not

representative of the organisations invited to take part. "

 

Although the DWP claims that the WCA assesses whether the person can

" carry out an activity reliably and repeatedly the majority of the time " , this

is not borne out by the experience of claimants such as Wood and many

disability organisations.

 

Daniel Berry, head of policy and campaigns at the MS Society, says: " MS

symptoms can change by the day or even by the hour, so it's vital that

benefits assessors are trained to understand fluctuating conditions. Many

people

risk losing the financial support they need if they are inaccurately

assessed. "

 

Tim Greenaway, a Manchester GP with patients who have failed to get ESA,

describes the new medical test as " insensitive " and " clumsy " and failing to

" acknowledge the role of doctors in providing a valuable opinion about

their own patients " . He says: " It seems to be driven by targets and the need to

get people back to work. "

 

Grave concerns

 

Welfare benefits officers working for the DWP also have grave concerns

about the new test. One specialist benefits officer for sick and disabled

people, and who wishes to remain anonymous, says: " What I'm seeing at ground

level is that there are some people who do want to work but who are so ill

and physically disabled that they can't, and they're being forced to go into

the work-related group of ESA and to jump all these hurdles in order to get

the benefit. "

 

She challenged the case of one client who has a cognitive impairment.

" Someone from the jobcentre visited my client and I went along. I asked her why

she didn't accept the [medical] evidence I was submitting from medically

trained people. I asked her if she was a doctor herself. During the

interview, she accepted that my client would have to go into the 'support

group.' "

 

Based on current figures, both main political parties anticipate saving

£600m by reassessing existing IB claimants and putting many on JSA at a lower

rate. Should they gain power, the Conservatives are also committed to

introducing penalising JSA benefit cuts for " non-participation at all stages "

or for turning down a reasonable job offer. One job refusal will result in a

one-month benefits cut, two jobs refused will mean a three-month cut, and

those who refuse three jobs will be excluded from receiving benefit for

three years.

 

Steve Webb, Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman, says: " The

rhetoric sounds great – 'We're going to focus on what you can do and not what

you can't do' – but we all know that what that really means in practice is

getting tougher and setting the bar higher. " He adds: " What worries me is the

idea of a future Tory government going further, faster down this track and

already budgeting for millions of savings, saying there's obviously people

who don't need this money. "

 

Wood eventually won an appeal at tribunal against her initial medical

assessment and is now receiving the higher rate of ESA as someone who is unable

to work. She is one of the luckier ones. So far, of those who have

appealed – and the complexity of the process has meant appeals are only just

starting to filter through – only 29.3% have been successful, in comparison

with

51.2 % of IB claimants.

 

Work-related activity

 

However, the DWP insists that the work capability assessment is " a fairer

medical assessment, looking at what people can do, not only what they

can't. " A DWP spokesman says: " This is not about making it harder for people to

get benefit. It's about creating a fairer and more accurate assessment of

an individual's functional capability, and will ensure that people who are

able to undertake some work-related activity get the benefit that is right

for them and receive the support they need to help them prepare for a return

to work. "

 

As people on JSA will not receive extra support that is tailored towards

getting sick and disabled people back to work, disability campaigners point

out that it will further decrease the already slim chances of such

claimants finding suitable work.

 

Baker fears that the consequences will be dire. " I think the majority will

end up at the feet of informal carers or local last-ditch charities, " he

says. " People will effectively drop out of society. "

 

*************

Related Links:

* _Detection of an Infectious Retrovirus, XMRV, in Blood Cells of Patients

with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome_

(http://www.theoneclickgroup.co.uk/documents/ME-CFS_docs/Detection%20of%20an%20I\

nfectious%20Retrovirus,%20XMRV,%20in%20Bl

ood%20Cells%20of%20Patients%20with%20Chronic%20Fatigue%20Syndrome.pdf)

Judy A. Mikovits et al, 10.1126/science.1179052, Science Express

* _Chronic Infections In ME/CFS_

(http://www.theoneclickgroup.co.uk/news.php?start=2960 & end=2980 & view=yes & id=3913\

#newspost)

Dr Sarah Myhill MB BS, August 2009

* _Breakthrough Science For M.E. Millions After Decades Of Chronic Abuse

And Neglect_

(http://www.theoneclickgroup.co.uk/news.php?start=2920 & end=2940 & view=yes & id=3842\

#newspost)

Independent Leader & Steve Connor, Science Editor - The Independent

* _The New Journalism - Challenging The Status Quo_

(http://www.theoneclickgroup.co.uk/documents/vaccines/Jane%20Bryant%20Speech,%20\

NVIC%20Conference%20

..pdf) page 3, The Case Of Ean Proctor

Professor Simon Wessely in Witch Finder General action in the lives of

ME/CFS labelled children

Jane Bryant, National Vaccine Information Center Conference Speech, United

States of America