Skip Navigation | Sheffield IMC | UK IMC | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

UK Indymedia UK Indymedia Sheffield Indymedia Sheffield Indymedia

a 21st Century version of the workhouse

SWAN | 25.07.2006 09:29 | Sheffield

Yesterday, the welfare reform bill had its second reading,this is a brutal vindictive bill which
should and will be challenged

Yesterday, the welfare reform bill had its second reading, despite being one of the most
significant bills in welfare history and affecting millions, there were only about 30 M.P's
in the chanmber. Basicially it seems as if all of them supported the bill, only raising some caveats and technicalities. If anything shows the disconnection between parliament and its people it is this: many disabled people and members of the public have, once made aware of the reforms, been shocked at the vindictive nature of the bill whcih could see cuts of more that 40 a week from Incapacity Benefit and housing benefit or forced to take unsuitable work or even medical treatment,

Disabled people and their allies will be launching a national campaign against these ereform,. we will put pressure on M.P's, charities, the TUC (yes , they support the bill!)
churches, and the rest of civil society. We intend to demonstrate at the Labour Party
conference in Manchester and lauch other activities, don't ignore this important issue, support us, join us



from SWAN


To all media: Press Release: 24/July/2006

Sheffield Welfare Action Network (SWAN)

The Welfare Reform Bill: A move to a 21st Century version of the Workhouse?

Today the Govt’s Welfare Reform Bill is having its second reading, Sheffield Welfare Action Network (SWAN) has been campaigning against the Bill since it was first floated and has serious reservations about its content

The government is targeting millions of disabled people with the threat of losing up to 30 pounds per week if the claimant does not comply with their plans. The proposed replacement to Incapacity Benefit (IB), the Employment Support Allowance (ESA), will only rise above £56 a week (JSA levels) if the claimant meets very strict requirements.

The reforms also propose ever more medical assessments through a more stringent Personal Capability Assessment (PCA)

The government also proposes to abolish housing benefit and replace it with a fixed housing allowance so that claimants get a flat allowance rather than the full rent charged by the private landlord

Summary here:  http://www.disabilityalliance.org/ibchange.htm


Our concerns

While welcoming any genuine help for those who can and want to work, SWAN asserts the new system will not only be unsuccessful in its aims, but will cause further stress and illness for claimants. SWAN will ask why are the reforms ‘target led’ with the aim of getting one million back into work? If the reforms are so positive, why do there have to be sanctions and coercion? This punitive approach will mean many thousands of the most vulnerable in our society who simply cannot work will face ever more coercion and harrassment. Further, as some excellent research on our website indicates where are all these many jobs going to come from? unemployment is now rising and employers themselves admit they discriminate against people with disabilities. The reforms also do nothing about the extremely robust medical assessments, which although described as ‘the toughest in the world’ still wrongly fail 80’ 000 people a year (source: BBC). Abolishing housing benefit will mean disabled people will, if in the private rented sector, have to leave their homes, (losing their informal networks of support in the process) and move to unsuitable areas. In our view, the reforms do nothing to provide people who are disabled with suitable jobs free from discrimination and do nothing to gain the trust of claimants or give them pressure free time to heal.

Jayne Edwards of Sharrow, Sheffield said "I want to work but I can't and people really look down on me, like I'm faking it or it's my fault. The very idea of being forced to work, to attend interviews when I can hardly stand up is making me worse, its just cruel!

Already, one has to fill in 40 page forms which go into the minutae of your personal life and where one has to detail exactly your medical condition, however embarrassing.
You can be spied on by fraud investigators to see if you are secretly working. Even if you have nothing to fear, this creates a climate where the claimant feels a far from benign state is omnipresent in his/her life. In Swan’s view, if the bill goes ahead, it can only get worse: the new welfare reform bill will mean disabled people will have to accept certain forms of medical interventions such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) or face benefit cuts, there will be ‘Work Advisers’in G.P’s surgeries and no matter how ill you are, disabled people will have to attend a number of interviews to ‘discuss’ what work the person can do. One can argue as a commentator has that ‘this is a move to 21st Century version of the workhouse.


A more humane system

SWAN argues there is a strong need for the welfare system to be made more humane,
At our recent national rally concurring: Sheffield Green Party Councillor, Bernard Little said:

"the whole of our benefit system is built on the myth that if we are not in paid work we are up to no-good. Swinging the lead. Shirking. Pretending we are ill. And this cruel myth hits the most vulnerable the hardest .We need to have a far more flexible benefit system that breaks down the barrier between paid and unpaid work. That recognises the reality of life with it ups and downs, good days and bad days, our sickness and health. A benefits system that recognises that we are all different."

Sheffield Liberal Democrat councillor and group leader Paul Scriven agreed, stating "The benefits system should not be used by government to further alienate and penalise disabled people. It should be used to support and empower them to lead full and independent lives as possible. The changes that the government are introducing are trying to be used as a tool of conformity rather than using the benefit system to empower and support disabled people."

SWAN will continue to campaign vigorously against these reforms and will be a significant part of the emerging campaign against the Bill and for a decent more flexible and less punitive welfare system.

Regards

John Rogers

For SWAN

contact details

www.swansheffield.org.uk
 sheffieldwelfare_an@yahoo.co.uk
tel Chris Taylor 07903453006

Note SWAN is planning to become a national organization in the near future

(1)  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/4995078.stm

SWAN
- e-mail: sheffieldwelfare_an@yahoo.co.uk
- Homepage: http://www.swansheffield.org.uk

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Sheffield Topics

Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

Sheffield [navigation.actions2016]

Sheffield [navigation.actions2015]

Sheffield [navigation.actions2014]

NATO 2014

Sheffield Actions 2013

G8 2013

Sheffield Actions 2012

Workfare

Sheffield Actions 2011

2011 Census Resistance
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Occupy Everywhere

Sheffield Actions 2010

Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands

Sheffield Actions 2009

COP15 Climate Summit 2009
G20 London Summit
Guantánamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
University Occupations for Gaza

Sheffield Actions 2008

2008 Days Of Action For Autonomous Spaces
Campaign against Carmel-Agrexco
Climate Camp 2008
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Smash EDO
Stop Sequani Animal Testing
Stop the BNP's Red White and Blue festival

Sheffield Actions 2007

Climate Camp 2007
DSEi 2007
G8 Germany 2007
Mayday 2007
No Border Camp 2007

Sheffield Actions 2006

April 2006 No Borders Days of Action
Art and Activism Caravan 2006
Climate Camp 2006
Faslane
French CPE uprising 2006
G8 Russia 2006
Lebanon War 2006
March 18 Anti War Protest
Mayday 2006
Oaxaca Uprising
Refugee Week 2006
Rossport Solidarity
SOCPA
Transnational Day of Action Against Migration Controls
WSF 2006

Sheffield Actions 2005

DSEi 2005
G8 2005
WTO Hong Kong 2005

Sheffield Actions 2004

European Social Forum
FBI Server Seizure
May Day 2004
Venezuela

Sheffield Actions 2003

Bush 2003
DSEi 2003
Evian G8
May Day 2003
No War F15
Saloniki Prisoner Support
Thessaloniki EU
WSIS 2003

Server Appeal Radio Page Video Page Indymedia Cinema Offline Newsheet

secure Encrypted Page

You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.

If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech