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PROTEST - 28th September, Westminster – Join the DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts)  #Audioriot Protest For #20moreforall, On The Streets And Online (plus local actions on 25th September). 

The government isn’t listening to what people are saying when we say Stop The Cuts to Universal Credit and give #20MoreForAll say the DPAC. 

So the DPAC says they need to start an #AudioRiot to make the government hear them.

On
Tuesday 28th September
11:30am
Westminster Central Hall
Storeys Gate
SW1H 9NH

This is what the organisers have to say:

Join the  #AudioRiot and make some noise about the devastating changes to benefits which will have a huge impact on millions of peoples lives, including disabled people.

Bring everything you can that makes noise.

DPAC will be providing materials for you to take part too – but don’t let that stop you bringing:

Drums
Whistles
Cymbals
Bells
Klaxons
Loudspeakers

Everything you can!

Organisers say:

• Make some noise about the £20 cut to Universal Credit coming in September.
• Make some noise about the reintroduction of sanctions and conditionality returning in October.
• Make some noise about the discrimination against those on legacy benefits who never got the £20 to begin with.
• Make some noise about the minimum income floor, the local area housing allowance and so much more
• Make some noise about the disgraceful state of benefits in the UK overall.
• This action will round off a series of events to raise awareness about the coming changes to benefits.

These include

Saturday 25th September 2021

Local Actions Nationwide

The DPAC are calling on all DPAC members, local groups & allies to mobilise is their areas to create an #AudioRiot of your own to resist the coming cuts and invite others to join the campaign.

Create your own orchestra with homemade instruments, create your own playlists and play them through phones/speakers, form a samba band – whatever works for you!

Send us details of your planned action, and we will promote it through our website, email network and social media channels.

And

Tuesday 28th September 2021
09:15 – 10:00 am

Vigil in support of those taking a Judicial Review of potential discrimination by DWP towards disabled people on legacy benefits.

Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London
WC2A 2LL

NEAREST STEP FREE STATION: Westminster

Online action

Details to follow

DPAC is aware that many of us in our community are still isolated, shielding, or even just protecting themselves and their loved ones; and cautious about taking part in public activism.

This is no barrier to taking part!! There will be online actions you can take

However, as our collective experience through since Covid entered our lives has taught us – disabled people need to have a central role in the discussions about how we build a future for us all that has a place for us all. That begins with defending what we have and building on it.

We have seen under successive governments of all stripes that the only way we can have any chance to secure that central role is to oppose government policies in the streets. We have been demonised, targeted and brutalised by attacks to our rights , services, living standards & working conditions for decades.

It is only by mobilising our community and allies in the face of theses attacks that we have been able to raise awareness and resist them.

And, that will be how we will continue to progress from here. With a view to reshaping the world to meet our aspirations.

ABC Comment, have your say below:

UNIVERSAL CREDIT - The Big Issue Ride Out Recession Alliance, Crisis, The Mortgage Works, Nationwide Building Society, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), Propertymark, StepChange Debt Charity, and Shelter have together released this statement:

The UK Government must complete and publish a full assessment of the impact on renters of their decisions to freeze Local Housing Allowance and cut Universal Credit, which risk pushing many households into poverty, problem debt, and homelessness.

In the wake of the pandemic, we saw bold and swift action from the Government to prevent a housing debt crisis including restoring Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30^th percentile of market rents and increasing the Universal Credit Personal Allowance.

With the economic impact of the pandemic increasing the financial strain on families, across the country the number of private rented households in receipt of the housing element of Universal Credit increased by 107% between February 2020 and February 2021. Over 55% of these households have a shortfall between the housing support they receive and the rent they have to pay. 

Image: Eviction Notice. 

The UK Government has confirmed that where such shortfalls exist, the median amount is £100 a month. This points to a need for continued support for families and individuals to cover the cost of rents. Yet since April this year, Local Housing Allowance has been frozen in cash terms, and later this year, Universal Credit will be cut by £20 a week. 

Whilst the Institute for Fiscal Studies has described changes to Local Housing Allowance as “arbitrary and unfair” we have seen no assessment from the UK Government of the impact either of these policies will have on the capacity of recipients to cover rent payments. 

As organisations representing landlords, letting agents, tenants, people facing homelessness, and debt advice services, we are united in calling on the UK Government to complete and publish a full assessment of the impact of both of these policies on the ability of renters to meet their housing costs.

We believe that the UK Government should reverse its decisions to cut Universal Credit and to freeze Local Housing Allowance. To apply policies like these without doing any meaningful impact assessment is, we argue, lacking the necessary foresight and consideration of the impact they will have on people’s security of tenure and well-being and for many will threaten their chance of recovery.

ABC Coimment, have your say below:

THOUSANDS - of disabled people on out of work benefits, such as Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Jobseeker’s Allowance, are facing considerable mental health and physical challenges as the pandemic has left them struggling financially, new research shows.

The stark findings are from the latest Disability Benefits Consortium’s (DBC) survey¹. It was filled out by over 1,800 disabled people in receipt of out of work benefits (also known as ‘legacy benefits’) – including those with multiple sclerosis (MS), motor neurone disease (MND), and learning disabilities – and found:

• Over two thirds (78%) said their financial situation was ‘worse’ compared to at the start of the pandemic
• Half (52%) are spending ‘significantly more’ on household bills and utilities than they were before the pandemic, with a third (37%) spending ‘somewhat more’
• Individuals’ weekly income meant they were unable or struggling to eat a balanced diet (67%), attend medical appointments due to public transport, petrol and taxi costs (33%), and pay bills, including their water, gas, electric, rent and mortgage (67%)
• Just under half (46%) were falling behind on rent or mortgage payments

Image: High Courts of Justice. 

The findings come one month before the High Court is to hear on 28 and 29 September whether the Government acted unlawfully by not giving nearly 2 million disabled people on legacy benefits the same emergency increase of £20 per week that was given to people on Universal Credit to help them survive the COVID-19 crisis.

Samantha, 50, from Southampton is partially sighted. She also lives with chronic spinal problems, bowel incontinence, nerve damage in her right foot, as well as depression and anxiety. She is on ESA and Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and relies heavily on her sister and 13-year-old son to care for her.

Talking about the impact of the pandemic on her finances, she says: “The Government have made me feel like a second class citizen – it’s incredibly unfair and discriminatory that they didn’t give people like me the extra £20 per week to help survive the pandemic. I understand the top up was for general living, but when you’re disabled your living expenses are exactly the same.

“My finances have taken a huge hit since the pandemic started. My son – who does the shopping for me – had to shop locally as he was too young for me to send him to a major supermarket. This meant everything was more expensive – even things like a loaf of bread. As he was off school it meant we were going through more food, so I was going without my meals so he could eat three times a day.

“I also couldn’t risk putting the heating on, so through winter we both had to wear three cardigans each. I had to make sure I was taking my medication as I was in a hell of a lot of pain – made worse by the cold.

“Having an extra £20 per week then, and now, would mean I could get a supermarket delivery and not rely on my son to be off school so he could push me in my wheelchair to the shops.”

In response to the DBC survey, one person said: “I’ve lost over 15kg in body weight from going hungry.” Another said: “At the moment I have no bath or shower as I cannot use the bath due to my disability and the shower is broken and I cannot afford to replace it. It is a horrible way to live.”

In addition, someone wrote: “I cannot afford to socialise and attend events that used to help my mental health. I am now more physically disabled than before the pandemic started and cannot afford taxis.”

The Government has continually defended this decision. Excuses have ranged from saying this would be “too complicated” for their computer system to arguing they weren’t aware of any extra-costs or impact on disabled people. Most recently they have said people on legacy benefits have the option to switch to Universal Credit, ignoring the fact that wider adjustments could leave people worse off, as well as serious flaws in the assessment and monitoring process of Universal Credit.

Respondents to the DBC survey said they felt the Government’s actions were ‘discriminatory’ (46%), ‘cruel’ (21%), and unfair (21%), with one person saying: “The Government are sending a clear message that the disabled do not matter’. Another noted: “I think they hope to drive us all to suicide or an earlier death from our disabilities.”

Anastasia Berry, Policy Manager at the MS Society and Policy Co-Chair of the DBC, says: “The impact of the pandemic has been devastating for many disabled people, and it’s heartbreaking to read these latest findings. For the last 18 months we’ve called on the Government time and time again to stop discriminating against disabled people, and yet here we are again. How much more evidence do they need to show that disabled people, including those with MS, must stop being ignored and given the financial support they desperately need?”

“MS can be relentless, painful and disabling, and around a third living with the condition have to rely on ESA because they are simply unable to work. Disabled people are being punished for something that is beyond their control, and it shouldn't take another survey, or the Government being taken to court, to acknowledge this.”

 Ellen Clifford, on behalf of the DPAC, said: “It’s beyond time that the Government rectified their discriminatory approach to the £20 benefit uplift applied to Universal Credit during the pandemic. The failure to do this ignores the fact that it’s disabled people’s unavoidable essential spending that went up the most as a direct result of the pandemic.

“In the sixth richest country in the world no one should be left too poor to bathe, too poor to do their laundry, too poor to eat and to heat. This at the same time as disabled people have been in desperate fear for their lives with a minimum 60% of Covid-related deaths being those of disabled people and many of those on legacy benefits isolated and shielding for well over a year. This is one injustice that could be put right so easily and at relatively little expense to the Treasury. It’s abhorrent that the government refuses still.”

Ella Abraham, Z2K’s Policy and Campaigns Manager and Campaigns Co-chair of the DBC, said: “It’s been 18 months of discriminatory Government excuses which have continued to leave 2.5 million people without the vital income they need to support them throughout the pandemic and beyond.

“The Government must end this two-tier welfare state to ensure disabled people and those with health conditions aren’t pushed any further into poverty and destitution.”

For more information visit https://disabilitybenefitsconsortium.com/campaign-news/

Image - Disabled people have been having a very hard time under the current government. 

ABC Comment. have your say below: 

DEPRESSION - Johann Hari Challenges the Way We Think About Depression

In a moving talk, journalist Johann Hari shares fresh insights on the causes of depression and anxiety from experts around the world -- as well as some exciting emerging solutions.

"If you're depressed or anxious, you're not weak and you're not crazy -- you're a human being with unmet needs," Hari says.

ABC Comment, have your say below:

JOBCENTRE PLUS - DWP is setting up temporary jobcentres during 2021 to deal with increased demand.

The new jobcentres will provide services across the country where they are needed. They will increase capacity to provide tailored face-to-face support in a COVID-secure environment and help support more people back into work and progress into new roles.

DWP will review the need for these temporary jobcentres as the economy recovers.

Temporary jobcentre locations

More temporary jobcentres will be added to the list when locations are confirmed.

Find out how to contact Jobcentre Plus.

ABC Comments, have your say below:

WORKPLACE SUICIDES – While the hazards most often associated with workplace deaths in the U.S. construction industry – falling, being struck-by or crushed by equipment or other objects, or suffering electrocution are well-known – a recent study finds that another potential killer is taking lives at an alarming rate.

In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that men working in construction have one of the highest suicide rates compared to other industries. Their rate of suicide is about four times higher than the general population.

While the CDC continues its research to understand the disparity, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has formed a task force of industry partners, unions and educators to raise awareness of the types of stress that can push construction workers into depression and toward suicide. In addition to alerting stakeholders, the task force encourages industry employers to share and discuss available resources with their workers. The task force is calling on industry to take part in a weeklong Suicide Prevention Safety Stand-Down, Sept. 6-10, to raise awareness about the unique challenges construction workers face. The stand-down will coincide with National Suicide Prevention Month in September.

“Work-related stress can have severe impacts on mental health and without proper support may lead to substance abuse and even suicide,” stated Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Jim Frederick. “Workers in construction face many work-related stressors that may increase their risk factors for suicide, such as the uncertainty of seasonal work, demanding schedules and workplace injuries that are sometimes treated with opioids.”

The Suicide Prevention Safety Stand-Down started as a regional initiative in OSHA’s Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, offices with these task force members: Builders Association, Associated General Contractors of Missouri, University of Kansas, University of Iowa, Washington University, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, local unions and several employers. More than 5,000 people participated in the 2020 Suicide Prevention Safety Stand-Down, and OSHA encourages others to join the effort in 2021.

“Like many workplace fatalities, suicides can be prevented,” said OSHA Acting Regional Administrator Billie Kizer in Kansas City, Missouri. “We encourage employers to use all available resources, familiarize themselves with the problem and learn to recognize the warning signs of depression. We also urge workers to seek help if they feel overwhelmed or overcome by a loss of hope.”

• The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s National Construction Center: CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training.
• A fact sheet for organization and individuals on the issue of suicide and prevention.
• How to talk about suicide with employees and how to get help.
• The Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention.

Image: US Ambulance Service. 

ABC Comment, have your say below:

MEAT WORKERS - According to the BBC abattoirs, butchers and meat processors are set to employ prisoners and ex-inmates to help plug labour shortages.

Meat industry leaders held talks with the government on Monday to discuss options of how businesses could link up with prisons to fill vacancies.

The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers told the BBC the industry had about 14,000 job vacancies currently.

It said Covid, Brexit and perceptions over career paths had caused a looming "recruitment crisis".

Image: From the film Cool Hand Luke starring Paul Newman. 

ABC Comment, have your say below:

MILITARY PENSIONS - The Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced it would open talks with the Nepalese Embassy about Gurkus pensions. 

Former Gurkha servicemen have ended a 13-day hunger strike after the Government agreed to enter talks with the Nepalese Embassy over equal pensions for veterans.

The group had not eaten for almost a fortnight, with one 60-year-old admitted to hospital with heart problems in the early hours of Wednesday morning, before returning to his strike outside Downing Street.

The hunger strikers were part of a group of protesters calling for equal pensions for Gurkhas who retired before 1997 and are ineligible for a full UK Armed Forces pension.

Image: The Gurkhas not to be messed with. 

ABC Note: The Gurkhas have become renowned for their loyalty and bravery since they first served as part of the Indian army in British-ruled India in 1815. Some 200,000 Gurkhas fought alongside British troops in both world wars, as well as the conflicts in the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan.

ABC Comment, have your say below:

UNIVERSAL CREDIT CUT - In England, Scotland and Wales, the number of private rented households in receipt of Universal Credit with an entitlement to housing support as part of the payment has increased by almost 107% from 746,694 in February 2020 to 1,545,024 in February 2021.

As of February 2021, over 55% of these households (858,606) have a gap between their housing cost support and the rent they had to pay. 

• The Work and Pensions Minister, Will Quince MP, has noted that in such cases the median shortfall is £100 a month. See https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-05-24/6183.
• On the 19^th July, responding to a written parliamentary question from the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds MP, asking what assessment the DWP has made of the potential effect of removing the uplift to the universal credit standard allowance on rent arrears accrued by universal credit claimants, the Work and Pensions Minister, Will Quince MP, responded:

“No assessment has been made.”

How much your Universal Credit will be cut

The standard allowance of Universal Credit will change as follows under the following payment category scenarios:

• The 2021 payment for those who are single and under 25 - will drop from £344 to £264
• The 2021 payment for those who are single and 25 or over - will drop from £411.51 to £331.51
• The 2021 payment for a couple who are both under 25 - will drop from £490.60 to £410.60 (that is a total not an amount for each person)
• The 2021 payment for a couple who are both 25 or over - will drop from £596.58 to £516.58 (that is a total not an amount for each person)

Those amounts will remain in place until April 2022, when an inflation-based rise is set to be applied.

Other components of Universal Credit will stay the same.

So if you get extra for children, disabilities or caring for a severely disabled person, those amounts will be untouched for the rest of this financial year. These additional amounts are listed below.

Extra for children

Claimants can get additional amounts of Universal Credit if they have one or two children.

Mums have lost a court battle to try to remove the DWP's two-child limit so if you have three or more kids, you'll only get extra for these children if

• they were born before April 6, 2017 when the two-child limit started
• you were already claiming for three or more children before that date
• there are special circumstances such as children being part of a multiple birth (twins, triplets, quadruplets, etc), if they were adopted, if you are not their parents but have an arrangement to care for them, or if they were conceived as a result of rape or an abusive relationship.

The amounts paid out are:

• For your first child if they were born before April 6, 2017 - £282.50
• For your first child if they were born on or after April 6, 2017 - £237.08
• For your second child and any other eligible children - £237.08 per child
• If you have a disabled or severely disabled child - £128.89 or £402.41
• For childcare costs - up to 85 per cent of your costs (up to £646.35 for one child and £1,108.04 for 2 or more children)

ABC Note: The ABC is predicting a crisis of epic proportions when Universal Credit is cut by £20 a week in October. 

OPINION - The Taliban wasted no time in overrunning Afghanistan as soon as the Americans announced they were packing up and leaving. Having put up virtually no resistance we are now being told that 20,000 Afghans could be heading for the UK, all who need clothing, feeding, and rehousing. Competing for resources that we are struggling to provide for our people. That is if you believe the governments' justification for making more welfare cuts and that it is not just a ploy to free up more money to give to the undeserving rich in the form of more tax cuts.  

How can Prime Minister Boris Johnson justify cutting benefits to taxpayers on the dole, whose work and effort mean they paid into the system sometimes for decades and who rightfully deserve to be paid adequate benefits? These are the people who worked to support others and who are now facing potential destitution, starvation, and misery due to these threatened Universal Credit cuts [the cancellation of the £20 uplift].  The real reason for the uplift was we suspect to pump money into a global economy that was on the verge of a major collapse and therefore deflation, where prices would fall and purchases would be postponed. This would explain why in the USA those in work but furloughed were paid more in welfare than they would have earned.

43% of those on Universal Credit in the UK are in work and even those fully unemployed still pay taxes such as VAT and Council Tax. 

Although UK citizens have empathy with those fleeing their country of origin [of course we do] however how long will that empathy last when these refugees start taking priority to get housing and claim benefits? If they had fought bravely and heroically to repel the Taliban and lost, one might have more sympathy. The Afghans had excellent equipment, far better than the Taliban - their military was well trained and well paid. What they didn’t have was the stomach or willingness to fight back.  Whose fault is that. 

Why should UK benefits claimants accept that the benefits they paid for should be cut when those who have paid nothing into the system will need to be fed, clothed, and rehoused by the British taxpayer?

There is a potential solution, Afghanistan’s financial reserves have been frozen by the US. That funding could be legitimately accessed and used to pay for benefits and support for those driven out of their country.  

Let’s take these reserves and give ‘Terry Taliban and the Mullahs’ an invoice for looking after their citizens and for all the military kit lost also paid for by the British and American taxpayer. President Biden was right, it was time to leave, but the execution and the withdrawal was badly managed. If Boris cuts social security benefits but finances all these refugees that could cause great ill feeling and foster anti-foreigner sentiment.  

ABC comment, have your say below: