Welfare reforms.

[For Us All]

Welfare reforms come into effect today and nearly 900,000 people on incapacity benefit have dropped their payment claims rather than undergo a new medical test.The figure is more than a third of the total number of people claiming sickness related benefits.

 

Views and opinions please.

 

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/388416/900k-drop-claims-as-benefit-reforms-bite

[Guppy 4 England]

Excellent news, its alright moaning at the people "not paying enough" we should also look at those pillaging the system.

[philpvfc]

Good move by the Government. Totally correct, those that should receive should but it is only a small percentage that actually do receive.

[Conrad]

Good move, one would assume those 900,000 people thought they would be passed fit to work, so therefore were claiming falsly, this should save the tax payer tens of millions per year.

[For Us All]

Are these handouts justified?

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4869593/Half-a-billion-pounds-paid-in-sickness-benefits-to-drink-and-drug-addicts.html

[JOHNNYAITCH]

In principle I magree with the reforms but am concerned for those set to be hit the hnardest who are unable to change their situation; this may be a step too far in too many cases

[For Us All]

In principle I magree with the reforms but am concerned for those set to be hit the hnardest who are unable to change their situation; this may be a step too far in too many cases

 

Yes,you can't really argue with the principal but like a lot of things introduced by this coalition,has it been thought out properly?

[Andyregs]

It's impossible to find a perfect solution. If you want everyone who genuinely needs support to get it, then you have to accept that some will take advantage. If you want to stop people taking advantage then you have to accept that some who genuinely need the support won't get it (or won't get what they need). A lot of us when debating like to talk in ideals, but reality is different. I sway towards the first option, and have to accept some will unnecessarily benefit in order to help those in need.

[Warren]

I have noticed, maybe as an anecdote and unfairly, that far too many people / families portrayed on TV as out of work long term or never worked are over weight. I say that as person who as a child experienced having the electricity cut off etc.

 

In the 1970's the way out of poverty was education, that may not work as well today.

[For Us All]

I have noticed, maybe as an anecdote and unfairly, that far too many people / families portrayed on TV as out of work long term or never worked are over weight. I say that as person who as a child experienced having the electricity cut off etc.

 

In the 1970's the way out of poverty was education, that may not work as well today.

 

In the 70's you were more or less guaranteed a job at the end of your education so you were well motivated,today you are not.

[bookworm]

i do hope that those who are deserving claimants haven't been pressured or scared off from claiming benefits to which they are entitled by all the media hype, some claimants need guidance with the form filling and some just don't understand the jargon which comes with the forms.

[bookworm]

Are these handouts justified?

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4869593/Half-a-billion-pounds-paid-in-sickness-benefits-to-drink-and-drug-addicts.html

 

no, not all addicts are deserving cases,some still thieve their way through life irrespective of extra benefits they pocket.

[Santa]

Welfare reforms come into effect today and nearly 900,000 people on incapacity benefit have dropped their payment claims rather than undergo a new medical test

This is the DWP's own report

 

http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/esa_wca/esa_wca_jan2013.pdf

 

A sizeable percentage of Employment and Support Allowance claims were closed before a face to face assessment took place and a small proportion were still in progress at the time the data were extracted. Current data does not allow anything conclusive to be said about the destinations of closed and in progress cases, nor to infer what would have been or would be the outcome of assessment. However, the DWP has published research that investigated why some cases closed before assessment. It found that:

“An important reason why ESA claims in this sample were withdrawn or closed before they were fully assessed was because the person recovered and either returned to work, or claimed a benefit more appropriate to their situation”

It looks like a lot of these people simply got better and returned to work. Or perhaps in some cases they were so chronically ill that they died.

 

The suggestion that they were called to be re-assessed and all declined to do so because the weren't genuinely unfit to work is Tory spin.

[jon_1983]

As I have said in the UKIP thread, we need to focus on the banking sector and not the poorest in society. No matter what system is put in place people will find a way to abuse it (as demonstrated by bank and benefit fraudsters). I am willing to accept that we will have benefit fraudsters if we have a system that helps genuine people in need. Equally I accept that we will always have banking fraud. However banking fraud costs the tax payer much more and feel this needs to be addressed first. We bailed out our capitalist bankers with a socialist bailout, the same won't be offered in reverse to benefit claimants.

 

The message I get from this government is that if you were not lucky enough to have been born into money, a healthy gene pool and the south of England then it sucks to be you.

[bookworm]

Not a lot of difference between the politicians irrespective of party, all career politicians full of theory but lacking the down to earth foresight that could sort out any problems in advance of whatever policy is proposed. Never having to scrat a living and immune to money problems they will never get it right without that grass roots knowledge.Ian Duncan Smith says that he could live on £53.00 a week,the mans a fool, he might do it if he paid no bills ate scraps and walked everywhere, all career politicians are the same, don't know the price of food never had to traipse through several food outlets seeking out the best bargains, best clothes, best food,best of everything plenty of loot, short of nowt, exept perhaps compassion and conscience and worst of all totally ignoring the people who put them there, US.