 IDS DWP boss with an agenda After actions resembling the 'hokey cokey' social security cuts have been pushed through in the House of Commons. The Independent goes with ‘black day for disabled people’ and it would be impossible not to agree. The Tories have shown their commitment to the work and welfare bill and its associated cuts by being prepared to spend time and thus money on pushing changes through parliament. The £30 a week ESA cut is a slap in the face of people with disabilities. The cost of DWP bureaucracy as they slash benefits should not be forgotten; the same goes for the money paid to MPDs to spend hours in parliament debating. Changes made their way through the House of Commons to the House of Lords but that other place threw the legislation back for further consideration. Following another House of Commons debate the legislation tootled back to the Lords but was rejected again. In order to push the legislation through Speaker of the House of Commons attached a 'financial privilege' to the Welfare Bill and sealed its fate and that of many people with disabilities living in the UK. But that will not be the end of cuts. More will follow. The tory government is looking at further attacks on democracy; it has already looked at preventing the House of Lords rejecting legislation and also at stuffing the Lords with more Tories to enable that party to fulfil its crippling agenda. The PM already has an option to use the Royal veto and now we learn he has a 'financial privilege' get out of jail free card available. The Independent reports Tuesday;
The conclusion then has to be that the Tory government knows full well the impact on claimants but doesn't care one jot.
Also at NEWTEKWORLDNEWS: Tory onslaught on welfare is not an austerity agenda Paralympians speech halts ESA cuts for a second time Nothing pretty about Priti Patel as she attacks ESA Online: MPs get pay rise of nearly £1,000 despite one per cent public sector wage caps Tories force through ESA disability benefit cuts as Lords run out of options to block them Charities slam Tories for forcing through disability benefit cuts despite House of Lords defeat
0 Comments
 Op-Ed: This is yet another news story relating to DWP boss Iain Duncan Smith and his heartless way of working. Under alleged reasons of austerity measures thousands of people who have to rely on benefits temporarily or for extended periods of time are having already meagre incomes slashed; and when you have next to nothing to live on every penny counts. So why would the DWP, department of work and pensions, opt to use a 0345 number for claimants who need to call in when it costs those same people 45p a minute from a mobile or 12p a minute from a landline? This has been departmental practice for some time but is being highlighted again as the DWP rolls out its so called Universal Credit which replace some benefits. We wonder if in time it will replace all so-called benefits including pensions. Having rebranded social security which we all pay into as some sort of free welfare handout it is work in progress for DWP Tory boss Iain Duncan Smith. In March 2015 the Daily Mirror reported that in spite of government promises to phase out expensive 0845 numbers claimants were still getting a raw deal. certain they know his identity. Ministers pledged two years ago to phase out the expensive 0845 numbers for people dialling government lines. In June 2013 a website touting 0345 numbers as something great wrote: Today we can confirm that the Department of Work and Pensions have officially adopted 0345 telephone numbers for their customer service networks. But that whop-di-doo is misleading.
What about customers who do not have a BT landline or mobile phone. Yes there are still plenty. And who is making money out of BT we wonder? Here in Kingston-Upon-Hull local telephone service Kingston Communications is not part of BT. It is an independent service that was the pride of the city until a sell off some years back. The local council thought it could join the dot com bubble and make some money and local people embraced the news and dived into becoming shareholders. The dot com bubble burst and KC struggles to survive these days though still offers a great service. And after all the Tory promises on phone charges the Daily Mirror reports this week "Anyone trying to claim Universal Credit will be forced to call an 0345 number, incurring charges of up to 45p a minute from a mobile or 12p a minute from a landline." And as we all know a minute is soon gobbled up as you wait in a queue on the line, listen to brain killing messages often trying to direct you to their website, or music either aimed at soothing or angering all the time knowing your money is running out. Perhaps it is time public servants realised they are just that and that includes overpaid overstuffed Tory ministers. Iain Duncan Smith continues to refuse to set up a 0800 free phone number for UC claimants and the reasoning behind that is not good news. You may draw your own conclusions. |
