Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Alistair's Budget Belter For Mental Health Users

Cartoon By Kakatoo Roving UserWatch Toonist


Alistair Darling today as Chancellor of the Exchequer showed the New Labours trend toward joining and upholding the corporate mind-set . Gone are the days of championing those who are weaker and inadequate now its all about making them work (BBC report) . Perhaps turning them back into a "Working Class " New Labour helped to disinvent .. The Raid On Welfare as we might call it has been on the cards for some time because the growing population of older people in the UK coupled with the lack of productive base for jobs that the previous working class in the UK had as its province has created conditions in which to support more welfare demands would have meant more taxation and therefore a loss in the middle class vote for New Labour ..

To avoid this swing New Labour are going to redistribute wealth from welfare into corporate classes and new third sector businesses.. Its new socio economic territory for the UK ..

Pathways to Work a Sainsbury's Centre For Mental Health pushed model and a Govt (US. copied) welfare to work plan and its various contractors have been readied to take on getting Incapacity Benefit claimants back to work ...

"After April 2010 all long term IB claimants will have work capacity interviews " Says Alistair..

It should be interesting but very sad to see what fallout this is going to create with long term mental health Users many of which feel it might be kinder to start up a UK Dignitas...At least death caused and hastened by poisonous UK policy would then become a open issue as opposed to the way it will be socially concealed in suicides and bad health, and more tragic circles of stressed out madness amongst the long term mentally ill .....

Links : Pathways To Work

University Of York

Nick Robinson's BBC Blog On IB

Silvis Rivers Guardian Comment


Bob Grove

Bob Grove joined the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health at King’s College London in March 2003 to lead the Employment Programme, which advises government and local authorities on policy implementation. Previously he worked at the Institute for Applied Health and Social Policy and before that in the non-profit sector, developing many different types of work scheme including supported employment agencies, social enterprises, social firms and vocational training.

His recent work includes writing employment guidance on the implementation of the Government’s Learning Disability Strategy and the National Service Framework for Mental Health – both commissioned by the Department of Health. He is currently on secondment to the Department of Health, working on the Incapacity Benefit Reform Pilots.

He has written widely on disability and employment issues. Recent books include A Framework for Supported Employment (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2001), Working Towards Recovery (IAHSP, 2002) and Hidden Skills, Hidden Talents (IAHSP, 2003), New Thinking about Mental Health and Employment (Radcliffe Publishing 2005).

Contact Details

Tel: 020 7827 8398

Email: bob.grove@scmh.org.uk

© 2008 The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, 134-138 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB | tel: 020 7827 8300



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