Engineered
Toon Courtesy Of Art De Rivers
Secretary of State forgets his "nothing about me without me" mantra
Captured Using Telescopic LINk Fade-ar Plus Intuition 
"Benefit cheats are being warned today that a new Mobile Regional Taskforce to combat fraud will be visiting their area. This new team will target all high risk postcodes across the country re-examining claims for benefits and Tax Credits.
The Taskforce is the latest crack-down on benefit fraud by the Department for Work and Pensions and HMRC alongside local authorities, and cheats are being urged to admit their crimes and pay back the money before they get a knock on the door.
Lord Freud, Minister for Welfare Reform said:
"The new Taskforce is our latest weapon in tackling welfare fraud on the front line. We are sending a clear warning that if you are fiddling the system, you will be caught. Welfare fraud is a crime and takes money away from the most vulnerable.
"People who are receiving the correct benefits and Tax Credits have absolutely nothing to fear. But if people have deliberately not told us of a change in circumstances, they should do so now, before the team comes knocking at their door.
"Alongside the Taskforce we are bringing in the Universal Credit which will simplify and automate the benefits system. This will make it much easier to catch people who make false claims."
People who tell the Department about a change in their circumstances before they are found out by the Taskforce will have to repay the money they owe, and, depending on the seriousness of their action, may face an additional punishment. Anyone who doesn’t take this opportunity and is found by the Taskforce to be committing welfare fraud could be prosecuted and fined or imprisoned.
David Gauke MP, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury said:
"This government will not tolerate money which is meant for those in genuine need being siphoned off into the pockets of cheats and fraudsters.
"The new taskforce delivers on our commitment to tackle benefit fraud and together with the extra £917 million we have re-invested in HMRC sends a very clear message."
Article From The Blogosphere Elsewhere "The ‘HealthWatch Transition Plan’ makes it clear that the decision whether to transform a local LINk into HealthWatch through a process of evolution, or abolish it and establish an entirely new organisation, rests with the Local Authority.
We object to this – we believe it would be wholly unacceptable and an appalling waste of resources, for a Local Authority to abolish a LINk after three years of creating a local people’s champion in health and social care.
Destroying organisations set up to monitor health and social care is disruptive and undermines the safety of our care services. Evolution and transition to HealthWatch must be the way forward."
"In general, we would support the idea of a round-table approach, particularly to facilitate the independent monitoring aspect of the LINk. However, we must bear in mind that HealthWatch will have a much larger remit than that of the LINk. Consultation and engagement is a key role of both the LINk and HealthWatch and we feel that this would need further exploration to see how this can be fulfilled within or alongside the round-table proposal.
The transition period from October to July provides an ideal opportunity to trial this arrangement to see if it could be incorporated into plans for HealthWatch (including how consultation and engagement within or alongside this model would be fulfilled)."
"LINks have developed over the past three years into influential local bodies that represent the patients, users, carers and the public in key local decisions affecting health and social care services."
UW
Acknowledgments To Silvis Rivers Who Sent This In 
Tracey Crouch (Chatham and Aylesford) (Con): Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating councils that have protected front-line services through creative and innovative thinking about their budgets, such as Medway council, which has halved its funding to trade unions and given that money to fund library books instead?
Mr Pickles: I do indeed congratulate them. My hon. Friend points out to those on the Opposition Benches a way in which money can be directed towards the front line. I hope that the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) will send out requests that Labour councils similarly to look towards trade unions and reducing their costs.
Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab): The Secretary of State has described his cuts as progressive, fair and protecting the most vulnerable. Last Friday, Conservative-led Birmingham city council inflicted the biggest cut in local government history of £212 million. Some 4,000 people face losing their care packages, including some of the most vulnerable, many of whom are in ill health and in the twilight of their years. Is that progressive, fair and protecting the most vulnerable?
Mr Pickles: Let us be absolutely clear: these are Labour cuts. The Labour party was planning £14 billion-worth of cuts, all of them front-loaded. At least we changed the formula to help the most vulnerable. We find ourselves in a position where we know perfectly well that the Labour party would have inflicted even greater cuts on local government.
"Birmingham City Council's decision to cut more than £1m of funding from 13 advice charities in the city was unlawful, but only the three that challenged the decision should have their funding reinstated, a High Court judge has ruled.
Mr Justice Blake ruled last week that the three charities – the Birmingham Tribunal Unit, the Chinese Community Centre Birmingham and St James Community Support & Advice Centre, Birmingham – should have their funding reinstated."
"Surely, there is a message here that bigger charities should step to the plate and take the fight against cuts by local councils to the courts. It's the smaller ones and their service users that are leading by example and taking practical action that are yielding results. It seems that the bigger charities are all talk and no action, and too scared to take on the bullies"
"The AJTC is entitled by law to observe tribunal hearings but has no direct access to patients; CQC, while having access to patients, has no statutory right to attend hearings. It therefore made sense for both bodies to work together in order to obtain first-hand information from patients themselves about their experiences of the tribunal system."
"A ground-breaking report is published yesterday 30th March 2011 on the experiences of patients who appealed to a tribunal against their detention under the Mental Health Act. First-hand information has been obtained for the first time from patients of their personal experiences of appearing before the First-tier Tribunal (Mental Health), formerly the Mental Health Review Tribunal.
The report finds that patients’ experiences of tribunals were diverse, ranging from positive to strongly negative and that delays are a substantial factor in many patients’ negative experiences of the tribunal process.
To view "Patients’ experiences of the First-tier Tribunal" report, click here "
"Dear [Chairs of Core Group & Finance and Admin] (names redacted)
We are writing to inform you that we have received a high level of complaints within the last month, both from LINk Core Group members, Link members and Councillors which pertain to the lack of a governance framework.
We have highlighted this as a risk to BCC, as we believe it renders the LINk vulnerable in terms of legal, financial and reputational risk – in these terms we regard it as unsafe. I would like to point out that minimum standards of policy, health and safety, safeguarding and equality legislation are being met.
This volume of complaints has allowed us to identify a trend which relates to the decision making and accountability of the Birmingham LINk
The Issues and associated risks
The main areas which represent significant risk are as follows:
Absence of, fit for purpose, governance framework – namely
1. Lack of comprehensive and agreed Standard Operating Procedures
2. Unsuitable and unenforceable complaints process
The risk associated with the above issues are:
1. Decisions being made without sufficient governing documents
2. New and existing members unable to be provided with handbook – as required in the audit – due to insufficient governing documents
3. Members therefore able to make decisions and represent the LINk without clearly defined responsibility, accountability and boundary of role
4. Financial decisions being made without a suitable framework of accountability
5. Codes of conduct, procedures and current protocols are unenforceable due to inadequate complaints
Appropriate Solution
We propose to solve the above issues and associated risk by:
1. Suspending meetings*of the two key decision making groups ie: Core Group and Administration and Finance Group, until such time that agreed Standard Operating Procedures and a robust Complaints Procedure has been approved.
2. To form a sub-group tasked with the actions in point 1.
3. To gain approval of required governance framework through single issue meeting with a quorate membership of the Core Group
*although meetings would be suspended, information would still be disseminated to the relevant group members.
Responsible owners for all remedial actions required
Host organisation
Sub-group facilitated by the Host organisation
LINk Core Group (quorate amount)
Timescales for remedial action
Suspension of meetings of two key decision making groups - with immediate effect
Formation of sub-group - 15th April 2011
Final draft document agreed 13th May 2011
Website consultation period complete 30th June 2011
The remaining elements of the contract, including the Action Groups plans and objectives, together with the main priorities for the LINk will continue to be delivered.
During the period of the suspension of the groups, we advise not holding the Vice-Chair election and halting the co-option process to enable the governance documents to be drafted and approved.
Regards [Host of The Birmingham LINk]
Birmingham LINk
c/o Gateway Family Services CIC, Radclyffe House, 66-68 Hagley Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B16 8PF
Tel: 0800 652 5278, Email: Info@birminghamlink.org
"Alongside the Budget the Government published its Plan for Growth, which outlines how the government plans to make the UK :“a world-leader in manufacturing, life sciences, creative industries, green energy and non-financial business services”.
"The Plan for Growth also stated that the Government will shortly publish "Shaping Competitive Markets", guidance to support departments in better decision making by setting out measures that procurers should take to shape and open up markets, and highlighting how procurement decisions can have undesirable consequences on markets."Now that should be interesting since it is time for mental health users to look into the mouth of the shark world and realise they were already there inside the NHS if they disagreed with it so what's different about the new potential for "markets" ?
Of course it has been coming for years - "REFORM" - the Incapacity Benefit figures were attacked as too high and those bad ol' shirkers out there were just swinging the lead and refusing to be the working class on dog wages . Of course not only were many disabled but they could not compete with the 1 million Poles and few others and many who lived 15 or twenty to a house thus knocking down the rent for each other in London areas.
The truth is fraud was never that high but overblown with the media 's old/new workless class prejudice. The dreamy newspapers - fanning flames about and other media just bolstered the ridiculous growth of the middle classes on the back of New Labour bureau-land for 13 years - after quite a few years of the Tories kidding everyone you could magically earn enough for the country by making up the GDP gap with "financial services" .... Oh dear ... Not to worry David Freud ex-banker is here and his plans started in the Tony & Gord Labour years . So is it dark and collectively unconscious therapy for everyone and death for quite a few - who will finally not cope ? Britain loves to re-invent its victorian cruelty doesn't it ?
Well a bunch of Mental Health "hacktivists" in London have put a letter out to the Guardian ... You know the Guardian that did so much to seriously criticise the years when the Sainsbury Centre For Mental Health was heroically leading the charge on "Work for all" in mental health and "Inclusion" ..... Oh dear .... Its all inclusion on the plank now in the Coalition sea of cuts and choppy policies ... But over to some MH Users who feel its worth writing to the Guardian and its networks of socially manipulating classes .
"March 2011
FROM: THE MENTAL HEALTH RESISTANCE NETWORK
Dear Editor,
We believe that the manner in which long term benefit claimants with mental health problems are being reassessed for work will result in suicides. As Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) for existing claimants are being rolled out nationally, the system is already in a state of chaos, particularly in relation to mental health claims. Amidst this chaos, the Mental Health Resistance Network has been formed by people who live with the reality of mental health problems, to demand an immediate end to this cruel and unfair method of assessing fitness for work. WCAs are no more than a smokescreen to conceal drastic cuts to benefits for people in mental distress. We are compelled to speak up as we hear friends talk of suicide as they face the loss of their only realistic source of income.
The previous government allowed the press to prepare the public for this onslaught against the disabled by remaining silent for several years as endless stories about benefit cheats appeared in the tabloids and right wing press. Rumours emerged suggesting that they were behind the press having access to individual benefit cheat stories. The same press now cites the high number of people being found fit for work as proof that we were cheats all along, easing the way for the Coalition to return the UK to pre Welfare State conditions, thus fulfilling a long standing Tory ambition. This will remove a hard won safety net from many ordinary people should they become too ill to work.
We want to set the record straight. The reason the huge, international IT company, Atos Origin, is finding so many people fit for work is that the criteria to qualify for disability benefits has changed to a point where it excludes a huge number of sick and disabled people. Furthermore, the assessments don’t take enough account of existing evidence in support of a claim, especially where a fluctuating condition requires a longer view. This process has nothing to do with benefit fraud: these changes are about reducing the welfare bill in a country that has, over the past thirty years, been dominated by an ethos of ‘self interest and damn the rest’. If only as much effort could be put into assessing the tax liabilities of the rich!
At a time when unemployment has passed 2.5 million and competition for jobs is fierce, we worry that we will be consigned to the poverty of long term dependence on Job Seekers Allowance, working for meagre benefits and constant pressure to prove we are looking for work we will never find or be able to sustain if we do find it.
We are keen to see any initiative that would enable people with mental health problems enter into, and maintain, meaningful employment: subjecting us to defamation, indignity, fear, disengagement from services and poverty is not such an initiative.
Professor Harrington, appointed to carry out annual reviews of the WCA, will focus on how it deals with mental health conditions this year as he acknowledges that this is currently inadequate. So how many claimants with mental health problems will be assessed before it becomes adequate?
The high rates of successful appeals are evidence that Atos is failing, no doubt at huge cost to the country. Frantic efforts are now taking place to reduce the number of appeals, ranging from DWP employees making phone calls to explain to unsuccessful claimants why the decision was right, to decision makers and Atos doctors scouring through live appeals to carry out reassessments, i.e. mini tribunals minus the appellant. Later this year, advice and Legal Aid will be withdrawn from claimants.
The whole process can take the best part of a year for a distressed claimant who is placed on a lower rate of benefit while they wait. No sooner has someone won their appeal than they are recalled for another WCA in a matter of a few months to start the whole process again. The distress for claimants going through this process cannot be overstated and this is happening at a time when mental health services, which provide vital support, are being slashed.
Subjecting vulnerable people to such an ordeal constitutes abuse. Please bring this to an end now.
.jpg)
