Labour Call For Review Of WCA

9/26/2012 06:18:00 pm BenefitScroungingScum 12 Comments

Oh it is And well done you!!!

Miliband showing himself for what he is - a clueless, ignorant, deluded, middle class cheating wanker

You should have called him David

First - yes. You and Sue and everyone has worked so hard to get the issue of what is happening onto the radar, and it's awesome that you've been so successful that it's become an issue a main political party has to address.

That said, the statements in the article made me feel just a little bit sick. Yes, it's good that Labour acknowledge the WCA is a terrible thing now. But the bit where they insist it was right to introduce it, right to ignore the concerns and recommendations of disability groups, right to hire Atos...

Presumably they would also insist they were right to get Lord (then Mr) Freud in charge of things - because when he ran roughshod over the House of Lords process he was on the other team, and the fact that he was just banging the same drum as he had done for Labour was somehow irrelevant. Probably they believe that developing the art of encouraging the media to denounce benefit claimants as scum was also the right thing to do.

I'll be more impressed when they manage to admit less than papal infallibility. They had power. They abused that power. They did not give a monkey's bum how many of us got hurt in the process. And they won't admit (maybe don't even realise) that this was wrong.

For them to insist it was the right thing to do but that now, oh, now it's going wrong and by golly they suddenly care about the cripples... what rot. They care about trying to snag the votes from lefties betrayed by the LDs and centrists who think the Tories "have good ideas but go a little too far."

Cheating, no doubt, but how is the tax-dodging millionaire in his chauffeur-driven limo "middle class"?

I'm disappointed by the claim "the WCA is a terrible thing" - the principle of assessing whether someone is capable of work is surely undeniable! The problem is not its existence, just the current implementation, which the appeals figures suggest is too optimistic about people's capabilities.

Mary, your comment sounds alarmingly close to advocating an assessment-free handout! Do you really think it's wrong to try to get disabled people working where possible? Maybe Atos are doing a lousy job, but it's still a job that needs doing - it just needs to be done better.

Labour is a tad too late to the party but at least they've finally arrived!

Anonymous, there was assessment in place for most people before WCA. It was done by the medical profession. At the moment (despite bizarre Government statements to the contrary), medical evidence from GPs and consultants is routinely ignored in WCA assessments. What's new about WCA is having an assessment system designed to push people off benefits whether or not they can work in the real world.

Um, actually Atos did the old PCA test which was for Incapacity Benefit. They inherited the contract from Sema who took over from the DWP medical staff when it was outsourced. Alot of the staff are the same, and certainly Atos just bought out Sema staff, used exactly the same personnel which is exactly what will happen if one of the other outsourcing companies get the contract instead of Atos.

Anon " Do you really think it's wrong to try to get disabled people working where possible? Maybe Atos are doing a lousy job, but it's still a job that needs doing - it just needs to be done better."

Why do we need to 'get disabled people working?' What is the assumption behind this comment?

Many disabled people already work. Many work in a voluntary capacity. Many are unable to work because of access or mobility issues. Many are too ill to work. For some our work environment is not designed for participation by disabled people at all. Many disabled people would like to work and cannot because of social/environmental factors. With an unemployment level at 2.5 million where do you think the jobs are FOR ANYONE?

So what is it exactly you are saying?

Good post and well done BG. Call me cynical but politicians will say anything when they're in opposition and trying get get elected.

Events of the last 20 years bear that out. Labour won the 1997 election and carried on with the previous gummint's economic strategy. The same has happened recently (despite all the tub thumping about cuts).

No wonder politicians are so despised. And if they really were running the country as they claim- who runs the country when they all swan off of holiday followed by shutdown over the Games followed by the Conference season?

Keep up the good work. You put them all to shame and I for one am proud to know you

This popped into my inbox today from The United Kingdom Parliament Daily Digest
The Commons Public Accounts Committee publishes its 15th Report of Session 2012-13, 'Preventing fraud in contracted employment programmes,' as HC 103 on Friday 28 September

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-accounts-committee/news/fraud-welfare-to-work-report/

I think it makes interesting reading?

Alice

Well done - you spoke so well! let's face it , if Miliband couldn't even listen to your name - it certainly shows is unable to listen to anything of importance that is being said to him.