MP Sends Speech To Mark Hoban MP In Advance Of ESA Debate
A press release:
- Debate on test for Employment and Support Allowance at 2pm on Friday
- Sheila Gilmore’s speech sent to Minister responsible this afternoon
- Minister can have no excuses for not answering questions
In advance of a debate on the test for controversial sickness and disability benefit ESA, Work and Pensions Select Committee member Sheila Gilmore today took the unusual step of emailing an advance copy of her speech to the Minister due to respond, Mark Hoban.
The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) is used to determine whether people can get Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), which replaced the old-fashioned Incapacity Benefit in 2008. Since its introduction many claimants have been incorrectly found fit for work. Sheila Gilmore has secured a half hour debate on this issue at 2pm on Friday 7 September.
Speaking today Sheila Gilmore said:
Today I have taken the unusual step of emailing a copy of my speech for an upcoming debate to Mark Hoban, the Minister due to speak for the Government. Now he can have no excuse for not answering the important questions I intend to put to him.
Sheila Gilmore went on to say:
Since the introduction of the Work Capability Assessment, 4 in 10 people found fit for work have appealed their decision and four in ten of those appeals have been successful. I’ve been calling on the Government to fix the test and reduce these numbers for some time.
However on Friday I’m going to focus on those who are incorrectly found fit for work and appeal. In future these people will be left without any income while their claim is reconsidered by Civil Servants. Ministers have suggested that claimants could apply for Jobseekers Allowance, but they know that to get JSA you have to be fit and available for work.
In effect the Government will be saying to this group that they are too fit for ESA, but too sick or disabled for JSA. Ministers need to sort out this contradiction.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- Sheila Gilmore will focus on the support given to people who are incorrectly found fit for work during a period known as reconsideration – in effect an informal appeal to civil servants that has to take place before a case can be passed to independent Tribunal Judges. At present claimants can be paid ESA at a reduced rate during this period, but in the future they will have to apply for Jobseekers Allowance. A requirement of JSA is that people are fit and available for work, meaning many people who will eventually be awarded ESA will not qualify.
- See the email Sheila Gilmore sent to Mark Hoban here.
- Sheila Gilmore is a member of the Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee. You can view the committee’s website here.
- For more information please contact Matt Brennan, Parliamentary Assistant to Sheila Gilmore MP, on 020 7219 7062, 07742 986 513 or matthew.brennan@parliament.uk.
Same Difference 
Sheila Gilmore needs to focus on the hundreds that have died while going through the welfare. It’s a bit rich the UK government telling the Syrian government to stop killing it’s people when the UK is killing the UK sick and disabled ?
Am i missing a point ? are all the UK government thick or just playing the fool ?
As far as i know a death is a death irrespective on how it’s dressed up or the circumstances there’s a funeral correct ? there are grieving family members correct ? or does only death happen outside the UK ?
all these sick and disabled deaths that are reported are they all fiction ? did the Syrian government use chemical weapons is that fiction ?
sounds like to me that the UK government and the Syrian government just like playing the fool
spin a yarn and the uk suckers will fall for it that’s how it sounds to me and Sheila Gilmore will get nowhere on that line of questioning to mark hoban as she is failing to stop the deaths with that type of approach
And she’s supposed to be educated ? well you could have fooled me it sounds like to a complete farce with death as the outcome for those who cant play by the rules
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Mark I think you are being a bit harsh towards Shiela Gilmore, she is after all on our side and has spoken well in our defence in the past and is doing her best to get IDS to account for his false & malicious use of statistics.
I understand your anger about the deaths of people who need not have died but if the law stays as it stands many people appealing will be left peniless for god knows how long. personally I live alone and with no money I would be totally stuck. No food, no money to pay for heating & electricity so eventually no home.
If I was forced to live rough without food i dont think it would be long before I died of starvation or hypothermia. So if Shiela is campaigning to get the appeal rate back I am in full support and I suggest you should be too.
I wholeheartedly agree with your comments about Syria, this government makes a big show of being humanitarian to countries such as Syria while conveniently ignoring the harm they are doing to the sick, disabled, unemployed, carers etc.
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Isobel i have every right to sound hard as the line that Sheila Gilmore is setting is wholly inadequate.
She is supposed to attending a meeting first and foremost to discuss the saving of people’s lives the sick and disabled her email does not indicate anything at all like that for all I know she could be wonting to talk about the weather such is her distance from what is the reality of that sick and disabled people have died by the very nature of a badly written welfare reform bill that lacks any safeguards
What she is setting out to do lacks any finesse as do all of government’s policy’s there is no logic in them hence the repetitive weekly year in year out garbage that comes out of the commons
And yet any sign of trouble oversees their the first in to condemn the country in trouble when their own country is invariably just as bad with all that’s gone on over the past three years in a whole rafter of ways
It is no wonder that most countries worldwide take a dim view at the antics of the uk government on a whole line of issues
When you’re the prime minister your supposed to lead your country in a balanced and honest way it’s very simple the trouble is David Cameron can’t grasp it says he wants another 5 years to get his message across
He should know first-hand like I do on what’s going on behind the scenes be it welfare or the NHS or whatever and not leave it to the press to just fill you in with a load of bull as what happens as now and expect everyone to believe it
The main trouble with the British people is that they live such remote lives they’d vote for anything if they saw a personal gain for themselves and in a nutshell that’s the grave reality of it all
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if it were me at the meeting we would be home and dry as i would have to hand all the names of those that had died a negligent death and start to read them off and after a few hours when I’m done give the list to the police to undertake an investigation as to whose responsible for all these deaths up and down the country and to find out who the ring leaders are just as would if this was happening in the NHS
As i say this is all very simple and if i were Mark hoban i would get to the police first before the deaths start to further get out of control or you’ll find the police will be going round his house for some answers
the police wont just stand by for ever while people die they will at some point take over if not now you can be sure it will be later as that’s a guarantee even Germany are now taking action on those that committed war crimes despite those involved today are saying i was only just carrying out instructions
you don’t ever take out any instruction from the DWP/ATOS or any government body that could lead to someone death even you might not think they will die as a result of your action the police will tell you that
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Cllr Sheila Gilmore wanted to transfer Edinburgh Council Housing stock, she thankfully was defeated by the tenants referendum Included in the stock besides general needs there is sheltered housing, for those not familiar with the tragedy that Sheltered Housing became since Labour opened the floodgates for what was once a great life saving service to our elderly / disabled it is today a tick box exercise, and yes we have the assessments farce, residents found dead days even weeks later, life – saving equipment denied all the tricks the mass of disabled are now aware of but don’t seem to be when it began, even a panorama & Whitehall debate) . During the campaign for Sheltered Housing the ConDems were in opposition, despite our many efforts to warn many tenants about the false concern of Condem MP,s and upcoming ones [ margot james mp 2010 ) they got sucked in, as did the main group SHUK Sheltered housing UK, I,m watching a replay !
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Reblogged this on kickingthecat.
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