Same Difference

Arts Council England sets Huddersfield Literature Festival off to a flying start

October 13, 2016

A press release:

The Huddersfield Literature Festival (HLF) has been awarded increased funding of £45,000 from Arts Council England for the 2017 Festival. With this funding next year’s Festival will provide an even more diverse selection of events with a commitment to being more accessible to an even larger section of the local community. The Arts Council’s grant is supported by funding from Huddersfield University, local business sponsorship and local community volunteers.

HLF2017 will take place at venues in Huddersfield from 4-19 March 2017, with a theme of “Courage”. Audiences can find out more about upcoming events by attending the Festival’s free Preview event, which will be held at the Taproom at Magic Rock Brewing in Huddersfield on Wednesday 30 November. This will be prefaced by a social media campaign asking people to share words with supported images of what courage means to them.

Michelle Dickson, Director North, Arts Council England said, “Huddersfield Literature Festival has now established itself as a dynamic and important part of the Northern literature landscape attracting large audiences from all parts of the community. I’m delighted that we have been able to increase our funding to enable the festival to programme even more diverse work that will entice many more visitors. I look forward to visiting the festival next year.”

“We are very excited about the opportunity to grow and improve our Festival, thanks to this increased funding, as well as the funds already secured from the University of Huddersfield and the kind support of our sponsors” commented Michelle Hodgson, Festival Director.

“Our success is also down to the volunteers that support the Festival every year. We’re always looking for more helpers, so if you want to get involved please contact us.”

For information on how to become a volunteer, please contact Julia Lilof: huddlitfestchair@gmail.com

If you are interested in taking part as a performer or want to know details of the authors and entertainment that will be taking place in 2017, visit the Get in Touch tab on our website: www.litfest.org.uk. For advance information on upcoming events, you can sign up to our newsletter by emailing huddlitfestoffice@gmail.com. To book a free place at the 30 November Preview, visit: www.HLF2017Preview.eventbrite.co.uk.

The Festival is a finalist in the Arts & Culture category of the prestigious Welcome to Yorkshire White Rose Awards 2016 and will take place from 4-19 March 2017 with the theme of “Courage”.

Tesco To Start Fining People Who Misuse Disabled Parking Bays

October 13, 2016

by samedifference1

This morning, when news broke that Tesco are to stop selling PG Tips, our editor joined the nation in cries of ‘what on Earth!’ and resolved to go to Sainsburys to buy all future supplies of tea.

Shortly after getting over that shock, however, she read this, and Tesco was quickly forgiven for only offering Tetley!

Tesco is to start fining people who park in disabled bays or spaces reserved for parents and children at its stores.

The supermarket giants has announced it will roll out the fines at 81 of its stores around the country, with the scheme being extended to more than 200 other stores over the next few weeks.

The locations of the stores have not yet been revealed. Tesco has more than 25 stores in Nottinghamshire, including superstores in Bulwell, Top Valley and Hucknall.

The move will see staff armed with a special smartphone app to take pictures of vehicles parked in disabled bays without blue badges, or incorrectly using spaces designated for parents with children under 12.

It represents Tesco’s first-ever enforcement action against those who break the rules.

All the evidence collected will be sent to Horizon Parking. The parking enforcement firm obtains driver details from the DVLA and will issue a £40 penalty notice, which will rise to £70 if it is not paid within 14 days.

Tesco says it will not make money from the scheme because the fines cover only running costs, plus fees to Horizon – which manages 1,325 UK car parks.

A Tesco spokesman said: “Many disabled customers rely on our disabled parking bays, so we’ve introduced our self-monitoring initiative to highlight the importance of using the bays properly, making it fairer and easier for everyone to find a space.”

Private firms which run supermarket parking have been accused of unfairly issuing tickets to cash in on their contracts but Tesco claims it will avoid this because its own staff decide who is breaking the rules.

Concentrix In Data Protection Breach

October 13, 2016

by samedifference1

A US firm used by the government to cut tax credit payments has suffered a data protection breach, it is claimed.

Facebook campaign group Concentrix Mums believe around 100 claimants have been sent information such as bank statements, self assessment details and National Insurance numbers of others.

A Concentrix spokesperson said: “We treat these allegations seriously and are investigating”.

The firm will not have its contract renewed, HMRC has previously said.

‘Very serious issues’

The claims – made to the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme – come the day before the senior vice president of Concentrix, Philip Cassidy, is due to be questioned by the Work and Pensions Select Committee.

The firm was hired to help cut tax credit fraud and overpayment, but has been accused of incorrectly withdrawing tax credits from hundreds of claimants.

Paul Eite, a single father who had his child tax credits stopped, is attending the hearing and said he will raise “very serious data protection issues” that he claims have been uncovered.

“We have got evidence that will show that [Concentrix is] sending… documents back to the wrong people,” he explained.

‘Concentrix wasn’t aware’

One Concentrix claimant, Shanice Manning, has shown the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme evidence of a letter she received that was addressed to a “Mrs Whittaker”.

She said it contained the national insurance number and case number for the claimant.

“Concentrix wasn’t aware it had done that until I rang them and made them aware,” she said.

She added that when she did this, she was referred by the call centre advisor to an American man who “came on the phone and was all like ‘what’s your problem’. That’s all he was saying to me.”

Ms Manning said she then rang HMRC but “I never heard anything more”.

“Then I emailed my MP to tell him, and he looked into it,” she added. Ms Manning said she was then asked to send the letter back to Concentrix, but does not know whether Mrs Whittaker was informed of the situation.

A Concentrix spokesperson said: “The handling of individual claimants’ private information is a strict and rigorous one. We treat these allegations seriously and are investigating.”

HMRC said in a statement: “We take the protection of our customers’ information extremely seriously. We have very robust processes in place to ensure that personal data is properly protected. We look into all allegations reported to us around data security.”

Its chief executive Jon Thompson is due to appear before MPs later this month.

OBR Says PIP And ESA Cuts Are A Massive Failure

October 12, 2016

by samedifference1

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

The government’s attempts to cut disability benefits spending by 20% with the introduction of personal independence payment (PIP) have been a dramatic failure, the Office for Budget responsibility’s Welfare trends report released today has found. Employment and support allowance cuts have also fallen far short of their targets.

The OBR estimates that the introduction of PIP reduced spending by just £0.1 billion in 2015-16 rather than the £1.4 billion that the planned 20% cut in spending would have achieved.

In part this is because the forced transfer of claimants from DLA to PIP is so far behind schedule. But the OBR estimates that even when completed, the change from DLA to PIP will result in only a 5% reduction in spending, rather than 20%.

The time limiting of contributory ESA for the work-related activity group was expected by the coalition to save £2.0 billion in 2015-16. In fact, it saved just £0.2 billion as the affected group was much smaller than anticipated.

The full OBR report can be downloaded from this link.

Tip For PIP Claimants In Dorset

October 12, 2016

by samedifference1

White Cane Day NYC- 15th Oct

October 12, 2016

by samedifference1

A press release:

New York based alt-pop artist Anne Tello has teamed up with local not-for-profit Helping Hands for the Disabled (HHDNYC) to launch an exciting new “Beautiful” music video in honor of “White Cane Day”- a government designated day of awareness for the blind and visually impaired, celebrated each year on October 15^th. We are very excited to announce that the Harlem Independent Living Center has now partnered with us, to add a celebration on Tuesday October 18th, 2016, with keynote speaker Governor David A. Patterson.

The video, a reimagined cover of Christina Aguilera’s 2002 hit “Beautiful”, features 64 year old Manhattan resident Lucia Marett, who is has been blind since birth, who had adamantly told Tello that she wanted to make a Youtube video to “show people what she could do” For preview: https://vimeo.com/185036114 Password: beautiful

The video is meant to drive interest in “White Cane Day NYC” programming, to inspire New Yorkers to volunteer, and to promote a fall fundraising effort for HHDNYC.

Anne Tello is a rising New York based singer- songwriter, whose most recent single, a Peter Monk remix of her single “Think Different” hit #27 on the Digital DJ Pool Club Charts. The “Think Different” music video was presented as video installation at the Raleigh Visual Arts Exchange last March, after her debut self-titled E.P. was released in February 2016. For more: annetello.com/bio.

Helping Hands For the Disabled of has been serving the New York community for 29 years www.hhdnyc.org.

White Cane Day NYC
Website: www.whitecaneday.com
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2dVl8H6
Event: http://bit.ly/2cmqoTH
Crowdfunder: http://bit.ly/2dEHmyi
Volunteer Sign Up: http://bit.ly/2dnXxvL
Schedule: www.whitecaneday.com
Free song MP3: http://bit.ly/2dzBLru

“I Feared If I Answered Jeremy Kyle They May Stop My Money”

October 11, 2016

by samedifference1

This was part of a comment left here today. We felt it deserved a post of its own.

Her manner was shall we say if she was male a would have knocked her clean out,, but the next questions left me speechless,, as her temper built she abruptly shouted,,,,,COME ON THEN WHAT IS IT YOU DO ALL DAY I KNOW ,, THE MINUTE YOU AWAKE BET YOU TURN ON THE TV YOU DO … WHAT PROGRAMS DO YOU WATCH,,,,,, At this moment i feared if answered jeremy kyle they may stop my money and see me as a scumbag, but I dont even own a tv truth,, so I told her this,, so i will never know the right answer to this governments health professionals question,,

ESA Reassessment Exemptions: Are The Tories Travelling Back In Time?

October 11, 2016

by samedifference1

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

When work and pensions secretary Damian Green announced that employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants with severe conditions which will not improve will not be subject to repeat work capability assessments (WCAs), he was not coming up with a new idea.

In fact under the personal capability assessment (PCA), the old test for incapacity benefit (IB), there were a range of severe conditions which exempted you from having to be assessed at all. You could even be exempted if you were in receipt of certain benefits.

DLA exemption
The most important exemption from being assessed for IB was that if you received disability living allowance (DLA) care component at the highest rate you were exempt from the PCA.

If you were assessed as 80% disabled for disablement benefit, War Pension or Severe Disablement Allowance purposes you were also exempt.

Severe conditions
There were also a range of exemptions for claimants with severe conditions. These included:

• people who were terminally ill

• people who were registered blind

• people who were suffering from the following severe medical conditions:

– a severe mental illness involving the presence of mental disease, which severely and adversely affects a person’s mood or behaviour, and which severely restricts their social functioning, or their awareness of their immediate environment

– tetraplegia

– paraplegia, or uncontrollable involuntary movements or ataxia which effectively render the sufferer functionally paraplegic

– persistent vegetative state

– severe learning disabilities

– severe and progressive neurological or muscle-wasting diseases

– active and progressive forms of inflammatory polyarthritis

– progressive impairment of cardio-respiratory function which severely and persistently limits effort tolerance

– dementia

– dense paralysis of the upper limb, trunk and lower limb on one side of the body

– multiple effects of impairment of function of the brain and/or nervous system causing severe and irreversible motor sensory and intellectual deficits

– manifestation of severe and progressive immune deficiency states characterised by the occurrence of severe constitutional disease or opportunistic infections or tumour formation.

Clearly for some conditions, such as being registered blind, the exemption was largely straightforward.

For others, especially severe mental illness, claimants often had to go to tribunal to prove their eligibility.

How much will be revived?
The big question now is to what extent will the DWP simply reinstate the old PCA exemptions, even if they are now only for reassessments rather than initial assessments?

At this stage it seems unlikely that being in receipt of DLA or PIP will lead to exemptions, but some of the other criteria may well find themselves being brought back into service.

Who knows, slowly and over the course of more years, we may even find ourselves back in a world where doctors and consultants have the final say in whether their patients are fit for work.

When Carers On ESA WRAG Are Called For A Work Focused Interview

October 11, 2016

by samedifference1

The Adults With Autism Who Take Their Soft Toys To Work

October 10, 2016

by samedifference1

Most of us have a favourite soft toy from childhood. A silent ally who over time becomes sidelined and left on a shelf. But for some adults they remain an essential presence never leaving the side of their owner.

“Most people know me as Jamie + Lion. It’s really not a big deal,” says Jamie Knight, a 27-year-old developer for the BBC who lives in London with Lion, a 4ft-long soft toy – sometimes known as a plushie – which never leaves his side.

“I’m autistic, which is a posh way of saying I have a different way of thinking and perceiving the world. For me the typical environment is pretty chaotic. A sudden loud announcement in a supermarket is pretty similar in effect to a flash-bang grenade used to confuse people during wars.

“My brain needs more structure than most. The more predictable the world is, the better chance I have of being able to process it.”

Jamie’s coping strategies include eating the same meal every night – filled pasta with sauce – and having Lion at his side, no matter where he goes.

“He is a toy, I’m not deluded into thinking he is alive,” he says.

Carrying an object around brings some structure and consistency to his environment. The toy lion has a familiar texture and smell which helps in those moments when he feels “overloaded”.

“Another way he helps is with deep pressure. My sense of shape is sometimes a bit floaty. I can lose the edge of my body and feel as though I am floating apart. Hugging Lion – I pull him into my chest – provides the input my body needs to stop the floating feeling.”

Prof Bruce Hood from the University of Bristol says the common childhood trait of needing a soft toy for comfort may be carried into adulthood, as Jamie has suggested, by those particularly attracted to routine.

“The reason children develop these relationships is still uncertain, but could arise from self-soothing or habitual routine formation with familiar objects. For example they have been shown to be useful to reduce the stress of attending the dentist.”

Most people “grow out of strong attachment” but “individuals with autism generally prefer structure and routines which may explain it,” he says.

Lion wasn’t always so visible. In the past Jamie tried to conform to some kind of “normal”. This wasn’t so successful so, instead of attempting to “defeat” his autism, he decided to work with it.

Lion mostly remained at home while Jamie was at secondary school but as he got older and demands changed, he needed more consistency. “During my college years he was always with me,” he says. “He was pretty popular.”

Jamie’s autism means at times he is non-verbal – unable to talk – although he can communicate using messaging services and apps which is how he spoke to me, with Lion sitting on his lap. He also knows enough sign language to “get by” which his friends have also learned so they can communicate together.

It means he will generally work from home, but when he does go out he says reaction to Lion is “minimal to nothing”.

“I think to everyone else it’s a much bigger deal than it is to me. In fact Lion has been really cool for my career rather accidentally. He’s really memorable, and that has helped people remember me.”

Lion also acts as a prop in situations Jamie finds uncomfortable, such as giving someone a hug, Lion can step in and hug them instead.

He says the toy has become part of his identity and that he’d lose something valuable if it weren’t there.

For actress and comedian Tilley Milburn her “lady pig” Del is someone she can rely on.

Diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at the age of 20 she was living in a residential care home when she spotted the patchwork pig in a shop. It would become her best friend and collaborator, a character with its own voice who even pipes up in business meetings.

“Del is a soft toy, but she’s more than that to me. I’ve had toys that have come and gone. Del is the first soft toy that I’ve really given a personality and voice to.”

Growing up she had no more attachment to soft toys than most, but moving to a residential care home as a young adult left her isolated.

“I was quite withdrawn at the time, I was living in a care home and I was struggling to adjust in that environment, mainly because I just couldn’t go about freely – go for a walk.

“Del started off being a source of comfort and a way of communicating at times with the carers and even my mum.

“My mum always says that Del’s more reasonable than me, so she’ll ask to talk to Del.”

The duo work together visiting community groups, performing comedy shows, singing and collaborating on a comic strip, but Del doesn’t always talk.

“It’s not an addiction. I wouldn’t say it’s an obsession. Sometimes we can go through a whole meeting where Dell will hardly get a word in edgeways.”

Tilley says she has always felt slightly different to others and is aware of stares when she’s out, but sometimes having Del on her side helps her gain control of the situation.

“I’m a bit naughty because I complain about people staring at me and I get fed up with people pointing at me, sniggering. I think sometimes, ‘I’m going to give them something to look at,’ and get Del out.”

Using a soft toy as a proxy can be a way to navigate the sometimes alien world, but like their owners the toys’ personalities may develop or alter.

For Jamie, having Lion by his side is not necessarily a long-term fixture, but it works for now.

“Lion is changing over time, as am I. Maybe one day he might be with me less, maybe one day he won’t.”

Cradle To The Grave Campaign

October 10, 2016

by samedifference1

A press release from campaigner Gail Ward:

Cradle to the Grave Campaign

Stop The Demolition of the Welfare State

We are delighted to announce the launch of our ‘Cradle To the Grave Campaign’ to stop the demolition of the welfare state as we know it.

Over it’s lifetime the welfare state has provided support to millions of people who had fallen on hard times and provided them with a safety net until their lives were improved across many generations since WW2.

In recent times this has been seen as a negative thing where those needing support are seen as a burden to the state and the taxpayer. It is natural that with people living longer and population growth over the decades that the costs of this has risen since its inception.

However we should not allow this to be demolished in the name of an ideological driven policy of Auserity to remove the safety net from the poorest in society,by the global elite. The 1% has seen it’s wealth grow at a phenominal rate , while the rest of the population has to pay the price for the global banking crisis which they did not cause.

It is our intention as a grassroots movement to make the public aware of what is happening, to prevent our numerous political figures from continuing to remove the safety net needed by so many, and to preserve it for generations to come.

Our aim is to publicly crowdfund this collaboration between Black Triangle Campaign and Cross Border Alliance in the hope that the people still believe in what they were told when the welfare state was created by Nye Bevan, and that is, we were promised a ‘welfare state from the cradle to the grave’.

In recent times this has been under serious threat and is almost gone unless the people fight to retain it, we will lose it in the next few years and we will have a society where if you can pay you will survive,if you cannot your chances of surviving are slim. We cannot allow this to continue and return us to dickensian times.

We hope that many will support this when our website is launched mid October.Our aim is to fund a poster in every town and city to accompany our website,where you can find out more of whats been happening to the welfare state and how to save it.

You never can tell what is around the corner in life,at the blink of an eye our lives can be turned upside down and you may need to depend on this safety net to support you and your family!

We thank Ken Loach and Paul Laverty for their support for our campaign and urge everyone to go and see ‘I Daniel Blake’ the latest film released on the 21^st October 2016 which highlights many issues faced today by those who are depending on the safety net to catch them and stop them falling through the cracks.

Thank for your support.

Naturally we are looking for donations but also support from fellow campaigners to unite together to support this. We are all fighting the same fight and unity is strength.

Please Look at our poster and website http://www.cradle2grave.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/cradle2gravecampaign/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1537032916593882/

Twitter: @cradle2_grave

Latest PIP Worry- Lower PIP Points Could Lead To ESA Reassessment

October 10, 2016

by samedifference1

Concentrix: Sally’s Story

October 10, 2016

by samedifference1

In east London, at her children’s school, Sally (not her real name) is calculating with the family practitioner how much debt she and the children are in. “How much is it now? £500?” “Yes, £500 overdraft.”

It’s been a year and a half since her troubled husband left the family, leaving Sally to look after their five children alone. The youngest of the girls is only three, and 11-year-old son Connor (“obsessed with computers”) is autistic.

With the right support, the breakup of the marriage could have been the start of something better and more financially stable for them. But instead Sally has found herself getting into debt to feed her children. And all because she’s been accused of still living with her husband.

This is the human face of the Concentrix scandal. The US company with a UK government contract hit the news last month for falsely withholding child tax credits. Over the course of the past two years, the firm had sent nearly 1 million spam letters to tax credit claimants accusing them of providing incorrect information about their relationship status, working hours or childcare arrangements – ultimately leaving scores of families, like Sally and her children, to get by without the benefit.

For Sally, it was back in September 2015 that it first started. Her husband had been gone five months – taking any wage, as well as the working tax credits he brought in, with him – and she was struggling to stretch what they had left.

Kim, the family worker from the charity School-Home Support, explained that she was entitled to more child tax credits (she was still on the lower rate, for couples), and sat with her to sort out all the forms. “She came into school so upset,” Kim says. “She’d been trying to use her son’s disability benefit to keep up with the overdraft.”

By November, the family were getting back on their feet with the help of child tax credits at the lone-parent rate: in total, £338 a week.

But in July this year, Sally got a letter from Concentrix: after “completing checks”, it believed she was still living with her husband, despite the fact she didn’t even know where he was. The result? The children’s tax credits would be stopped. And Sally would have to repay the money she had received since last October.

Concentrix – hired by the government, without irony, to prevent incorrect or fraudulent claims – has since lost its pay-by-results contract. But, more than two months on, Sally still hasn’t had her benefit reinstated.

For a family such as Sally’s, losing this money adds to what is already a struggle. On the 10th floor of a tower block, all six are crammed into a one-bed flat. Four of the children sleep in the one bedroom; two have a single bed and two sha

Without the child tax credits, she’s had to go back to using Connor’s disability living allowance (DLA) to pay for small meals. “It’s very hard to get enough money for food,” she says. “We don’t eat much. Rice. Fish. Maybe chips.”

The DLA used to go on things like console games for Connor (what for other children is a treat is, to him, a rigid routine that calms him). He cries when his mum reminds him they can’t afford it now. An autistic child doesn’t understand benefits being stopped, says Kim. “It’s just, ‘Mummy won’t let me play with it’.”

There’s no room for Connor or his sister to play in the flat, and no green space outside, just concrete and cars. The lift in the block is broken again, Sally says, and the children – acting up with the worry – fight on the 10 flights of stairs on the way to school.

Kim calls Concentrix daily on behalf of the family. She thinks the problem could be that Sally’s husband’s name is still on the flat’s tenancy agreement, but says no one will respond.

When the Guardian contacted Concentrix, a spokesperson said: “Concentrix was contractually obligated to contact individual tax credit claimants based on information provided by HMRC. Concentrix would be penalised heavily if it failed to adhere to HMRC policies and procedures. We recognise that the re-evaluation of individual tax credits claims can be difficult for all concerned. We adopt a rigorous process at every stage to ensure we manage this process responsibly.”

Sally sent in a request for mandatory reconsideration last month – where a claimant gets “another chance to present evidence” – but says she’s heard nothing back. In the meantime, she’s been told she is now in £100 debt to the NHS.

Sally needs tablets for an iron deficiency and stockings to help with the pain of severe varicose veins, and without her child tax credits she has lost her free prescriptions. She doesn’t know how she’ll pay for her medication – but for now, she is only thinking about the children.

“They’re so upset,” she says, quietly. “I’m worried. I’m very worried.

Thursdays demo. Emotional and tiring.

October 8, 2016

by samedifference1

The poor side of life

Thursday as you know is our weekly demonstration day. Every week for over two years we have been helping and advising claimants outside Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre and if you scroll back you can read some of the heartbreaking stories that we have heard.

Earlier this year we saw the need to hand food parcels out to claimants, its an idea that I wish we had started a long time ago. Its proven to be essential, and Ive no doubt that they have enabled claimants to keep going. When you are sanctioned or waiting for an ESA appeal to go through you become very hungry, and these food parcels contain some good nutritious food that is quickly and easily cooked. Many thanks to Pauline for helping us with these and to everyone else who has donated. We rely on your donations because I, myself am on such a low income…

View original post 788 more words

Guest Post At Scope’s Online Community

October 8, 2016

by samedifference1

Our editor was recently asked to write a guest post at Scope’s blog. It is loosely based on a past Same Difference campaign, Old Is Gold. If you are interested, you can read it here.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Wants Right To Assisted Death

October 7, 2016

by samedifference1

South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu has revealed that he wants to have the option of an assisted death.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and anti-apartheid campaigner said that he did “not wish to be kept alive at all costs”, writing in the Washington Post newspaper on his 85th birthday.

Mr Tutu came out in favour of assisted dying in 2014, without specifying if he personally wanted to have the choice.

He was hospitalised last month for surgery to treat recurring infections.

“I hope I am treated with compassion and allowed to pass on to the next phase of life’s journey in the manner of my choice,” Mr Tutu wrote.

“Regardless of what you might choose for yourself, why should you deny others the right to make this choice?

“For those suffering unbearably and coming to the end of their lives, merely knowing that an assisted death is open to them can provide immeasurable comfort.”

There is no specific legislation in South Africa governing assisted dying.

But in a landmark ruling in April 2015, a South African court granted a terminally ill man the right to die, prompting calls for a clarification of the laws in cases of assisted death.

Please Watch And Share This Video On The ESA WRAG Cuts #NoESACut

October 7, 2016

by samedifference1

DPAC are trying to get MPs to repeal the £30 a week cuts to the ESA WRAG. Please watch and share their video.

Emmerdale Zoe Tate Actress Leah Bracknell Reveals Terminal Lung Cancer

October 7, 2016

by samedifference1

The actress who played Emmerdale’s Zoe Tate has announced she has terminal lung cancer.

Leah Bracknell starred in the ITV series, set in the Yorkshire Dales, from 1989 to 2005.

Her character was known for storylines which raised awareness about mental health and LGBT issues.

Ms Bracknell, who is now a yoga instructor, shared her diagnosis on an internet fundraising page set up to raise money for treatment in Germany.

On the fundraising page 52-year-old Leah, who is known to her family as Ali, said she had been teaching yoga workshops and starting rehearsals for a comedy play before she received the news.

“It turns out that the universe had other plans. Life was about to be unexpectedly turned on its head,” she said.

“I began to feel breathless climbing stairs… I just put it down to a bit of stress.

‘Bleak diagnosis’

“My abdomen suddenly ballooned – and within a matter of a few days I looked heavily pregnant. I could barely walk or breathe.”

After an emergency procedure to remove excess fluid from around her heart, Ms Bracknell said she was told she had stage four lung cancer, which she described as “a fairly brutal and bleak diagnosis, but one I am determined to challenge”.

Her partner Jez Hughes explained the funds will be used for “immunotherapy and integrative medicine, which are seeing previously ‘incurable’ cancers going into complete remission”.

Ms Bracknell played vet Zoe Tate, sister to Chris Tate and daughter of Frank Tate, one of the main families in the soap.

During her years on the show Zoe Tate came out as lesbian and later suffered from schizophrenia.

She made a dramatic exit when she left the village, blowing up Home Farm where the family had lived.

She won the ‘Best Exit’ award at the British Soap Awards in May 2006 for her performance in the scene.

What is immunotherapy?

It is one of the most exciting avenues of cancer treatment which uses the body’s own immune system to fight off cancer.

Our immune system is like a police force, protecting us from diseases.

Normally our immune system spots and destroys faulty cells – like cancer ones – but sometimes these can escape detection and develop into tumours.

Instead of targeting the cancer cells themselves, as many traditional cancer drugs do, immunotherapy re-awakens the immune system so it can ‘remember’ the cancer the cancer and stop it in its tracks.

A number of immunotherapy treatments are already showing considerable promise.

Alternative Medicine Put Four Year Old Boy With Autism In A&E

October 7, 2016

by samedifference1

The plight of a four-year-old boy who nearly died after his parents gave him 12 alternative medicines has prompted doctors to warn against the treatments.

Doctors at Newham Hospital in east London said the parents were “devastated” that their good intentions had made him so unwell.

The boy took a dozen supplements supposedly to help treat his autism.

The National Autistic Society said it was crucial for doctors to talk through the risks of alternative therapies.

The boy developed a potentially fatal condition after taking supplements from a naturopath (natural health practitioner) for a number of months, which included vitamin D, camel’s milk, silver and Epsom bath salts.

He was admitted to A&E after losing 6.5lbs (3kg) over three weeks, suffering from symptoms including vomiting and extreme thirst.

Dr Catriona Boyd and Dr Abdul Moodambail, writing in the British Medical Journal Case Reports, said it was not until the boy had been at Newham Hospital, which is part of St Bart’s Health Trust, for several days that his mother told them about the holistic supplements.

Dr Moodambail told the BBC: “This happens on many occasions with other patients as well.

“Often the parents think that these supplements are natural, safe and do not cause any side effects or adverse effects, but this is not true in many cases like this.”

He added: “The situation was stark because the child developed vitamin D toxicity leading to very high calcium levels, making the child quite unwell and this can even be fatal as well.”

The boy made a full recovery in two weeks after being treated with hyperhydration and medications to reduce his calcium level.

What are complementary and alternative therapies?

Complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) are treatments that fall outside of mainstream healthcare
Generally when a non-mainstream practice is used together with conventional medicine, it is considered “complementary”
When a non-mainstream practice is used instead of conventional medicine, it is considered “alternative”
Examples of CAMS include homeopathy, acupuncture, osteopathy, chiropractic and herbal medicines
Some complementary and alternative medicines or treatments are based on principles and an evidence base that are not recognised by the majority of independent scientists
Others have been proven to work for a limited number of health conditions, such as osteopathy, chiropractic and acupuncture for treating lower back pain
When a person uses any health treatment – including a CAM – and experiences an improvement, this may be due to the placebo effect
Osteopaths and chiropractors are regulated in the same way as mainstream medical professionals
There is no statutory professional regulation of any other CAM practitioners

Source: NHS Choices

Dr Boyd and Dr Moodambail’s report said they often saw parents turning to alternative remedies to treat children with long-term conditions.

Dr Moodambail said: “This is a common situation because there is no definite curative treatment in some of these long-term conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder.

“When some complementary and alternative therapies are suggesting they can cure these situations, these parents get a hope – which is probably a false hope.”

The report’s authors are recommending that it becomes routine practice to gather information about any complementary treatments being used as part of the history-taking process for all patients.

Lack of regulation

They said although “families may report benefits with these treatments” there was a problem with the lack of regulation of their use.

In 2010 an Australian report warned alternative remedies can be dangerous for children and even prove fatal if taken instead of conventional drugs.

Jane Harris, director of external affairs at the National Autistic Society, said the case showed how “desperately difficult life can get for families affected by autism especially just before and after receiving diagnoses”.

She added: “Most of us know very little about autism until it affects someone we love and it can be hard for individuals and their families to find good, reliable information about autism.

“This leaves many families feeling vulnerable and in desperation – some may consider using unproven and potentially harmful alternative therapies.

“This awful case shows we need more professionals in place to give families accurate advice and talk to them about what really helps and how to find the right support.

“It’s crucial that doctors and healthcare professionals take the concerns of families seriously and are able to talk through the potential risks of alternative therapies, even when they might seem harmless.”

We Rise

October 6, 2016

by samedifference1

A mini-documentary about the rock band Delta Seven will be played in Picturehouse Cinemas around the UK after winning a short film competition.

We Rise tells the story of seven musicians with learning disabilities, who formed a group to express themselves and challenge stereotypes.

It was selected from more than 400 entries by a jury including Amy director Asif Kapadia; Bond producer Barbara Broccoli; and Gurinder Chadha, the director of Bend It Like Beckham.

The two-minute film, created by Rosie Baldwin and produced by McCann London, will be played before the main feature at Picturehouse venues across the UK throughout the year.

Nafisa Sayani reports.

You can watch We Rise in full on YouTube.

Trump Tells The Terminally Ill ‘Hang Out Till November 8 And Vote’

October 6, 2016

by samedifference1

This is just… I have no words.

Speaking at a rally in Nevada, Donald Trump has urged the terminally ill to vote for him.

“I don’t care how sick you are,” the Republican nominee said.

“I don’t care if you just came back from the doctor and he gave you the worst possible prognosis, meaning it’s over. Doesn’t matter. Hang out till November 8. Get out and vote.”

Sally Phillips’ A World Without Downs Syndrome? Some Thoughts From Our Editor

October 5, 2016

by samedifference1

Sally Phillips’ documentary A World Without Downs Syndrome airs tonight at 9pm on BBC Two. This documentary is going to raise questions about abortion of disabled children. Specifically, of course, those with Downs Syndrome.

I recall a GCSE RE essay on abortion in which I wrote that I am particularly against the abortion of babies who may be born with disabilities, because we wouldn’t kill a child if we found out they were disabled after birth, so why would we abort them?

Of course, that was written by my teenage self. At the time, I had never considered the idea of killing a child after birth because of disability. Now I know of several cases of parents who have ended the lives of their young disabled children. Joanne Hill. Tania Clarence. Satpal Kaur-Singh. I must stress that none of their children had Downs, but they did all have other lifelong conditions.

However, the view I had on abortion and disability then, I still have today. I strongly believe that every life is equally valuable. Disability of an unborn baby is, in my eyes, the worst reason for abortion.

For me, abortion of a pregnancy because of disability raises questions about the value of disabled people’s lives, just as the idea of assisted dying does.

Abortion rates for people who know they will have a child with Downs are still very high- around 90%. Sally Phillips’ documentary will reportedly consider the possibility of Downs Syndrome becoming extinct- a very scary thought to me, not least because the word ‘extinct’ suggests people with Downs are being compared to animals.

That word says a lot about the value society places on the lives of people with Downs today. However, the debate is not just about Downs. Abortion of babies with any disability raises questions about the value society places on the lives of people like myself- people whose disabilities are discovered after birth. People whose disabilities are discovered after several months, sometimes several years, of life.

What about the value placed on the lives of people who become disabled later in life, in accidents or as a result of conditions like Multiple Sclerosis?

I hope the documentary will show parents what their disabled children can do with support. I hope the documentary will change one couple’s mind about abortion of a baby with any possible genetic condition.

And yet, there is another part of me that hopes those same parents will also be made to think seriously about whether they will be able to cope with disability. I believe that parents should love their children unconditionally. Disabled children, in particular, need unconditional love.

If parents feel that they will be able to love a child with any genetic disability unconditionally, then they should have testing for genetic conditions available so that they can be prepared.

If parents feel that they wouldn’t be able to cope with a disabled child, then maybe, just maybe, that potential child would be better off aborted than brought into a home where they wouldn’t be unconditionally loved, or worse, where they may be killed in early childhood.

We need more documentaries like this one. We need to be made to think about the value of disabled people’s lives. Maybe then we can lower the rates of abortion for Downs Syndrome and all genetic disabilities. Maybe not. But even if we don’t, I hope it won’t be a world without Downs Syndrome completely, but rather a world in which people with all disabilities are loved and valued, by their families and by society.

The Decision About Having A Downs Syndrome Baby Is Not Black And White

October 5, 2016

by samedifference1

Says Frances Ryan in today’s Guardian.

There’s a scene in BBC2’s A World Without Down’s Syndrome?, which airs tonight, in which Sally Phillips, Bridget Jones’ Diary actor and mother of a son with Down’s, shows a video of a disabled girl competing at a gymnastics competition to a woman who chose to end her own pregnancy. The interaction isn’t designed to guilt the woman who made a different decision – Phillips is an empathetic presenter and describes herself as pro-choice – but it is a snapshot of how the conversation around disability and abortion is routinely set up: one woman’s choice versus another’s.

We see this in articles praising women who choose to have their child despite the fact a foetal abnormality has been detected, often asking other female readers: what would you do? Or the tone of news items in which women express doubts or fears about raising a disabled child. Katie Price was described as having “confessed” when she said she probably would have had an abortion if she’d known her son Harvey was going to be severely disabled, as if the thought, let alone the act, was a heinous crime.

On the other hand, I’ve seen women with disabled children – and disabled people themselves – be asked incredulously (often by complete strangers) why an abortion wasn’t chosen. Such attitudes are particularly alarming in a climate where disabled people are increasingly perceived as a costly burden to the state.

When it comes to disability and pregnancy, we are routinely stuck in this sort of black-and-white dichotomy: having a disabled child is said to be a tragedy or inconvenience that should always be avoided, while women who do choose to abort a foetus with abnormalities are vilified as “shallow” and “selfish”. Neither is accurate nor addresses the issues that really matter.

The truth is there is still considerable prejudice around disability. We live in a culture where disabled people’s lives are often said to be worth less, and difference is equated with failure or negativity. Even Paralympians are described in some media reports as “suffering” from their disability. It’s not alarmist to accept that the way as a society we understand disability can directly impact on how individuals feel about bringing up a disabled child.

Medical professionals – the very people pregnant women rely on – are not exempt from spreading such attitudes. Phillips has spoken of the way that, after her son was born with Down’s, her doctor broke the “bad news” and the nurse cried. (Her child’s disability wasn’t detected during pregnancy.) As the NHS looks set to introduce a more effective screening for Down’s syndrome, it’s a valid moment to question how we view disability as a society, and to accept that women, and of course men, deserve accurate information in order to make an informed decision.

But in doing so, we should be vigilant of how quickly this conversation can be derailed. It is an ongoing strategy of anti-choice groups to hijack disability, generally as a way to reduce women’s reproductive rights. This sort of faux concern tends to be less about disabled people’s equality and more about women’s inequality. (And though we’re often cut out from the discussion, disabled women can be the ones who are pregnant.) Days before Phillips’ documentary was even set to air, the Mail used it as an opportunity to run an article claiming women “are being pressured to abort babies” with Down’s.

And yet anti-choice campaigners and media organisations who purport to wish to “protect” disabled foetuses tend to be very quiet – or in the Mail’s case, very vocal – about the support disabled people should receive once they are out of the womb. Raising a child with a severe disability can be exhausting and difficult, as well as wonderful, and this is much harder when the state cuts play centres for disabled children, respite care and transport. Phillips herself admits she was lucky to be able to afford to hire a live-in nanny to help with her disabled child, an advantage women on low incomes struggling alone can only imagine.

And we need to talk about that too, if we are going to really have this discussion. We need to admit that things such as economic and gender inequality, as well as perceptions of disability, impact on our supposedly free choices. And we need to argue for positive change, such as more government support for disabled children (and adults), and more inclusion of disabled people in all parts of society.

As we all know, life, let alone disability or raising children, is not black and white but rather filled with multiple shades of grey. I hope Phillips’ documentary starts a long overdue and nuanced conversation. Both women and disabled people deserve better than simplistic judgments.

PIP Assessor Was Surprised Claimant Didn’t Watch TV

October 5, 2016

by samedifference1

This is from a post left at Fightback. It describes a PIP assessment.

I spent most of the interview in tears & the woman was nasty & judgemental. Saying she couldn’t understand how I could just ‘sit around all day doing nothing’ & kept saying ‘are you seriously saying’ , she commented she was surprised I didn’t watch tv (lights, sounds tire me, I have 3 kids 16,13& 8 I save my energy during the day to not bite my kids heads off when they come in or watch a movie with the younger 2) at one point the assessor was aggressively arsey towards my social worker who did say she was going to complain as she was disgusted in the interview.

‘Encouraging’ words of ‘Wisdom’ placed above Jobcentre computers.

October 5, 2016

by samedifference1

The poor side of life

We’ve seen these before, usually behind a Jobcentre ‘advisors’ desks, or on films made by programmes such as Dispatches. And who could ever forget Sandras Sheriff Badges.

The DWP use this method of ‘encouragment’ to coerce staff to achieve higher offload levels or as recently discovered ‘Aspiration’ levels.

They must think that the public are ready to succumb to these tactics. Luckily we have claimants who are very observant and can see the absurdity and irony in this.

It also strikes me as being a bit orwelian, I mean how on earth can claimants think for themselves? They must need to have little reminders of how inadequate they are placed in their direct eyeline!

Here is the offending item placed directly above the computers that claimants are forced to use.

Now anyone who has spent any time on these computers will know that this entails constant pointless job searches. This…

View original post 196 more words

Refused PIP- For Reading A Magazine In Assessment Waiting Room

October 4, 2016

by samedifference1

Sally Phillip’s Downs Documentary ‘Unhelpful’ Says Antenatal Expert

October 4, 2016

by samedifference1

One of Britain’s leading antenatal experts has strongly criticised a BBC film about children with Down’s syndrome, before its broadcast this week.

The documentary, A World Without Down’s Syndrome?, will be shown on Wednesday and is presented by the actress Sally Phillips, who has a child with Down’s herself. In the programme Phillips, known for her role as Tilly in Miranda, makes the case against the introduction of a new NHS pregnancy screening test that would detect with 99% accuracy the foetal abnormalities indicating Down’s syndrome.

Jane Fisher, director of Antenatal Results and Choices, an organisation set up to support parents affected by foetal screening and its consequences, said she thought the programme – in which she is interviewed – was “not at all helpful” to people facing difficult decisions around a prenatal diagnosis of disability.

“Sally is a very compelling presenter,” Fisher told the Observer, “and – absolutely – it’s great to have the positive images of people [with Down’s] who are already here. But it’s very personal, and it’s an extra layer of difficulty for couples and families who might be making the decision now about whether to end their pregnancy. It risks offering the suggestion to those who have [decided to end a pregnancy] that they have made the wrong decision.

“It’s too problematic to have one individual representing that choice – one who is an advocate for not screening, who has a high-functioning, much-loved child. A woman who admits she has the resources for extra help with her absolutely lovely little boy.” She added: “No one is casting aspersions on Sally’s son. Or trying to invalidate his right to be here.”

People with Down’s have an extra copy of a chromosome and have learning and developmental difficulties ranging from mild to severe. Some are more prone to serious health conditions, especially heart and thyroid problems.
Jane Fisher, director of Antenatal Results and Choices.
Jane Fisher, director of Antenatal Results and Choices.

Current testing for the condition takes place after 12 weeks, at which point women are told if they are at high or low risk. They can also be invited to have a more accurate – but invasive – amniocentesis test, which carries a one-in-100 risk of miscarriage.

The new test, non-invasive prenatal (NIPT), is a blood test that boasts a detection rate of 99%. Currently 90% of people informed that their child has Down’s choose to terminate the pregnancy. Anti-screening campaigners fear that rate will rise if the more accurate, non-invasive NIPT is made available on the NHS, something ministers are currently considering. When NIPT was introduced in Iceland, the termination rate rose to 100%. The test is already available in private clinics, costing around £400.

About 750 babies are born each year with Down’s syndrome in the UK, and there are an estimated 40,000 people living with the condition.

In a joint statement with the BBC, the programme’s makers, Dragonfly, said the film was intended to “bring difficult questions into the public arena. This film follows Sally Phillips as she explores what effect the test could have on our society, drawing not only from her first-hand experience but also by meeting several families who give an insight into their experiences of having a child with Down’s syndrome, as well as people with Down’s syndrome themselves. She also talks to health professionals and experts with a wide variety of views.”

Phillips, who is a Christian, is pro-choice, but says women are pressurised into having abortions by medics, and that the positives and rewards in parenting a disabled child are ignored. “Nobody knows what Down’s syndrome children can achieve,” she says.

There will always be people who choose not to screen, who choose to have the child. The point is choice
Jane Fisher

Anti-abortion groups are involved in the Don’t Screen Us Out (DSUO) campaign, calling on MPs not to introduce NIPT. Lynn Murray of DSUO has called the test the “new eugenics”.

But, according to Fisher, the programme’s warning of a potential “world without Down’s”, if NIPT screenings are introduced, is an over-simplification.

“Full respect for Sally,” said Fisher. “You can see her empathy and her love for her son, and wish for people to have a more positive attitude towards the condition. But it’s important we don’t get too simplistic about this. There will always be people who choose not to screen, who choose to have the child. The point is choice.

“We want to make sure that women who take the decision to end the pregnancy are not perceived somehow as saying they do not value people who are here – they are saying this is not something they can do, that it is not right for them or for their families.

“Not only does no one know how their child would be affected by Down’s, but the big conflict for women is the adult the child will be 20 or 30 years down the line. For most women, that is the bit that tips them to end the pregnancy. An adult who will be, at best, vulnerable,” she said.

The Down’s Syndrome Association has not taken a position either for or against the proposed new screening regime, focusing instead on its own Tell It Right, Start It Right educational campaign, which calls for better training and information provided for health professionals.

Carol Boys, chief executive of the charity and mother of a young man with Down’s, said: “For a long time, we’d been receiving calls from families who are going through the screening process and want more information. Quite a number complain about the way they have been treated.

“Our organisation wasn’t set up to make judgments, but you cannot make an informed decision if you don’t have all the facts. The problem with testing is that people go along and don’t really know what they are being tested for or the implications of the result.

“They find themselves in a high-risk category and don’t know what it means. The screening committee have asked us to help them with training, and we are happy to do that.

“We are essentially here for people with Down’s and their families. As far as life for people with Down’s goes, things have come a long, long way in the past 30 years. Life is always going to be more challenging. They have a learning disability, and they are always going to need extra help and support – but then so do a lot of other people in our communities.”

A World Without Down’s Syndrome? is on BBC2 at 9pm on Wednesday

Concentrix Stopped Child Tax Credit- Telling Claimant Her Daughter Didn’t Exist

October 4, 2016

by samedifference1

You couldn’t make it up.

Rachel Williams, a single mum of two from Allerton , told the ECHO that the first she knew there was a problem was when her bank statement showed that her tax credit payments had fallen. When she phoned Concentrix, she was told they believed her second child didn’t exist. She says Concentrix refused to disclose its reason for doubting her daughter’s existence and HMRC has demanded that she repays £4,000 of tax credits.

Ms Williams said: “I thought I had done everything I had to do, then, in July, payments were cut. One child was taken off the claim.

“They said I lied to them, that the child doesn’t exist and that I owe them thousands of pounds. They say they are going to take the money back.”

She added: “They are saying for two years I have been fraudulently claiming even though I have a birth certificate.”

New report – Young deafblind people are one of the most marginalised groups in society, with only 4% in employment

October 4, 2016

by samedifference1

A press release:

New report reveals the extent to which deafblind people, willing and able to work, are being prevented by limited opportunities and numerous barriers

Current programmes are not working, as Sense calls on Government to adopt a new approach to employment

· Young deafblind people are ten times less likely to find employment that their non-disabled peers, with only 4% able to secure employment

· Only 20% of deafblind people are currently in work, with negative employer attitudes, inaccessible recruitment and ineffective support programmes, highlighted as significant barriers to employment

· Half of all disabled people in the UK are currently out of work, despite Government pledge to halve disability unemployment gap

(London, UK – 4^th October) – A report published today by national disability charity, Sense, highlights the stark inequalities and barriers faced by deafblind jobseekers across the UK. While many of the 100,000 working age deafblind are keen and able to work, and only 20% currently doing so, the evidence shows the extent to which they’re currently being failed.

Sense’s ‘Realising Aspirations For All’ report, reveals that only 4% of 18 to 24 year-olds who are deafblind are in employment, making them one of the most marginalised groups in society. The 4% figure is ten times lower than the employment rate for non-disabled young people. The employment rate for deafblind people over the age of 24 is 20%.

Within the broader population of disabled people, currently 1 in 2 (46%) are out of work, a rate of employment 30% lower than that of non-disabled people.

The current employment programmes are not working, and the charity report makes a series of recommendations for employers, employment support providers and Government to adopt in their new approach; to enable them to deliver on their pledge to halve the disability employment gap by 2020.

Sense Deputy Chief Executive, Richard Kramer, said:

“Our report is further evidence that the current employment programmes aren’t working. The Government made an admirable manifesto pledge to halve the disability employment gap by 2020, but the reality is that there are still a huge number of barriers that prevent many people with disabilities from securing employment. These include negative employer attitudes, inaccessible recruitment processes and a lack of communication support.

Every day we hear from frustrated disabled people who want to work, and are able to work, but are prevented from doing so because of the many barriers that exist. This is a great opportunity, with the formation of the new Government, and anticipated Green Paper on employment, to adopt a new approach on how we help disabled people get into work and realise their aspirations.”

Barriers to finding, securing and sustaining employment, highlighted in the report include:

· Negative stereotyping from prospective employers

· Inaccessible recruitment processes

· Lack of work experience opportunities for disabled school leavers

· Lack of workplace adjustments

· Limited career progression

· Workplace social exclusion

Recommendations at different levels, highlighted in the report include:

National:

· Make more resources available for specialist support models targeted at people who have more complex support needs and are not likely to benefit from the Work and Health Programme.

· The joint Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Health Work and Health Unit should use its Innovation Fund to trial innovative specialist support models

· The link between welfare benefits and access to employment should be broken by making support voluntary and available to all disabled people, regardless of the benefits they claim

· Ensure disabled people have access to information about employment support. There should be greater transparency in relation to who the support providers are, what support they can offer, and the minimum quality standards disabled people can expect from them.

· Ensure Access to Work assessments of deafblind people are carried out by specialists who are trained in deafblindness.

Local:

· Ensure that people whose sight and/or hearing deteriorates have timely access to reablement services and assistive technologies that enable them to maintain the highest degree of independence.

Employment Support Providers:

· Ensure that advisers are aware of the specific needs of deafblind people and how they differ from the needs of people with a single sensory impairment.

· Ensure that all communication is accessible and provide information in the formats that people need.

Employers:

· Promote an inclusive culture within the organisation by raising awareness about disability and promoting the specific steps staff can take to make their disabled colleagues feel included.

· Ensure recruitment processes are accessible in order to encourage applications from disabled people.

· View spending money on adjustments for disabled people as an investment in the workforce.

The report was launched at a special reception at the Conservative Party Conference before a select group of MPs.

To view the full report visit: https://www.sense.org.uk/employmentreport

Case study:

Gary Moritz from London: “I felt like a number, not a human being they were trying to help”

Gary 1

Gary has Usher syndrome, a genetic condition that affects vision, hearing and, in some cases, balance. After losing his job, Gary claimed Employment Support Allowance and was subsequently referred to the Work Programme, which failed to address his support needs.

“No one asked me what I wanted to do and what I could do. They quickly dismissed my aspirations to find an administrator job and told me to concentrate on customer service roles, such as a call handler at a call centre. It did not register with them that I had a hearing impairment.

“I was later sent on training sessions, where I could not see and hear what was being said. I had to come in and apply for jobs, and they assigned a person to help me do this as I could not see the screen and they didn’t want to adapt it for me. The lady just quickly read the jobs to me and sometimes applied without even letting me know. I later found out that she had a target to meet before lunchtime. The whole experience was awful; I felt like a number, not a person.”

Gary would have benefited from a personalised approach aimed at building his confidence and encouraging independence. The support provided did the opposite. They could have installed screen reading software on the computer and checked whether or not Gary needed to develop his computer skills to apply for jobs effectively. This approach would also have encouraged his independence. Instead, staff read the jobs to Gary and applied on his behalf.

Gary’s basic access needs were not met and it made it harder for him to benefit from the support he received. It might have been more effective to assess the demand in the labour market and reach out to employers who are actively recruiting staff to encourage them to consider employing Gary, rather than helping him to apply for the jobs he did not want and was not able to do. Gary finished the programme without getting a job, and continues to look for work himself.

Bethany from Birmingham: “It takes time to build confidence”

Bethany is 23. She was born deaf and began to lose her vision as a teenager. At college, teachers advised her to train to be a hairdresser – despite the fact that her sight was deteriorating.

“I did not like college. We did the same things every day and I wanted to do more. I had to come to terms with losing my sight and learn how to live with this. I felt isolated and very insecure. When I left education I had no luck finding a job and ended up staying at home with my family.

“I then found out about Sense. I started to get involved in different activities. The local authority funded communicator guide support for me. I started going out, meeting people and this built my confidence. I started to volunteer and am now looking at setting up my business. I feel positive about my future. I have started to learn how to use a long cane and can go to some places independently.”

Building confidence and resilience is especially important for young deafblind people, and there are many ways to do this. Sense developed a model of short breaks, which is geared towards supporting young people to develop independent living, choice making and self-help skills, and encourage the use of assistive technology. The short break provides a natural environment to establish a baseline of skills and desired goals and outcomes. It also helps young people to expand their social networks and support each other.

Sense Responds To Government Announcement About Scrapping Retesting For Chronically Ill ESA Claimants

October 3, 2016

by samedifference1

A press release:

Sickness benefits claimants will no longer have to go through reassessments to keep their payments if they suffer from chronic illnesses

(03/10/2016) Disability charity, Sense, has welcomed the announcement from the Work and Pensions Secretary, Damian Green, that reassessments for chronically ill claimants will be scrapped.

The Government have said that the Employment Support Allowance (ESA) will continue automatically for those who have lifelong, severe health conditions with no prospect of improvement.

The testing process, which includes reassessing conditions every six months, has come under intense criticism for failing some of the most seriously ill and disabled.

Sense Policy Advisor, Jasmine Basran, said: “The reassessments cause stress and anxiety, so we welcome the news that they’ll be scrapped for some of the people we support. However, this will only apply for some ESA claimants, and we await the full details on who will qualify for continuous payments without reassessment. It’s good to see, though, that the Government have listened and recognised that there need to be changes made to better support the needs of disabled people, including scrutinising the work capability assessment.

We often hear from disabled people who want to work, and are able to work, but are prevented from doing so because of the barriers that exist. This is a great opportunity, with the formation of the new Government, to adopt a new approach on how we help disabled people get into work and realise their aspirations.”

DRUK Responds To Dramatic Fall In Successful New ESA Support Group Claims

October 3, 2016

by samedifference1

Disabled people placed in the support group following a new ESA claim fell by 42% in the three months up to March 2016, according to the latest DWP statistics.

For assessments completed during November 2015, 57% of claimants were placed in the support group. But by February 2016 that had dropped by 24% points to just 33%.

Ken Butler, Disability Rights UK’s welfare rights adviser, said:

“The dramatic fall in the number of disabled people being placed in the support group is very disturbing.

There has been no recent statutory change to the work capability assessment descriptor scheme.

In addition, there has been no healthcare professional or decision-maker guidance publically issued by the DWP that would account for the fall in support group numbers.”

I suspect that the reduction is related to more restrictive assessment of whether someone meets the provisions of ESA regulation 35 (substantial risk to physical or mental health if found not to have a have a limited capability for work-related activity).

Earlier this year the DWP was reported to be considering abolishing regulation 35.

“My concern is instead that it may effectively be trying to do the same thing by issuing ‘secret’ guidance to Maximus, which carries out WCAs on behalf of the DWP, which restricts support group recommendations.”

The number of claimants placed in the ESA support group because of regulation 35 has seen a fall from 9,500, for claims that started in April 2015, to just 3,000 for claims that began in December 2015.

That new DWP restrictive guidance is responsible for the fall in support group numbers is supported by Ben Baumberg Geiger, Senior Lecturer at the University of Kent.

In a detailed statistical analysis – The return of the stricter WCA? – he concludes:

“The guide to healthcare professionals notes that “the Revised Substantial Risk Guidance was issued by the DWP in 2015 and implemented early 2016”, so we should just be about to see the impact of it now. And we do.

From claims begun in June 2015 to December 2015, people allocated to the Support Group due to Regulation 35 dropped from 30% of completed assessments to merely 12%. In contrast, Support Group allocations for other reasons stayed basically the same (reducing from 26% to 24% of claims).

To my mind this is all pretty convincing – it has become harder to get allocated to the Support Group from the start of 2016, because the DWP has made it harder for assessors to make judgements on the grounds of a risk to people’s health.”

The latest DWP statistics also reveal that that in July 2016, of the 13,200 mandatory reconsiderations of fit for work assessment outcomes just 4% resulted in a revision. However, 60% of ESA fit for work appeals are successful.

The return of the stricter WCA? is available at www.rethinkingincapacity.org/return-stricter-wca/

Our factsheet on the ESA work capability assessment is available at www.disabilityrightsuk.org/work-capability-assessment

ESA Reassessment U-Turn Is A Small Victory But The Fight Goes On

October 3, 2016

by samedifference1

Says Frances Ryan in Saturday’s Guardian.

It has finally happened: the government has announced it will scrap the retesting of chronically ill and disabled benefit claimants.

Instead of being forced to prove their illness or disability every six months, many will now continue to receive the out-of-work sickness benefit, employment support allowance (ESA), automatically. The exact beneficiaries of the policy are still to be decided – criteria will be drawn up with health professionals – but it is thought thousands will qualify, including people with severe Huntington’s, autism or a congenital heart condition.

It’s difficult to comprehend what this means for the ill and disabled put through the system or indeed, the sheer scale of suffering that has led us to this point. Two years ago it was discovered that more than a third of people with degenerative conditions – some of the very people who may now finally be helped – were having their benefit cut because the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) deemed that they had somehow recovered enough to look for work.

For the best part of six years, severely ill or disabled people have been tested and retested, often to have their only income taken from them.

Imagine it – you’re diagnosed with Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis. You’ve had to give up your job and, on top of the pain and the exhaustion, you can’t pay your mortgage or afford to put the heating on because the government says you’re not really ill. This is now the reality of living in Britain if you’re disabled or chronically sick – where desperation is the new norm.

Most days I receive an email, letter or tweet from a disabled reader in despair. They’ve been given notice for their fifth assessment for ESA in less than three years and are too tired to understand the paperwork. Their benefits are late so they have not been able to eat for four days and social care cuts mean there’s no one to help them get out of the house to get a voucher for a food bank. Or they’ve been found “fit to work” but can barely get out of bed and are suicidal because there’s nothing they can do.

For thousands with a disability, it has become a part of everyday life to be anxious, desperate and scared. That isn’t their illness or disability inflicting that on them but the people in power who should be helping them.

As they settle into party conference week, the Conservatives will proudly announce the abolition of retesting for some ESA claimants. Theresa May can distance herself from the era of George Osborne’s “skivers and shirkers” and Iain Duncan Smith’s memory. The message of this policy change will be that this government is the epitome of compassionate conservatism – and proof that all is well for the long-term ill now. In reality, the Tories have pulled back on one part of an assessment they themselves accelerated, and introduced a policy change that anyone with an ounce of empathy or common sense knew years ago was needed.

No one should believe this is over. The Tories have simply fixed one piece of an altogether broken disability benefits system. The government has still made no effort to address the test itself: the notorious work capability assessment used by the DWP to determine who is eligible for out-of-work sickness benefits in the first place. Nor has gone it back on its impending move to cut part of the benefit by £30 a week – when it is fully aware that, even on the current rate, disabled people are having to skip meals.

At the same time, the retesting of chronically ill or disabled people for another key benefit – personal independence payments – remains, and thousands with unchanging or degenerative conditions are preparing to be put through that pointless assessment once again.

Saturday’s announcement will not undo the suffering of the disabled people already forced through the reassessment system. It will not take back the anxiety of sleepless nights or fix the health that has been damaged. And, most painfully, it’s too late to help the people who have died.

But we must take heart from it as a significant U-turn and, vitally, one we can use to galvanise energy for what more needs to be done. The pressure that campaigners, opposition parties, campaigners and the media have put on the Tories is working. Disabled and chronically ill people have had a victory today. The fight carries on.

Reality Of Life As A Disabled Clubber

October 2, 2016

by samedifference1

A night out clubbing is something most young people take for granted. But even if they get past the bouncer, life on the dance floor can sometimes be difficult for those with disabilities.

“I’ve been told I’m a fire risk a number of times, or they don’t have disabled toilets,” says Sam Renke, a 30-year-old actress, of her experience with clubs.

“There have even been places where they do have a disabled toilet, but they use it as a storage room.”

Sam, who has osteogenesis imperfecta (commonly known as brittle bone disease, but she prefers the term brittle bone condition), is determined that it will not stop her enjoying London nightlife, but bouncers don’t always agree and sometimes see her wheelchair as a problem.

While she accepts she would need more time than others to leave a club in an emergency, she doesn’t think she’s more of a risk than a drunk person.

‘Second class citizen’

Suggestions she should find more accessible venues are no more acceptable than any other form of discrimination, she says.

“If someone said ‘you can’t come in because you’re gay’, I wouldn’t say ‘let’s just go somewhere else instead’. That wouldn’t be acceptable.”

She says a particular low point was missing a leaving party of a friend moving to Scotland, because she wasn’t allowed in the club: “It made me feel like a bit of a second class citizen if I’m completely honest.”

Sadly, Sam’s experience is far from unique.

Although nightclubs are covered by the Equality Act 2010, which protects people from discrimination, many disabled people find some venues can be far from enjoyable.

Everything from a steep set of stairs, getting served at the bar and dealing with the attitudes of other clubbers can ruin what was supposed to be a fun night.

And getting nightclubs to make the necessary improvements is not always straightforward.

Bela Gor, the legal director of the Business Disability Forum, says: “Nightclubs have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled customers.

“They don’t have to change the fundamental nature of their business, for example turn the lights up, or turn the music down.

“But they do have to ensure that disabled people can get in and have a good time in the same way as non-disabled customers.”

‘I deserve dignity’

Katouche Goll, a 19-year-old student, was recently refused access to a London club when managers decided she was a safety risk because she is unsteady on her feet.

Katouche, who has cerebral palsy and uses sticks to walk, shared her experience on social media and received some positive support.

Still, it frustrated her that other young people didn’t see why she wanted to go clubbing. Some said the club had acted “for her own good”. One Twitter user claimed it wasn’t discrimination at all.

“It means that they don’t believe that I deserve more, that I deserve respect, that I deserve dignity,” says Katouche.

It was not the first time she has had to deal with negative attitudes on a night out.

She says sometimes other punters act inappropriately towards her because she’s usually the only disabled person in the club: “They try and take my crutches or draw attention to me in an inappropriate way, sort of sexual harassment comments.”

‘Kicking down barriers’

Rapper James Ellis, who goes by the name Truth AMW, has also been turned away from clubs because of stairs, or for being in a wheelchair.

But this year he became the first disabled rapper to play Bestival and saw that things didn’t always need to be that way.

Bestival had a designated accessible campsite, is mostly on a flat surface and gives people with disabilities a free pass for their personal assistant.

He is optimistic that more places will improve their disabled access: “To me, performing at Bestival was the start of me kicking down that barrier. Being able to perform is showing our nation that there shouldn’t be any segregation.”

Although accessible nights out are rare, they do exist.

Among the more successful venues is Cargo, a popular Shoreditch club which claims to receive over 2,000 visits each week.

When the club owners chose the venue, they upgraded the disabled toilets and the flooring to make sure it was level. Mark McEvoy, a manager said: “To be honest, it’s second nature. It’s just common sense.

“I can’t even think of an example of why somebody would be refused for being disabled.”

But elsewhere the harsh reality is that accessible nightclubs remain something of a rarity – a symptom of a much wider problem.

According to disability charity Scope, four in five disabled people have seen little improvement in the accessibility of clubs, shops, restaurants and pubs since the Paralympics in London 2012.

Fiona Jarvis, from Blue Badge Style, offered a solution: “If club owners refuse to lease premises that are not accessible then more developers would be forced to install disabled facilities.

“The hospitality sector is slightly better but nightclubs are definitely the last bastion of segregation.”

To Sam, it is ridiculous that disabled people still struggle to find an accessible night out.

“I want to have fun. I want to let my hair down on the weekends like everyone else and I feel like that’s a basic right,” she says.

DWP Scraps ESA Six-Monthly Reassessments For ‘Chronically Ill’ Claimants

October 1, 2016

by samedifference1

Same Difference warmly welcomes this news. We also fully agree with the words of the MS Society below- we would like to see reassessments also stopped for chronically ill claimants on PIP or DLA at the Government’s earliest opportunity. We also agree with respected campaigner Jayne Linney who would like to see the full list of conditions this change will apply to released as soon as possible.

Chronically sick benefit claimants will no longer be required to prove they are still ill every six months, the work and pensions secretary has announced.

The testing process, which includes reassessing conditions every six months, has come under intense criticism for failing some of the most seriously ill and disabled.

The move was welcomed by the former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, who said he resigned over concerns he could not push the reforms through.

Green said the change was being made because it was pointless to repeatedly test claimants who are not going to get better. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I believe in a welfare state where you have got to be hard-headed, but you shouldn’t be hard-hearted.

“We want the welfare state to work for everyone, just as we want the economy to work for everyone, and there are a group of people for whom constant reassessment is pointless and which does increase their stress and anxiety levels.”

Green said it would be a retrograde move to scrap the tests for all ESA claimants, because for the “vast majority of people, work actually helps them”.

But the reforms will help end the anxiety and financial insecurity that claimants may have felt, said Green, who will unveil the plans at the Conservative party conference.

The criteria will be drawn up with health professionals but illnesses such as severe Huntington’s, autism or a congenital heart condition, are among those that are likely to qualify for continuous payments without reassessment.

Green said: “We are building a country that works for everyone – not just the privileged few. A key part of that is making sure that all those who are able to work are given the support and the opportunity to do so. But it also means ensuring that we give full and proper support to those who can’t.

“That includes sweeping away any unnecessary stress and bureaucracy – particularly for the most vulnerable in society.

“If someone has a disease which can only get worse then it doesn’t make sense to ask them to turn up for repeated appointments. If their condition is not going to improve, it is not right to ask them to be tested time after time. So we will stop it.”

The reform will be unveiled at the four-day Conservative party conference, which begins in Birmingham on Sunday.

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of the MS Society, said: “This is a victory for common sense. Frequent reassessments for people with progressive conditions such as MS are too often a waste of time and money. They can leave people with uncertainty and fear of having their support taken away.

“We are therefore delighted that the government have listened to our concerns and have agreed to stop reassessments – albeit for only some ESA claimants.

“This is good news, but there’s still a lot more to do for people with MS, including improving the assessment for ESA and calling for inappropriate reassessments to stop for other vital benefits, like PIP.”

Duncan Smith, whose resignation from the role of work and pensions secretary was seen as an attack on the-then leadership of David Cameron and George Osborne, told the Today programme he completely agreed with the changes.

“We worked to change this process, it was one we inherited and it just functioned badly on this area,” he said.

Smith said he hoped the change formed one part of wider reforms that would see the Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health collaborate.

“The reason I resigned… was because I felt the disability demand that was in the budget would have absolutely punched a hole straight through what would have been quite a progressive reform, so I welcome this announcement, I think it’s the right thing to do,” he said.

Mark Atkinson, chief executive at disability charity Scope, said: “In the short term this will be a welcome change for some disabled people, and it’s good to see the government recognising that the work capability assessment needs wider reform.

“We’d like to see the government going much further and starting a consultation with disabled people on the wholesale reform of the fitness-for-work test.

“Disabled people are pushing hard to get jobs but still face many barriers to find work and thrive in employment. The test should be the first step in identifying those barriers so the right support can be put in place to help people get back to work.”

Revealed: How the world as we know it will change thanks to driverless cars

September 30, 2016

by samedifference1

A press release:

Futuristic video shows how driverless cars will impact city landscapes across the globe
Autonomous vehicles likely to be emission-free, leading to cleaner air in cities

The age of driverless cars could see people truly reclaim the streets and deliver safer, cleaner, less congested cities for everyone, new research suggests.

The Institute of Mechanical Engineers predicts that the UK could have a completely automated fleet by 2050 [1]. As we prepare for a driverless future, the UK’s leading distributor of motoring parts, Euro Car Parts, has revealed how the introduction of autonomous vehicles will impact city landscapes and the environment across the world.

Cities around the world are already gearing up for a self-driving future. Driverless taxis will be trialled in Singapore in late 2016. The next year will see Volvo launch its DriveMe programme in Gothenburg, Sweden. Meanwhile, in Greenwich, the GATEway project will put self-driving shuttle buses on London’s streets for the first time.

Illustrating the findings through innovative 3D design and video, Euro Car Parts aims to show how the streets will adapt according to the new technology through a new research project http://www.eurocarparts.com/driverlesslandscape.

Key findings from the research include the reduction of parking space in cities, wireless communication with traffic signals, emission free transportation and constant circulating fleets of self-driving cars as public transport services.

With self-driving cars having the ability to travel closer together than cars of today, motorways could be half as wide as they currently are, while roads and parking spaces – which currently make up as much as half the land area of a city – will shrink [2].

All this free land area could completely change how people use urban space. Multi-storey car parks could be transformed into office space or amenities, boosting local businesses. And with parking no longer an issue, businesses could thrive in places where it previously wouldn’t have been possible [2].

After the introduction of driverless cars, we’ll no longer need road signs or traffic lights, as busy junctions could have super-hubs which communicate wirelessly with all vehicles in their area, with cars reading information from special road markings [3].

Autonomous vehicles are also likely to be emission free, leading to cleaner air in cities [4].

Paul Baylis, Head of Communications and PR at Euro Car Parts said: “The introduction of driverless cars across the globe is a huge technological feat for the automotive industry but we also want to show how this new innovation will affect the world around us.

“From the width of roads to the reduction of parking spaces and cleaner air across cities, this visualisation and research makes some really interesting revelations about how the landscape and environment will adapt to these changes in the automotive industry.”

To read the research which has influenced the video created by Euro Car Parts visit: http://www.eurocarparts.com/driverlesslandscape.

A World Without Downs Syndrome?

September 30, 2016

by samedifference1

Wednesday, 9pm, BBC Two.

Documentary about Down’s syndrome and the ethics of pregnancy screening, fronted by Sally Phillips. This film explores the science and thinking around the proposed new screening test for Down’s syndrome and its possible availability on the NHS.

Driven by the experience of raising her son Olly, who has Down’s syndrome, Sally explores some of the ethical implications of our national screening policy.

By talking to experts in the Down’s syndrome community, the world’s top scientists and including people with Down’s syndrome in the debate, Sally investigates a thorny subject that begs questions relevant to us all: what sort of world do we want to live in and who do we want in it?

Report on the UK Government’s failing human rights record submitted to UN

September 30, 2016

by samedifference1

Politics and Insights

A coalition of 175 civil society organisations has raised grave concern about the impact of the government’s welfare “reforms” and living standards in the UK, hate crimes, mental health, deteriorating prison conditions, stop and search powers and the Conservative’s plans to repeal the Human Rights Act, among other issues. The organisations include Age UK, Just Fair, Inclusion (London and Scotland), the TUC, Unicef UK, Rights Watch, The Law Centres Network, Mind, the Mental Health Foundation and Stonewall.

The coalition contributed to a report which calls on the United Nations (UN) to recognise the evidence from the wide range of civil society groups and to ensure the UK Government, and the devolved administrations, are accountable for taking appropriate action and measures to redress many raised human rights concerns. The report authors caution that a high proportion of the 132 recommendations from the last United Nations hearings in 2012 have not been implemented.

The British…

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Have You Asked For A Statement Of Reasons After Appeal?

September 29, 2016

by samedifference1

Five Things Disabled People Are Tired Of Hearing About Their Sex Lives

September 29, 2016

by samedifference1

Eastenders Praised For Raising Disability Awareness With Donna/Kim Storylines

September 28, 2016

by samedifference1

Vocal EastEnders fans may be known for having the occasional moan about the show on social media – but it turns out that they’re also quick to point out when the show is getting it right.

With that in mind, the soap’s bosses have been winning praise for raising disability awareness with the latest episode, which saw Kim Fox’s recent antics come back to haunt her.

Kim (Tameka Empson) has been causing a stir this week after she landed her husband Vincent Hubbard in trouble by getting him a parking fine – then shamelessly stole Donna Yates’s blue badge for her own use.

Secrets never stay secret in Walford for long, so last night’s episode saw Kim face the music when everyone found out that she’d stolen the badge to get a better parking spot.

In true clueless Kim style, she defended herself by saying: “It’s good to share! So now you’re going to tell me that I can’t use the toilets.”

Kim then admitted that she uses disabled toilets “if they’re empty” because “they’ve got more space for your shopping – and they’re so much cleaner”.

It’s clear that Kim was always on to a loser with this particular argument – with no-nonsense Donna wasting no time before putting her in her place.

Donna asked her: “Do you wanna spend a day in my chair? See what it’s like not to be able to go because some stupid cow’s in there, because it’s got more space for her shopping?

“Do you wanna have someone drive you around trying to find a parking space – and then eventually when you do find one, it’s so far from the shops that it ain’t worth it anyway?

“All because the space you were supposed to be able to park in is being used by some idiot woman with a stolen badge.”

She added: “It ain’t about me. You just don’t do it – it’s wrong.”

EastEnders is clearly trying to incorporate some down-to-earth storylines at the moment – and this one seemed to strike a chord with viewers who backed the show for giving Donna’s home truths some airtime.

Our editor was one such viewer. She had this to say about the stolen Blue Badge story:

And she would like to put on the record that she totally disagrees with misusing disabled toilets, too!

Debbie Abrahams MP Tells Conference Labour Would Scrap The WCA

September 28, 2016

by samedifference1

If accessing the video is difficult, you can read the speech here.

New Brexit report highlights ‘concerns and opportunities’ for disabled people

September 28, 2016

by samedifference1

A press release from the Papworth Trust:

A new report setting out both the “concerns and opportunities” for disabled people in the aftermath of Brexit has been released by leading disability charity Papworth Trust.

The 64-page document, entitled ‘Brexit – What next for disabled people?’, aims to raise awareness of the various issues coming out of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union in June.

Social care, accessible housing, welfare and education are all debated with the charity calling on the Department for Exiting the European Union to work closely with voluntary sector representatives to consider the wider implications for disabled people.

Vicky McDermott, chief executive of Papworth Trust, said: “The purpose of Papworth Trust’s latest EU report is to set out these various concerns and opportunities.

“We have written it with the intention of raising the profile of these issues and identifying the related questions that need to be addressed by Government during the transition period.

“We hope it will lead to a greater debate about the impact of Brexit on disabled people, so that we can all have a better understanding of exactly what comes next for us all.”

In May, Papworth Trust published a well-received pre-Brexit report, entitled ‘The EU Referendum: Disability and the European Union’, which set out to highlight how disabled people could be affected by the crucial vote.

The charity claim “little was said” by either rival campaign about the implications of the outcome for disabled voters when many EU initiatives have had a positive impact on their day-to-day lives.

Ms McDermott added: “During both the run-up to the referendum and in its immediate aftermath, almost nothing has been said about the possible impact of the vote on the 12 million people with a limiting long term illness, impairment or disability who live in the UK.

“Disabled people, have a number of concerns about the short and long-term impacts of the decision to leave the EU and about the policies of the government during the management of the transitional and post-exit periods.

“At the same time, the transformed political environment also creates new choices and opportunities that, if properly taken, could be directed to the advantage of disabled people throughout the UK.

“We have written the report with the intention of raising the profile of these issues and identifying the related questions that need to be addressed by Government during the transition period.

“We hope it will lead to a greater debate about the impact of Brexit on disabled people, so that we can all have a better understanding of exactly what comes next for us all.”

The charity is highlighting the issues of the report at all three main political party conferences.

The report can be viewed at http://online.flipbuilder.com/afjd/wpxb/.

Idea of autism ‘cure’ is harmful and counterintuitive, Business Disability Forum warns

September 28, 2016

by samedifference1

A press release:

London, UK: Business Disability Forum has responded to reports of a London man attempting to ‘cure autism’ with a reminder to companies that the condition is not an illness that is ‘treated’ and that trying to approach it as such is harmful and counterintuitive.

Instead it is a difference in the human condition that in the workplace can be approached productively with great benefits for employers and employees.

The techniques employed by a Hungarian firm based in London have already been described as ‘abusive’ by the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-37460201

Business Disability Forum would add that viewing autism as a problem is a mistake and that businesses can benefit hugely by embracing it as a difference.

Employers should be prepared to make adjustments for employees with autism, instead of attempting to force a ‘square peg into a round hole’, to enable the employee to be comfortable and productive.

In February 2016 Business Disability Forum released research into how employers can best work with employees with autism in the report ‘Square Holes for Square Pegs’, written by Disability Consultant Daniel Wiles.

The report examines current practice in the employment of people with autism amongst BDF’s membership organisations and makes key recommendations for employers when adopting inclusive practice.

More information about ‘Square Holes and Square Pegs’ can be found at http://businessdisabilityforum.org.uk/media-centre/news/autism-in-the-workplace-business-disability-forum-launch-new-report-on-current-practice

More information about Daniel Wiles can be found at http://www.businessdisabilityforum.org.uk/about-us/meet-our-team/daniel-wiles

PIP Review Form Tip: If You Tick ‘Got Worse’ You Will Be Reassessed

September 27, 2016

by samedifference1

Man Filmed Abusing Patients While Training To ‘Cure’ Autism

September 27, 2016

by samedifference1

“Horrifying” practices have been exposed that purport to cure people with autism, during which clients are subjected to shouting and intimidation.

An undercover researcher posing as a man with autism was verbally abused and mimicked by a trainer for hours.

The BBC investigated after hearing of a Hungarian firm selling training to “cure” and treat autism in London.

Campaigners are calling on the government to regulate the industry further to protect people with autism.

Jozsef Kanta offered autism mind-training from premises in London, founded, he claimed, on methods developed by Stabil Pont Technologia, based near Budapest in Hungary.

Mr Kanta claimed the researcher’s autism could be cured through a series of training sessions costing £3,500.

Mr Kanta said he was able to remove autism by locating the client’s “inner trauma”, but that could take 60 sessions or more.

What is autism?

Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder. The condition affects the way people communicate with others and how they experience the world around them.

According to the National Autistic Society, more than one in 100 people are autistic and about 90,000 people in London are on the autism spectrum.

It is known as a spectrum disorder because it affects people in different ways. There is no known cure.

The researcher used the false name Jordan.

In the first of Jordan’s sessions, he was ordered to make prolonged eye contact with Mr Kanta, something many autistic people struggle with.

Mr Kanta then began to taunt Jordan by telling him repeatedly his mother did not love him.

As the sessions went on the treatment became more confrontational with shouting.

Jordan said afterwards: “His hands were getting closer to my face, his body was getting closer to me, his face was getting closer to my face.”

Mr Kanta was recorded as saying to him: “I’ll go and slap you… you want I slap you?… or you want I punch you? Which one do you want?”

Richard Mills, research director at the Research Autism charity, analysed the BBC’s footage.

He said: “It has no place under the heading of therapy of any kind.”

Mr Mills said people with autism were likely to find such interaction extremely stressful.

“To be confronted by someone who is so threatening is horrifying, it’s terrifying.

“And to someone prone to stress and anxiety, the effects are likely to be catastrophic,” he said.

The danger of unregulated treatment was the lack of safeguards, Mr Mills added.

Zoltan Toth of Stabil Pont Technologia claims to have pioneered the training system in Hungary.

When the BBC first approached Mr Toth, posing as a parent with an autistic child, he said: “I can kill autism, the first that did.”

Mr Toth put the BBC in contact with Mr Kanta who he said was Stabil Pont Technologia’s trainer in London.

Mr Kanta originally said he was in contact with other families with autism in the UK who were seeking treatment.

However, he later denied offering the training to anyone in the UK.

When the BBC approached Mr Kanta, he said the techniques used in Hungary, were “not a treatment or cure. It is training. We do not train or cure anybody.”

He also said the firm had experienced “plenty of results” and the system was based on science.

When asked to explain the abuse shown in the BBC’s recording, he said he had been playing “a joke”.

When the BBC later approached Mr Toth for an explanation he said the technique “helps autistic people to become fully independent, normal people”.

More than 51,000 people have signed a petition calling for the government to legislate against unproven treatments being marketed as autism cures.

Fiona O’Leary, of the campaign group Autistic Rights Together, who has autism herself, said: “Leading government bodies seem to have little appetite for tackling unregulated and abusive autism ‘treatments’.

“Effective legislation is desperately needed to protect autistic people from an industry that allows them to be experimented on with bogus therapies.”

The Department of Health said laws already existed in this area and people should report concerns to Trading Standards via Citizens Advice.

A spokesman told the BBC: “We are determined to help people with autism live full and independent lives and have set out a clear, cross-government programme of action, developed with people with autism, their families and carers, to help achieve this.”

BBC Inside Out is broadcast on BBC One in the London region on Monday 26 September at 19:30 BST and nationwide on iPlayer for seven days following transmission.

Five Stories Of PIP Reassessment

September 27, 2016

by samedifference1

As told to yesterday’s Guardian.

‘It’s hard to understand why we have all had to go through this’ – Angelene Wright, 66, from Lincolnshire

I’m a carer for my 64-year-old husband who is in the final stages of multiple sclerosis.

My husband received a lifetime DLA award about 15 years ago. He is now unable to walk and we are dependent on our home carers for most of his personal care. I have lasting power of attorney as he can no longer sign his name. He can just about feed himself with special cutlery, as long as the food is soft and cut up small. He is totally dependent on others for all his needs.

We went through the reassessment process earlier this summer. With the help of our social worker and rehabilitation consultant, my husband was granted the new benefit without having to go through a face-to-face interview – only a phone call for extra details from the assessor was required.

The whole thing was very stressful. The initial letter, announcing that his DLA was to stop and telling us to phone the number within 14 days or face losing the benefit, was scary. I have to say that all of the people I had to speak to were extremely courteous and helpful. The 40-page form was a pain to contend with – I’m a retired teacher but it was formidable. Also my original registration of lasting power of attorney was required and was not returned – thankfully, I had it scanned. All they actually needed was our registration number.

When you have been given a lifetime award it’s hard to understand why we have all had to go through this. If a person is incapacitated to the level that a lifetime award was thought appropriate, they are not going to get better. They clearly designed it to try to catch people out and it seems to have caught a lot of the wrong people.

‘Irreversible brain damage is irreversible. I don’t understand why I am being reassessed’ – Anonymous, 31, from Glasgow

I have cerebral palsy, a visual impairment, dyspraxia and epilepsy. I’ve been on disability living allowance (high mobility and medium care), receiving around £450 a month, since I was 16. That’s all my adult life. I thought DLA would always be there and am profoundly shocked that it’s now changed and I am due to be reassessed soon.

I am so scared of what this may bring that it keeps me awake at night. When my DLA money comes in each month, I am very relieved. I have had periods when it was my only source of income and I don’t know how I will manage if it goes away.

I am profoundly shocked about being reassessed. I do not understand why this has to happen – cerebral palsy and epilepsy do not go away. They do not change in any way. My balance is as bad now as it was when I was 16 (in fact my joints are probably in a slightly worse condition). I still don’t have a lower field of vision. I’m still having fits. Irreversible brain damage is irreversible. Reassessment of lifelong conditions makes no sense to me. It is a waste of money and energy, and it is cruel. I know I will never get better. I’ve accepted that and am getting on with my life. I feel ashamed and helpless in a way I never did before.

‘The whole process was costly and demeaning’ – Anonymous, 38, from Staffordshire

I am writing on behalf of my daughter who has a personality disorder and complex mental health needs classed as severe and enduring. She had been given a lifetime award, but last year we had to submit a claim for PIP, which meant reassessment. It was incredibly painful for her to go through this process again, and we submitted medical evidence for every question on the form.

The enhanced living component was awarded, but the standard mobility component was taken away on the grounds that she could walk 10 metres unaided. However, eventually we challenged this and won. We were very relieved and pleased, but the whole process was costly and demeaning. What’s more, no one has actually met with my daughter and every decision has been made on paper. It feels like she has no voice. I am the one who has to pick up the pieces when ignorant bureaucrats treat a fragile, seriously ill person so badly.

‘The arbitrary nature of the system infuriates me’ – Charlie Saben Fox, 61, from Edinburgh

My son has autism, global learning difficulties and epilepsy.

He has been in receipt of DLA since he was two and was awarded an indefinite award at 16. He was “invited” to migrate to PIP, taking a paper-based assessment. After this he was awarded enhanced daily living and mobility components, but only for five years. I couldn’t understand the length of award as the assessor stated his condition might only change marginally. I called the Department for Work and Pensions to ask for a mandatory reconsideration and they weren’t very helpful. First they told me I couldn’t challenge the five-year award, but eventually I got it extended to 10 years.

I’m pretty strong-minded and wasn’t scared of challenging it, but a lot of people might have been bullied into submission. I’m still angry when I think about it. The arbitrary nature of the system infuriates me most. How much help you get really is a lottery and many people seem to be losing out.

‘By the time I got into the room I was a nervous wreck’ – Catherine Hart, 36, from Sheffield

I have serious mental health problems and my DLA was not a lifetime award, but a long-term one – after being assessed every three years it was extended to every 10 years. That changed under PIP. I had to fill in a very long form within three weeks, but it took them several months to tell me if I had been awarded PIP. This severely affected my mental health.

I was starting to get myself back on track when I was told I had to go in for a face-to-face assessment. My care coordinator was off work ill so I had a stranger from mental health services take me, because I don’t do well getting out of the house on my own.

By the time I got into the room I was a nervous wreck. The person I saw was very sympathetic, understanding and patient. He didn’t rush me for answers when I was struggling to speak, was delicate with his questions about my suicide attempts. He even told me he was sorry to be putting me through this.

It took less than two weeks for the letter telling me that nothing had changed in my award. The letter itself was entitled “Changes to your personal independence payment”, which scared me, until I read further and found out that it would be the same.

All the people I had contact with throughout the PIP process were kind and sympathetic. The problem I had was with the paperwork – there was a lot of it at all stages. To truly reflect how bad a mental illness can be, you have to talk about your darkest times, and this process takes you right back there.

Virtual Abolition Of Benefits Appeal Tribunals As We Know Them

September 27, 2016

by samedifference1

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

The government is poised to bring an end to the shaming success rates at benefits appeals, but they will do so by nobbling the appeals system rather than by improving decision making.

In the future many more appeals will be “on the papers” where success rates are drastically lower, hearings that do take place will be on the phone or via Skype type links and most appeals will be decided by a solicitor (often retired) sitting alone, without a medical wing member or a disability wing member.

Shaming appeal success rates
The introduction of the mandatory reconsideration before appeal system was intended to bring appeal success rates for claimants crashing down to earth. In fact, whilst it has drastically reduced the number of claimants who lodge an appeal, success rates remain sky high.

Only this month the Scottish government, responding to the second independent review of PIP, argued:

“It is absolutely staggering that 65% of people who dispute their PIP award are successful in their appeal of that decision.

“Not only does that highlight a deeply flawed system, but it shows very clearly the number of people subjected to a highly stressful, often prolonged, process to get the support they need and are entitled to.”

So, a new online system of appeals brings the twin advantages for the government that it will hugely cut costs as well as cutting success rates.

Propose changes
The plan is to go almost entirely digital for many areas of the justice system, with Social Security and Child Support tribunals being “one of the first services to be moved entirely online, with an end-to-end digital process that will be faster and easier to use for people that use it.”

The proposed changes – which are currently open to consultation but are virtually certain to be adopted – include

More use of case officers for routine tasks
More decisions made “on the papers”
More virtual hearings
More cases resolved out of court
Simplifying panel composition

There’s more details on each of these aspects below.

More use of case officers for routine tasks
According to the consultation document:

“Judges spend too much of their time dealing with uncontroversial, routine or straightforward matters which could just as effectively be dealt with by court staff under judicial authorisation. Where it is appropriate, specially trained staff will be able to carry out some of this work to help justice move faster.”

This could mean clerks deciding whether your appeal is in time, for example, or whether your appeal will be online, in person or “on the papers”, see below.

More decisions made “on the papers”
The government’s aim is that:

“Where a case is relatively straightforward or routine, representations will be made online in writing for a judge to consider outside of a traditional court room, without the need for a physical hearing, meaning a more convenient experience for everyone involved.”

A “more convenient experience” for the DWP certainly who have vast resources and huge experience in producing written submissions.

But claimants with little or no experience of the legal system are likely to be at a huge disadvantage where appeals are on the papers only. Here at Benefits and Work, our advice has always been for claimants to opt to appear in person before a tribunal, because the success rate for face-to-face hearings is so much higher than for paper hearings.

More virtual hearings
Even if you manage to avoid a paper hearing, the chances of having your appeal in the same room as the tribunal judge are very slim indeed.

“Where a judge needs to listen to the parties make their arguments, it will be possible in many cases to hold the hearings over telephone or video conference, without the need for the parties to travel to a court building. There will still be an important place for physical court hearings for criminal trials and other serious or complex cases, but where they are appropriate, virtual hearings offer an easy and convenient alternative for everybody.”

The fact that physical court hearings will be reserved for ‘criminal trials and other serious or complex cases’ suggests that very few PIP, DLA or ESA first-tier tribunals will take place other than virtually.

For some claimants, removing the stress and pain involved in travelling to a hearing will be an enormous advantage. But for others, the sheer strangeness of an online exchange – and all the technical problems it may involve – will make it very hard for them to give detailed and persuasive evidence.

More cases resolved out of court
Many claimants may not even get as far as a hearing, online or on the papers, even after lodging an appeal.

“In appropriate cases, we will encourage parties to settle their disputes themselves, without the intervention of the courts.”

The real fear here is that the DWP will effectively be able to bully claimants into accepting a lower award than they believe they are entitled to in order to avoid the risk and emotional trauma of an appeal.

For example, it may become entirely legitimate for the DWP to tell a claimant who has received no award of PIP that, if they will accept standard rate daily living, the DWP will make an award. But if they continue to argue for enhanced rate the DWP will force them to appeal and do their best to ensure that no award at all is made.

This sort of thing already goes on, but to make it a legitimate method of settling disputes will mean it happens a great deal more often.

Simplifying panel composition
The government wants to get rid of the vast majority of wing members who currently sit on PIP, DLA and ESA tribunals, arguing that:

“As we streamline the tribunals system, we need to be more tailored and flexible in the way that non legal members are used. Panel composition will remain a matter for the Senior President of Tribunals (SPT), but we want to move away from a blanket approach of using non-legal members regardless of whether their specialist expertise and knowledge is relevant or required. Instead, they should only be part of the panel where their presence is relevant to the case . . . In the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support), for example, many cases must be heard by a judge, a medical member and a member with experience of providing or receiving care for disability, regardless of the circumstances of the case in question.”

What this means in practice is that most appeals will be heard by retired solicitors sitting alone, with no-one with specialist medical knowledge, or specialist knowledge of disability issues more generally to assist them. It is unlikely to lead to a rise in the success rates for claimants at benefits appeals.

Consultation
The whole plan is open to consultation until 27 October 2016. However, judging by other recent consultations, the outcome – regardless of the evidence submitted – is a foregone conclusion.

New PIP Case Law Resource

September 27, 2016

by samedifference1

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

London Advice Services alliance have launched a new personal independence payment case law website at www.pipinfo.net The site is free to use.

Anyone looking for upper tribunal decisions about PIP can search by Activities, Issues or Conditions.

It’s then possible to drill down, for example to look for decisions relating to anxiety and depression or to fluctuating conditions. Each decision has a link to the full text on the Tribunals website.

Rightsnet subscribers can also read Rightsnet summaries of the decisions.

Concentrix Employee Tells Of ‘Suicidal Calls’ Made To Firm

September 26, 2016

by samedifference1

A firm used by the government to cut tax credit payments has received calls from “suicidal” clients, the BBC has been told.

A whistleblower at Concentrix’s call centre said most staff “weren’t even trained” to deal with such calls.

He said staff were not offered counselling, but were instead told: “Have a smoke… you’ll be fine.”

But Concentrix said, in the case of suicidal callers, staff were trained in accordance with government guidelines.

It told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme: “Our staff are supported as much as possible where we have encountered this type of scenario.”

‘No food’

US firm Concentrix was awarded a £75m contract by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – the department responsible for collecting taxes and paying out certain benefits – to help cut tax credit fraud and overpayment.

Last week the company learned it would not have its two-year contract renewed once it expires in May 2017.

Single mother Nicola McKenzie said Concentrix had cut her tax credits after she was wrongly accused of being married to a dead 74-year-old man.

Now, a member of the company’s staff has spoken about the experiences of staff at its call centre in Belfast.

The 600 workers were yelled at “every day” by clients, he said, with “people crying down the phone to you that they’re down to their last bag of wipes, have no food in the fridge to feed their kids”.

“We were dealing with people claiming they were going to commit suicide,” the whistleblower said. “You had to try and keep them on the phone, while a manager phoned the police to get out to their address to make sure that they were OK.

“Some of the [call centre workers] that were dealing with the suicide calls weren’t given the back-up, weren’t given aftercare by our aftercare team. Most of the people weren’t even trained in how to deal with a suicide call.”

Concentrix staff received no “aftercare by our human resources team, or any sort of counselling, after a call”, he claimed, adding: “They were just told, ‘Go out. Have a smoke. Come back. You’ll be fine. Deal with another 40 or 50 calls.'”

What are tax credits?

A series of benefits for low-earning families. There are two types: Working Tax Credit (WTC) for those in work, and Child Tax Credit (CTC) for those with children.

People may be eligible for Working Tax Credit, broadly, if they earn less than £32,969. If a person’s income is below this level and they also have children they’ll be eligible for child tax credit. Eligibility for working tax credit also depends on how many hours a person works.

The average award of tax credit is £6,340 per year. But it can be far more than that.

Q&A: Tax credits explained

The whistleblower said he had also spoken to “hundreds” of low-income householders who said their tax credits had been stopped without receiving a letter from Concentrix telling them to provide information within 30 days or their benefits would be halted.

He added: “It couldn’t be a coincidence, so many people calling in that haven’t met each other saying that they hadn’t received this letter… I personally have spoken to hundreds of them.”

Staff were not “allowed to reinstate or even temporarily reinstate their benefits, their tax credits, until they provided information”, he added.

Concentrix said it had completed a validation to confirm that all the advance warning letters that were expected to be sent out were sent out, and that it is satisfied with this process.

It said it acts in strict accordance with guidelines set and provided by HMRC.

“There has to be a process and our staff are not there to apply a discretionary judgement, or implement their own exemptions as this would lead to further issues,” it said.

“We are contractually obligated to contact individual tax credit claimants based on information provided by HMRC,” it added.

‘Highly supportive’

In a statement, Concentrix said its staff were trained in “exactly the same way” as HMRC staff.

It added: “It is important to realise that our staff are not counsellors and we would never position them as such.

“There are experts who should be involved in situations like these and our staff are trained to ensure those external experts, like the police, are engaged.”

The company said its senior management team was “highly engaged” with both clients and staff and managers were “highly supportive” of the staff who carried out “challenging” work on behalf of HMRC.

HMRC said payments could only be stopped when there was “strong evidence” to support the course of action.

It said: “We provide Concentrix with cases which have been flagged as showing potential discrepancies, along with the data we hold and have received from third parties.

“Concentrix is then responsible for using their own internal checks to identify which of these cases they think require further investigation.”

It said Concentrix writes to claimants asking for information to verify their claim and payments will continue if the claimant responds with the right information with the 30-day timescale.

People who are struggling to cope or would like someone to talk to in confidence can contact the Samaritans by calling 116 123.

Brexit And Health And Social Care Inquiry Launched

September 26, 2016

by samedifference1

The Health Committee invites written submissions on the priorities for health and social care in the negotiations on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.

The evidence submitted to the Committee’s pre-referendum inquiry into the impact of EU membership on health and social care has demonstrated the wide range of areas in which EU membership affects this policy area. The Committee is now seeking views on what the most important issues are to which attention will need to be paid in the withdrawal negotiations and what outcomes should be sought from them.

The Committee also invites views on what risks and opportunities for health and social care arise from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, and how the Government should seek to mitigate the risks, and take advantage of the opportunities.

Scope of the inquiry

The Health Committee is responsible for scrutinising the work of the Department of Health and its associated public bodies. Submissions should therefore address matters for which the Secretary of State for Health is responsible. However, comments are welcome on matters (such as, for example, the free movement of labour, or the single market) where the Secretary of State for Health may not have lead responsibility, but where the withdrawal negotiations led by other Ministers have important implications for health and/or social care in England.

The Committee will not be attempting to examine in detail the whole range of issues affected by UK withdrawal from the EU in the health and social care policy area. Rather, it will be attempting to identify the priority issues which the Government will need to address in the negotiations, and to hold the Government to account for what it achieves.

The Committee may choose to proceed by examining the issues through a “case study” approach, looking in detail during oral evidence sessions at a particular area—for example, a particular EU directive, such as the Clinical Trials Directive, an institution, such as the European Medicines Agency, or a policy area, such as the implications of the loss or restriction of free movement of people on health service staffing and/or access to healthcare—to consider the implications of that particular issue for health and social care. The Committee would welcome suggestions for the area or areas it might look at if it decides to take that approach.

Deadline

Submissions should not exceed 3000 words and should reach the Committee by Friday 28 October 2016.

Send a written submission via the Brexit and health and social care inquiry page

Specialist advice

The Committee may wish to appoint one or more specialist advisers to assist it during this inquiry. Expressions of interest in that role are invited alongside written submissions to the inquiry.

Individuals who wish to be considered for appointment should send a brief CV—ideally no more than three pages—together with a covering letter of no more than 500 words explaining why they would be suitable for the role. The letter should be addressed to the Chair of the Committee and should be emailed with the CV to healthcom@parliament.uk by Friday 21 October 2016.

More information on the role of specialist adviser is available in the call for expressions of interest.

Disability Rights UK’s Response To The Call For Evidence By The Second Independent Review Of PIP

September 26, 2016

by samedifference1

This is very long, but may be useful to some of you.

Liz Carr At Labour Conference 2016 “I Can’t Be A Silent Witness”

September 26, 2016

by samedifference1

Interviews With Two People Facing The WCA

September 26, 2016

by samedifference1

BREAKING: Jeremy Corbyn Wins Labour Leadership Contest

September 24, 2016

by samedifference1

Same Difference is very happy with the result of the Labour Leadership contest. Jeremy Corbyn has just won with 62% of the vote.

We are even happier that in his victory speech, he announced a campaign, starting next Saturday, for inclusive education for all. This is one of our editor’s great passions. It is to be hoped that the campaign will apply to inclusive education for disabled children as well as working against grammar schools.

Yesterday’s demonstration outside Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre. ESA payment delayed and unreasonable local housing association.

September 23, 2016

by samedifference1

The poor side of life

Today’s demonstration was hard but full of solidarity. It has reminded me of how many people out in the community do actually care.

Today we spoke to a man that we had met last week. He had been made homeless two days before we saw him and had been temporarily housed in the local Travel Lodge. He hadn’t ate because he had no food, and he didn’t know where to go for help. He approached us and the look on his face was one of total desperation.

The first thing that I had to do was to phone the ESA department (Employment Support Allowance). He had been promised a payment, and he showed me the letter to evidence this. We waited 20 minutes for the call to be put through, listening to endless recitles of Vivaldis The Four Seasons. This is by no means unusual. The reason why he couldn’t…

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Man leaves coroner letter as he fears Work Capability Assessment will kill him

September 23, 2016

by samedifference1

Politics and Insights

598830_399390316797169_2004284912_n The government have persistently denied any “causal relationship” between their welfare reforms and an increase in premature deaths and suicides, despite an existing correlation.

Figures releasedlast year show that between December 2011 to February 2014, 4,010 people died after being told they were fit for work, following a Work Capability Assessment (WCA). 40,680 died within a year of undergoing the WCA, making a bleak mockery of any claim that the WCA being a real and valid “assessment” of any kind. Or that our welfare system is “supportive” to those in most need, in any real or meaningful sense. Those people were clearly not at all “fit for work.”The figures have only been released after the Information Commission overruled a Government decision to block the statistics from the public.

Research last year from Leonard Cheshire, a charity that works with disabled people, also showed that the assessments are making people…

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Mia Farrow’s Son Thaddeus Dies Aged 27

September 22, 2016

by samedifference1

Mia Farrow’s adopted son has died at the age of 27.

Thaddeus was reportedly found “suffering from a life threatening injury” on Wednesday and later passed away in hospital.

According to TMZ , Connecticut police responded to a call at Roxbury, Connecticut, at around 12:45pm and found Thaddeus “gravely injured in his car along Route 67”.

Mia, 71, adopted Thaddeus in 1994 from India, years after she separated from director Woody Allen. He was paraplegic meaning he had loss of feeling in his legs – due to polio, a rare viral infection.

After she adopted Thaddeus, Mia spearheaded a campaign to rid the world of polio, revealing that she too had suffered from the infection as a child but was able to fight it due to living in a country with advanced healthcare.

She previously said: “I perhaps am more motivated than most people because I had polio myself and it was a real struggle to come through it, and what I saw will never leave me.

“Perhaps even more so because I have a son who is only 12 years old and who is paralysed from the waist down because of polio.

“This is a terrible disease, and he has a lot of difficulty just getting through the day. I would love to see the end of polio, where no more children have this.”

The ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ actress had 14 children – Matthew and Sascha, 46, Soon-Yi, 45, Fletcher, 42, Summer, 41, Moses, 38, Dylan, 31, Ronan, 28, Frankie-Minh, 25, Isaiah, 24, and Kaeli-Sha.

Concentrix Thought Woman Was In Relationship With Joseph Rowntree

September 22, 2016

by samedifference1

File this one under ‘you couldn’t make it up,’ readers.

A woman was forced to rely on foodbanks and feared she would lose her home after a tax agency claimed she was living with famous 19th century Quaker Joseph Rowntree.

In fact, the woman lives in a property provided by the Joseph Rowntree foundation which is a housing association and funds research into social policy.

The error was discovered when Concentrix, the government-appointed agency which carries out tax credit checks, sent the woman a letter accusing her of being in a relationship and co-habiting with Mr Rowntree.

She subsequently discovered other benefits she depended upon had been affected by the agency’s mistake, The Times reports.

Mr Rowntree died in 1925. The foundation in his name now examines the causes of poverty and aims to encourage positive social change.

The woman must now go through a lengthy appeals process to contest the blunder.

Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, said: “I am sure she will not be the only person affected by this mistake. Once they lose tax credits it has a knock-on effect on other benefits and they end up on the breadline.”

Full article here.

Hammersmith Jobcentre approaching claimants to take photographs for DWP promotional material.

September 21, 2016

by samedifference1

The poor side of life

I, amongst others have always had a sneaking suspicion that the DWP likes to approach claimants in their quest to find willing victims for their promotional material. They’ve been caught out in the past when using paid models, so now they are trying it on with claimants.

Whenever I see any DWP promotional material, I and others like to research the validity of their photographs and information. Indeed their new Universal Credit promotional material is extremely misleading and inaccurate. So you can imagine my joy at receiving confirmation of their plot to involve claimants.

Please note that the person involved is not easily intimidated. I’m sure that a person who is scared and vulnerable would give in to their requests straight away. They might think that if they refuse they could be put at risk of a sanction or worse.

Now, it’s extremely rare for a claimant to be actually…

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Channel 4’s No Go Britain Disability Debate

September 21, 2016

by samedifference1

Our editor was one of 50 disabled people who watched this debate live last night, at the Olympic Park.

Many important issues were covered, and she has a lot to think about as a result.

You may have seen half of the debate on the news yesterday. The full hour long debate is linked above for those who were not able to watch the live streamed part.

Our editor may or may not be visible!

DWP staff told to reach Aspiration targets.

September 20, 2016

by samedifference1

Some more information on this post from yesterday.

The poor side of life

The DWP like to create new names for targets that they want staff to reach. These names help the government to disassociate themselves from the heinous acts that they choose to inflict on claimants and their families.

I have it on good authority that a DWP Labour Market decision maker now has a new name for a target they have to reach.

A Labour Market decision maker is an employee of the DWP specifically employed to deal with Mandatory Reconsiderations. A Mandatory Reconsideration can be requested once a decision has been made to stop a claimants money for whatever reason given.

It’s supposed to be a fair process, but I’ve had good reason to doubt that this process is anything but fair. I’ve heard of a Mandatory Reconsideration being refused on the same day as the reconsideration was requested.

So yet again the evidence of target lead decisions is mounting…

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MS Claimant Wins Motability Car Appeal After Being Told To Get A Bus 15 Miles To Work

September 20, 2016

by samedifference1

A DISABLED man has won his appeal against cruel benefits cuts that left him stranded without a car.

David Trotter – who has multiple sclerosis (MS) – lost his vehicle when a vital mobility payment was slashed by officials.

The 32-year-old, who needs crutches to walk, was told he was fit enough to take a bus from his home in Dalkeith, Midlothian, to his job 15 miles away in Livingston.

But David has had his payments reinstated after winning an appeal last week.

It came after the Record highlighted the IT worker’s case against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in May.

David said: “From my point of view, it is a happy ending and the DWP are going to be doing what they are supposed to do.

“The most important part for me was to tell people to appeal these decisions.

“I have an old friend who had a motability car and he was in the same boat as me. They reduced the payments and he lost the car.

“He told me he wanted to appeal but felt too tired. I just hope the story encouraged other people to appeal and not let them get away with it.”

In May, DWP officials removed the “enhanced mobility” part of his Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – worth more than £200 a month. Assessors told David he was able to take the bus, despite his claims he was unable to walk 10 steps without pain.

Last week, he took his case to a first-tier tribunal to challenge the DWP’s decision.
The DWP has changed the way disability is assessed

He told the Record the panel – including a doctor – overturned the move within 30 minutes.

“It was mainly the doctor who asked me questions,” David said.

“The difference was, the things he asked me had nothing to do with the original assessment I had.

“He was more interested in the things I could and couldn’t do.

“After the hearing, I was told five minutes later they had overturned the original decision.

“Now they are to send off the information to the DWP to let them know they disagree with them.

“I think the DWP have about a month to appeal it. But to be honest, based on the questions the doctor asked and the evidence from the hospital, I don’t think there will be a chance they’ll try to get back to the way it was.

“I just have to wait until paperwork comes through.

“Then I can get myself a car and get back to work.”

David explained he has been only be able to work some hours from home as his appeal was pending.

He said: “Because I am mostly office based, there was only so much I could do without physically being at work.

“But there were still duties I could do from home. I managed to get a few hours a week – no more than 10.

“I’ve kept the job going. My work were fine to wait and see what happened with my appeal.

“As soon as I get my car, I can head back into work.”

Morna Simpkins, director for MS Society Scotland said: “We are delighted David has won his appeal.

“This decision has given David his independence back and means he can finally return to work.

“With over 11,000 people with MS in Scotland, our benefits system needs to be fairer for those with long term and sometimes invisible conditions like MS.”

She added: “Living with MS can cost someone an additional £200 per week, and benefits like enhanced mobility can enable people to work, live independently and get the most out of life.”

A DWP spokesperson said: “After providing the tribunal with additional medical evidence, Mr Trotter has now been found eligible for the enhanced mobility component.”

“Decisions on whether to award Personal Independence Payment are made following a face-to-face assessment and consideration of the medical evidence provided by the claimant.”

The DWP Now Officially Aspire To Sanction People

September 19, 2016

by samedifference1

Scary stuff from campaigner Charlotte Hughes on Facebook:

The DWP are ever so inventive regarding naming sanction targets. They are commonly known as offloads, and staff are told to reach a certain amount or face disciplinary action. Well now they have a new name. Aspirations. Staff have to reach their aspiration targets. So yes, officially the DWP now aspire to sanction people.
I really do hate that word. A word that should relate to positive things has been poisoned by the government.

This may seem like a strange thing to pick out. But our editor is a writer who loves the English language. The idea of positive words being turned upside down is a very upsetting one to her.

Alex Brooker’s Tribute To Alex Zanardi

September 19, 2016

by samedifference1

We thought this was worth sharing…

Iranian Cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad Dies Aged 48 After Crash During Rio 2016 Paralympics

September 18, 2016

by samedifference1

Same Difference is shocked and saddened by this terrible news. Our thoughts are with everyone affected.

An Iranian Para-cyclist has died after a crash during the men’s C4-5 road race at the Rio Paralympics.

The International Paralympic Committee said Bahman Golbarnezhad, 48, suffered cardiac arrest after the incident on a “mountainous stretch” of circuit.

“The ambulance then diverted to the nearby Unimed Rio Hospital in Barra where he passed away soon after arrival,” a statement added.

Golbarnezhad also competed at the London Paralympics in 2012.

An investigation into the circumstances of the accident has been launched.

“We’re looking to gather as much information as we can and as quickly as possible – it should take a matter of days,” said Piers Jones, sports director of cycling’s governing body UCI.

The Iranian flag has been lowered to half-mast in the Paralympic Village and a period of silence will be observed during Sunday’s closing ceremony.

Masoud Ashrafi, the secretary general of Iran’s National Paralympic Committee, said they have requested the body of Golbarnezhad is flown back to Iran on Sunday. The Committee also asked for a full report of the incident from the IPC.

He added: “He had been cycling for 12 years and he was our best cyclist. He was married and has a wife and one son.

“He was the kind of man who was a family man. He loved his family.”

Golbarnezhad’s death is the first in-competition fatality at a summer/winter Olympics or Paralympics since Danish cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen in the 100km team time trial at the 1960 Rome Games.

What details are known about the accident?

Saturday’s race began at Pontal and included the Grumari circuit used in the Rio Olympics road races.

The Vista Chinesa circuit – which included a treacherous descent where Annemiek van Vleuten of the Netherlands crashed and sustained concussion during the Olympics – was not part of the Paralympic course.

According to the IPC, Golbarnezhad was involved in a crash at around 10:35 local time on the first section of the Grumari loop, a mountainous stretch of the course, on a curved descent.

He received treatment at the scene and was in the process of being taken to the athlete hospital when he suffered cardiac arrest.

IPC president Sir Philip Carven said: “This is truly heartbreaking news and the thoughts and condolences of the whole Paralympic movement are with Bahman’s family, friends, and team-mates as well as the whole of the National Paralympic Committee of Iran.

“The Paralympic family is united in grief at this horrendous tragedy, which casts a shadow over what have been great Paralympic Games here in Rio.”

This was Golbarnezhad’s second race at the Rio Paralympics, after finishing 14th in the C4 time-trial race on Wednesday.

Golbarnezhad, from the city of Shiraz in southern Iran, also participated in the London 2012 Paralympic Games, having taken up the sport in 2002.

He competed in events for athletes with lower limb impairments or amputations.

Tributes paid to ‘exemplary sportsman’

Iranian Paralympic Committee: “He was an exemplary Paralympic sportsman who, with love and energy, tried his best to promote the name of Iran and to make all of us proud and at the end he gave his life for this.

“All members of the Iranian cultural and sports camp here express condolences to his family and the Iranian nation. The name of Bahman Golbarnezhad will be inscribed in the proud history of Iranian Paralympics.”

Carlos Nuzman, president of Rio 2016: “This is very sad news for sport and for the Paralympic movement. Our hearts and prayers are with Bahman’s family, his team-mates and all the people of Iran.”

Brian Cookson, UCI (cycling’s governing body) president: “I am devastated to hear about the death of Iranian rider Bahman Golbarnezhad. Our thoughts are with his family and friends, and the NPC of Iran to whom we offer our most sincere condolences.”

ParalympicsGB (via Twitter): “We are devastated by the news of Bahman Golbarnezhad’s passing. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues from NPC Iran.”

United States Olympic Team (via Twitter): “Our thoughts are with the friends, family and team-mates of Team Iran’s inspirational cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad.”

‘I was sat opposite him in the pits this morning’

Dame Sarah Storey, Britain’s most decorated female Paralympian, also paid tribute to Golbarnezhad in an interview with BBC Sport.

“I’m absolutely devastated to hear of a colleague who hasn’t made it home from the Games,” said Storey, who had earlier won Britain’s 60th gold medal at the Rio Paralympics.

“Everyone expects to come home from a Games and it’s no real condolence that he died doing something he loved.

“It’s just an horrendous thing. It couldn’t be any worse. There are no words that can make it feel better.

“When you lose someone you don’t even know but they are in the same world… I was sat opposite him in the pits this morning. I know who he is but I’ve never spoken to him. It still hits you really, really hard.”

Terminally Ill Child Becomes First Minor In Belgium To Have Assisted Death

September 17, 2016

by samedifference1

A terminally ill youngster has become the first child to be euthanised in Belgium since age restrictions on such mercy killings in the country were lifted in 2014.

The head of the national committee for euthanasia confirmed the first case was reported to him by a local doctor last week.

While he would not give any details about the minor, he described it as an exceptional case of a child with a terminal illness, according to newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

Belgium is the only country that allows minors of any age to choose euthanasia.

They must prove they have a rational decision-making capacity and be in the final stages of a terminal illness.

Wim Distelmans, who chairs Belgium’s Federal Control and Evaluation Committee on Euthanasia said: “Fortunately there are very few children who are considered (for euthanasia) but that does not mean we should refuse them the right to a dignified death.”

Belgium legalised euthanasia in 2002, and two years ago amended the rules to permit doctor-assisted death for minors of any age in a hopeless medical situation.

The parents of the under-18 year olds must give their consent for the assisted killing to go ahead.

The Netherlands also allows mercy killings for children, but only for those aged over 12.

The change was made in Belgian law in 2014 after a heated debate to offer the possibility of euthanasia to children “in a hopeless medical situation of constant and unbearable suffering that cannot be eased and which will cause death in the short term.”

Between 2003 and 2013, the number of patients being euthanised in Belgium rose nearly eight-fold to a total number of 8,752 cases, according to records of the national euthanasia control committee.

The Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia and Luxembourg allow euthanasia.

In America the US states of Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California and Montana permit assisted dying and Canada passed laws allowing doctor-assisted dying in June of this year.

Switzerland allows it as long as the person assisting is acting ‘unselfishly.’

Both active euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal under English law.

Euthanasia is regarded as either manslaughter or murder and could warrant a maximum penalty of up to life imprisonment while assisted suicide is punishable by up to 14 years’ imprisonment.

Katie Cutler Defends Alan Barnes From Online Trolls

September 17, 2016

by samedifference1

Katie Cutler has hit out at online trolls who abused Alan Barnes after he offered to pay just £10 towards her massive legal costs.

The mum-of-one set up a fundraising page for the disabled pensioner when he was savagely attacked outside his home.

Donations flooded in from around the world for 4ft 6in Alan – who is registered blind – after he suffered with a broken collarbone when thugs assaulted him as he took his bins out.

Katie is now locked in a bitter legal battle with Claire Barber, the Northumberland-based PR who offered to help raise the profile of Katie’s charitable foundation set up after Alan’s attack in January 2015, for £550 a day.

Katie is being threatened with bailiffs after being landed with a £6,687 PR bill.

Alan offered to give Katie just £10 sparking a furious reaction online from trolls who launched a tirade of abuse at Alan, reports Chronicle Live.

Now Katie has stepped in to urge people to lay off the disabled mugging victim.

She said: “I do not think Alan should have to pay anything. Like me, he did not sign anything.

“A lot of people think he should have paid that bill because things in that relate to him.

“If you go out for a meal, the richest person does not have to foot the bill. I feel strongly about this.

“The money raised was Alan’s and that money was for him – it should stay with him. He can do what he wants with it.

“And he does not deserve this abuse. He is a vulnerable adult – I have been brought up around vulnerable adults – and the abuse is not nice.”

Alan says he hasn’t seen Katie for over a year and spends his time walking and talking to people he meets, regularly attending Wrekenton Methodist Church where he sits in the front row.

He plans to live off the money raised for him and says he will make a donation to charity when he dies from any leftover cash.

Ms Barber, chief executive of Claire Barber PR, said in a statement: “Katie Cutler employed Claire Barber PR to handle her PR in March 2015.

“We worked together for four months achieving blanket bespoke PR coverage across almost every national newspaper, multiple TV news channels across the NE and UK including Sky, ITN, ITV, the BBC and Channel 4, Radio 2 and an exclusive negotiated interview on ITV This Morning that took a considerable amount of time to set up.

“Also hundreds of e-mails, calls and planning.

“It was an enormous amount of work with phenomenal success. Katie made two payments in June 2015, then proceeded to write all over social media her shock at getting our bill (which was agreed prior to any work undertaken).

“At this point we offered her a payment plan, but she wouldn’t respond to anything.

“As a small family business with an impeccable reputation and after over a year and still no payment, we had no choice but to go to the small claims court.

“Katie didn’t respond with any defence to the small claims court either other than acknowledgement of papers.

“We are a small, hard working company and we are simply not able to carry this debt.

“We are incredibly shocked with the way Katie has belittled our hard work and devotion to the four-month project that Katie commissioned us for.”

In the months after the attack, Alan got a “calling from God” to move to the Shetland Islands.

But he decided to stay put and is now looking for another home in the Gateshead area.

His attacker, Richard Gatiss, of Gateshead, was jailed for four years after admitting assault with intent to rob.

Disability charity to launch free accessible yoga sessions for people with sight and hearing impairments in London

September 16, 2016

by samedifference1

A press release:

The 10 week programme aims to get more disabled people in England into physical activity and sport, highlighting important physical and emotional benefits

· The programme is being funded by Sport England and is part of a series of activities to be run by deafblind charity, Sense, across London

· Yoga taster session to be held September 22nd and 29^th at the Pancras Square Leisure Centre, London.

Sense, the national disability charity, is set to launch a 10 week programme of free yoga sessions for people who have sight and hearing impairments and those with complex needs. A taster open-afternoon is to be held by the charity on the 22nd and 29^th September at the Pancras Square Leisure Centre, London, for those interested in participating.

The free programme has been made possible following a grant of £424,958 from Sport England which was awarded to Sense to increase opportunities for people with deafblindness to participate in sport and physical activity through its ‘Sporting Sense’ project.

London is one of the areas that the project will focus on, with Sense set to deliver a number of activities across the region from now until May 2018. The project will influence the development and delivery of local physical activity plans, which will include working alongside deafblind people.

Taylor Huxster, Regional Sports Coordinator at Sense said:

“We wanted to provide exercise tailored to the needs of people with sensory loss who often face many barriers to keeping active. Yoga is an accessible and safe form of exercise for people of all ages. It’s an effective way to build strength, flexibility and balance and it’s also great for relaxation and stress management. We hope that these sessions will help more people live active lives and enjoy the benefits of exercise.”

Parents, families and carers are welcome to attend the taster session which is taking place on September 22nd and 29^th from 14.30 until 16.00 at the Pancras Square Leisure Centre, 5 Pancras Rd, London N1C 4AG.

For more information or to book a place, those who wish to attend should get in touch with the Taylor Huxster at Taylor.Huxster@sense.org.uk or call 020 7014 9318 (Tues, Wed and Thurs).

Why the film I, Daniel Blake is so important. Our weekly picket outside Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre.

September 16, 2016

by samedifference1

The poor side of life

As you know we hold our weekly picket outside Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre. It was non stop from the moment we arrived.

My first conversation was with a young lady who has a seriously ill husband. They’ve tried twice now to claim ESA because he is clearly unfit for work, and as result of the stress of caring for him and her family she’s become ill herself and now has to attend an ESA medical next week. I offered guidance, solidarity and compassion. My one regret is that I will not be able to attend her medical with her, but I have advised and I’m trying to sort something out.

We met a lady who has a serious heart disease. She failed her ESA medical and as a result has been forced to claim JSA to enable her to have some kind of income. She struggled coping with the interview…

View original post 791 more words

Cancer Blogger Anna Swabey Dies The Day Before Her Wedding

September 16, 2016

by samedifference1

A woman who blogged about her battle with terminal brain cancer has died a day before she was due to get married.

Anna Swabey, 25, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was initially given three months to live in 2015 when she met Andy Bell, 26, on a dating app.

The pair were due to marry on Saturday in the Yorkshire Dales, but Miss Swabey passed away earlier.

She had raised money for charity Brain Tumour Research. Spokeswoman Wendy Fulcher said a “light had gone out.”

She said: “Bright, vivacious, kind, and beautiful, Anna was one of those to whom others are naturally drawn.

“She had a great sense of fun and a marvellous joie de vivre.

“Anna was just 23 when she was told she had a brain tumour. Understandably devastated and angry, she nevertheless held her head up high and decided she would live her life, however long it might be, to the full.”

Months after her diagnosis Miss Swabey started her blog, Inside my Head.

Ms Fulcher said she was given hope by neurosurgeon Kevin O’Neill, who leads the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at Imperial College.

“She left her first consultation with him in “tears of happiness” not because he had changed her diagnosis but because they would fight “Trev”, as she dubbed the growth in her brain, together,” Ms Fulcher said.

But after her condition worsened the pair were forced to postpone the wedding.

Ms Fulcher said brain cancer was particularly cruel because it killed more children and people under 40 than any other form of the disease, but received just 1% of national, research funding.

Deaf Actor To Sign An Ad Break On The Last Leg Today

September 16, 2016

by samedifference1

A deaf actor is set to do sign language through a commercial break in Channel 4 programme The Last Leg on Friday.

The comedy series, which has been airing since 2012, will be broadcast from Rio to mark the end of the Paralympics.

The seven adverts will be signed by David Ellington, a deaf actor and artist.

He will lip-sync, dress up as a cupcake salesman and wear a swimming cap and trunks as part of the break.

A fully signed and audio described version of the break will also be available on All 4’s Watch Live feature.

The ad break has been produced with the support of the charities Action on Hearing Loss and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) with each brand involved donating to the charities.

David Steadman, executive director for fundraising and marketing at Action on Hearing Loss, said: “There are currently 11 million people in the UK living with hearing loss and we are very encouraged to see the innovative steps that Channel 4 is taking to ensure that everyone is included.”

The first series of The Last Leg was broadcast in 2012 to run alongside the Paralympic Games in London.

The show’s success led to it being kept on by Channel 4 as a comedy talk show, looking back at the week’s news events and featuring interviews with special guests.

BREAKING: David Weir Announces Track Retirement

September 15, 2016

by samedifference1

Britain’s six-time Paralympic gold medallist David Weir will retire from the track after Rio 2016.

The 37-year-old finished sixth in the T54 800m – his final individual track race at Rio 2016 – after coming fifth in the 400m and fourth in the 1500m.

“That’s my last individual race on the track,” Weir told Channel 4.

“I want to retire at the London Marathon next year. I’ll give it one more winter’s training and bow out where it all started.”

Weir’s decision means he will not compete at the IPC Athletics World Championships in July, which will be staged at London Stadium, the scene of his 2012 Olympic successes.

The Londoner said he would race in the marathon at Rio and may make himself available for the T53/54 4x400m relay team.

However, he suggested his preparations for the Paralympics had been disrupted by problems behind the scenes.

Weir won the first of his record-equalling six London Marathon titles in 2002 and will go for a seventh on 23 April 2017.

DWP derides claimant complaints over digital rollout of Universal Credit

September 15, 2016

by samedifference1

Campaign4Change

By Tony Collins

Less than 24 hours after the Institute for Government criticised the DWP’s “tendency not to acknowledge bad news”, the department’s press office has poured scorn on complaints to an MP about problems with the rollout of Universal Credit’s “digital” system.

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions has described as “anecdotal” complaints by the public about the “full” digital Universal Credit system in south London.

The DWP has declined to publish reports that would give a factual account of the performance of the Universal Credit digital system during rollout. Its spokespeople can therefore describe claimant complaints as “anecdotal”.

Cheap

Ministers hope that the in-house and cheaply-developed “full” digital system will ultimately replace a “live” service that has many workarounds, has cost hundreds of millions of pounds, has been built by the DWP’s traditional IT suppliers, and deals with only limited groups of claimants.

But the agile-developed digital system has had its problems at a pilot site in Scotland – where the DWP described claimant…

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Justin Tomlinson MP Facing Suspension From Parliament For Leaking Payday Loan Report To Wonga Employee

September 15, 2016

by samedifference1

A former DWP minister with responsibility for disabled people is set to be suspended from the House of Commons for leaking a parliamentary report to a payday lender.

Justin Tomlinson shared the findings of a draft report into regulating payday loans with an employee of Wonga.

An inquiry by the House of Commons sleaze watchdog found the former minister, who sat on the Public Accounts Committee at the time of the leak, had “committed a contempt” with the leak.

It said his actions “constituted substantial interference” with the process of the influential Committee, which was seeking to protect vulnerable consumers from payday lenders.

The report, which will be debated and voted on, recommended that Mr Tomlinson be suspended from the Commons for two days and be compelled to make a statement to the House.

At the time of the report the then PAC chair Margaret Hodge at the time accused part of the payday loans industry of “disgraceful practices” and said existing rules had been ineffective.

Research by the charity Scope has found that people with disabilities are significantly more likely to turn to payday loans than people without them.

18 per cent of people with disabilities have used so-called ‘high cost’ lending compared with 5 per cent of non-disabled people, according to that study.

Mr Tomlinson has previously apologised and accepted that he had broken the rules.

The MP was sacked as disability minister in July’s reshuffle by Theresa May and has not been given another job in the Government.

In a statement to the House of Commons on Thursday morning he said that he sent the report to the payday loan company because he believed action needed to be taken on payday loan companies.

“I wanted to take this opportunity to make a full and unreserved apology to you and to the House,” he told the Speaker.

“I completely accept the findings of the report published today by the privileges committee and the report submitted by the committee for standard.

“I accept that my actions in sharing the report constitute and interference in the work of the committee for public accounts and for this I am sorry.

“This was never my intention. These actions came as a result of my own naivity driven as a desire to strengthen regulations on payday lenders and protect vulnerable consumers.

“The Commissioner for standards confirm this as my motivation based on evidence that I have worked on cross party campaigns to protect consuemrs and that I have long argued for tighter regulation of the payday lending industry.

“I welcome the report’s conclusion that my actions were not motivated by financial gain and the report states that I did not act in the way I did either for financial gain nor with the intention of reflecting the views of the company concerned.

“I also appreciate the acknowledgement that the national newspaper story following the start of the campaign was substantiated.”

The Speaker replied: “I thank the honourable gentleman for what he said and the way he said it. The matter rests there, that’s the end of it.”

Parents Threaten To Boycott Birmingham’s Mayfield Special School After Student Dies

September 15, 2016

by samedifference1

Parents at a Birmingham special school have threatened a student boycott unless ‘they get answers’ into how a pupil tragically died after an accident.

The 15-year-old seriously disabled youngster, named as Muhammed, suffered fatal injuries after falling down a flight of stairs at Mayfield School in Lozells.

Paramedics were called to the Wheeler Street site just after midday on Friday, and the teenager was rushed to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Sadly, he passed away on Tuesday after suffering severe neck and spinal chord injuries.

Relative Yasmin Hussain paid tribute to the ‘beautiful and delightful’ teenager. She said: “This child was a family member, and he was blind and wheelchair bound, it’s absolutely disgusting what happened to this beautiful boy, the family needs answers….

“He was so beautiful and absolutely delightful he shall be missed loads. R.I.P. Muhammad you are with the angels in heaven.”

Now concerned parents are demanding a meeting with school bosses after they received a letter this morning about the tragedy.

Mrs Begum, from Perry Barr, said she would not be sending her nine-year-old son back to school until ‘we have been given some answers’.

“We got a text message yesterday saying that the school would be closed tomorrow, because of an incident that had happened on Friday, that caused the death of a child,” said the 33-year-old.

“It said because of respect to the child, that the school would be closing for the day.

“I called the school and asked to talk to the headteacher, and was told that they would get back to me.

“Parents are really concerned, which is natural when you are leaving your child in someone else’s responsibility.

“I send my son to school there every day, who has severe physical disabilities. My son is in a wheelchair and we are not sending him back until we get some answers.

She added: “We are asking for an evening meeting together to get the reassurances we need that our children will be safe.

“We just want some answers.”

The school declined to comment.

But in a statement Colin Diamond, executive director for education at Birmingham City Council, said: “It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of a student at Mayfield School following a tragic incident at the school on Friday.

“We send our condolences to his family and will do all we can to support them at this extremely difficult time.

“We are working closely with staff to support the school and its community and are also working with all agencies, including the police, while the circumstances of this tragic event are fully investigated.”

PIP Assessor Didn’t Know What Thalidomide Was

September 14, 2016

by samedifference1

For Phil Spanswick, who has lived all his life with shortened limbs, three fingers on one hand and four on the other, as a result of the thalidomide scandal, it was galling enough to have his benefits cut after reassessment. But it was doubly so to discover that the assessor had put his condition down as genetic.

“She was 21 and had trained as a paramedic and asked me three times how I had got my disability and what age was I when I got it,” says Spanswick. “She didn’t even know what thalidomide was, that it was manmade and babies were born with it.”

It is almost 60 years since the thalidomide drug was first licensed for use in the UK to counter the effects of morning sickness in pregnancy. By the time it was withdrawn within three years, in 1961, hundreds of babies in Britain and tens of thousands worldwide had been born with limb defects caused, it later transpired, by a component of the drug inhibiting the development of blood vessels and stunting growth.
Thalidomide: how men who blighted lives of thousands evaded justice
Harold Evans
Read more

The scandal became a cause celebre. The drug’s manufacturer in the UK, Distillers (now Diageo), fought a lengthy legal battle with the families affected and it was only after a campaign by the Sunday Times that compensation was settled in 1973 for most of the children, who were by then entering their teens. A long-awaited government apology finally came in 2010 and it was only after half a century in 2012 that the German inventor of the drug, the Grűnenthal Group, issued a statement saying it regretted the consequences.

Remarkably, people are still coming forward with claims for compensation. But as Spanswick’s experience suggests, the thalidomide story is slipping from the consciousness of even health and care professionals and the drug’s survivors – known as “thalidomiders” – are certainly winning no special favours from the reformed benefits system.

Spanswick, 54, has had his lifetime award of disability living allowance (DLA) downgraded under the reassessment process carried out as part of the benefit’s transition into the new personal independence payment (PIP). He is not alone: the Thalidomide Trust, set up as part of the 1973 settlement to administer compensation and represent the interests of survivors, knows of three other cases and suspects there are “quite a few” more.

“The effects of thalidomide are not well understood and the new assessment process can be difficult for individuals to understand and navigate,” says Deborah Jack, the trust’s director. While her team has been able to help other thalidomiders to protect their DLA awards, she explains, it was unaware of Spanswick’s case before it was too late.

Spanswick, who lives with his wife, Rachel, and two grown-up children in Lambourn, Berkshire, has one leg five inches shorter than the other, no left hip, virtually no arms and no thumbs. He is unable to tie his shoelaces, wash his hair and body, or use the oven or washing machine. He needs assistance to get dressed, although he has mastered the art of putting on a sock by using his other foot.

When he falls, which can be quite often, he cannot put his arms out to break the fall and so tends to hit the ground, injuring his head. He is incapable of getting back up by himself. Yet despite this, he has been assessed under PIP as being entitled to the standard mobility component, worth £21.80 a week, rather than the enhanced rate of £57.45.

Back in the 1980s, Spanswick was awarded higher-rate DLA for what he believed would be the rest of his days. “Up until then I had to keep having medicals, but the doctor said I obviously had a disability that was not going to get better and would only get worse –so they awarded me DLA for life,” he says.

Three years ago, however, the government began to roll out PIP as a replacement for DLA for people with a long-term health condition or disability. The reform meant compulsory testing regardless of previous lifetime DLA.

In December last year, the assessor, working for private contractor Atos, came to Spanswick’s house. “She filled in multiple-choice questions and asked me how far I could walk,” he recalls. “I have one leg shorter than the other, so it all depends. Cobbles are really hard and I can walk further if there are benches along the way so I can sit down and have a rest. These questions cannot be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.”

A few weeks later, on Christmas Eve, he was shocked to receive a letter saying he was eligible only for the standard mobility component. As a consequence, he has lost free car tax worth £515 a year for his vehicle and automatic entitlement to free parking. If he had run a car under the Motability scheme for disabled people, rather than his old, adapted 4×4, he would have had to forfeit that too. He asked for the mobility assessment to be reconsidered. At the end of February, he was informed that the decision had been upheld. He then lodged a formal appeal, but a tribunal has rejected his case.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman says PIP is a fairer and more objective system than DLA. “Decisions are made after consideration of all the evidence, including an assessment and information provided by the claimant and their GP”.
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Spanswick who still gets the higher-rate “daily living” component of PIP, worth £82.30 a week and receives an amount of compensation through the Thalidomide Trust that he prefers not to disclose, says he used to have faith in the system, but now feels “completely let down” and the victim of injustice. “I feel like they are treating me like a scrounger. These assessments try and pigeonhole you, but you can’t pigeonhole disabled people.”

His battle with the DWP has also brought back bad memories for Spanswick’s elderly father. “My father is so upset at this as he feels he had to fight for me when I was young for something that was caused by a drug company. Now I am having to fight all over again.”

Thalidomide: the facts

There are currently 465 thalidomiders on the books of the Thalidomide Trust, but people are still coming forward with potential cases – at an average rate of one a week over the past two years.

Deborah Jack, director of the trust, admits that even she is amazed. But she explains that people who were born with relatively limited physical disorders, and have been able to cope for more than 50 years, may now be struggling.

“One of the most common minor disabilities caused is absence of thumbs, or really tiny thumbs,” Jack says. “While you may have been able to manage with that, after all this time the strain of using your hands unnaturally to compensate starts to tell on your hands.”

By no means all claims for compensation are accepted after investigation. Many similar disabilities have other causes.

The trust administers investments of £130m provided by Diageo and a separate fund set up by the government in 2012, worth £80m in England over 10 years. Payments are made to thalidomiders according to the extent of their impairment.

SLL hosts Specialist Exercise Gym Equipment Open Day

September 14, 2016

by samedifference1

A press release:

On Thursday 22 September, SLL will be hosting a Specialist Exercise Gym Equipment Open Day at Stevenage Lifestyles.

We take it for granted that we can take part in our favourite activity whenever we want to, but for many people this is not possible. Medical conditions such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, spinal problems, obesity or injuries can result in a sedentary lifestyle where traditional exercise simply isn’t an option.

SLL is fundraising to purchase an Anti-Gravity Treadmill and a Functional Electronic Stimulation (FES) bike. This specialist equipment will be an asset to hundreds of people who suffer from various health problems, allowing them to exercise pain free or independently with confidence to improve their mental health. This equipment can only usually be accessed through a hospital, private physiotherapy or private sports clubs, making it very expensive for the user. As a registered charity, SLL is committed to offering affordable physical activity to all the community, and will make this equipment available as part of a concession priced Exercise Referral membership or pay as you go.

To show how this equipment could help many, SLL will be holding an Open Day for people to come and see or try the equipment. Enough funding has now been raised to purchase a FES Bike which will be available during the Open Day, and an Anti-Gravity Treadmill is on loan which will also be available for people to see or try. This Open Day is open to anyone, whether you are affected by a medical condition which restricts you from being active, or simply to observe the equipment in action and see how it will benefit many.

Local partners have been very generous in their support and funding for this equipment has been received from the Stevenage Community Trust, The Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and RAF Henlow. SLL has also received funding from a successful Big Lottery bid, bringing the total so far to just under £18,000. There is still some way to go to reach the target of £39,000 but we will not stop until we do!

The Open Day will take place on Thursday 22 September from 9am – 8pm at Stevenage Lifestyles, Stevenage Arts and Leisure Centre. The SLL Community Fund donation page is available at https://sll.charitycheckout.co.uk/. For more information or if you would like to attend the Open Day please email Juanita.prescott@sll.co.uk.

WCA Medics Warned By DWP “We Cannot Defend You” After Claimant Death Publicity

September 14, 2016

by samedifference1

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

Benefits and Work has obtained documents which show that the DWP failed to take steps to prevent further claimant deaths following a coroner’s warning in January 2014, in spite of agreeing to do so. However, the department flew into a panic 20 months later and tried to mount a cover-up when the coroner’s report was uncovered by a journalist.

Coroner’s warning discovered
In September 2015 campaigning journalist John Pring of the Disability News service revealed that a coroner had issued a prevention of future deaths warning following the death of claimant Michael O’Sullivan. The warning is issued where a coroner believes that more deaths may occur unless action is taken.

Michael O’Sullivan committed suicide in September 2013. He had been suffering from anxiety and depression for a number of years and had previously been in receipt of incapacity benefit. He applied for employment and support allowance (ESA) but was found fit for work and refused benefit.

In the report the coroner stated that:

“I found that the trigger for Mr O ’Sullivan’s suicide was his recent assessment by a DWP doctor as being fit for work .”

The Coroner went on to say that:

“During the course of the inquest , the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern. In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken . In the circumstances , it is my statutory duty to report to you [the DWP]. “

The matters of concern which the coroner set out were:.

“The DWP assessing doctor (who saw Mr O ’ Sullivan for a 90 minute consultation) did not take into account the views of any of Mr O’ Sullivan’s treating doctors, saying that the ultimate decision maker would do that.

“However, the ultimate decision maker (who is not, I understand, medically qualified) did not request and so did not see any reports or letters from Mr O’Sullivan’s general practitioner (who had assessed him as being unfit for work), his psychiatrist or his clinical psychologist.”

As a result of that warning the DWP admitted further medical evidence should have been requested in line with their policy and that they would ‘issue a reminder to staff about the guidance related to suicidal ideation that has been described in this report.’

The story received national coverage in newspapers as diverse as the Guardian and the Daily Mail.

Memo cover-up
However, when Benefits and Work attempted to obtain a copy of the reminder that had been sent out by the DWP, along with details of who it had been sent to and on what date, the DWP mounted a cover-up.

In their initial response the DWP simply directed us to the latest edition of the Work Capability Assessment Handbook issued to health professionals.

When we challenged this, the DWP pretended to misunderstand us and issued the same answer again.

We then took the issue to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The DWP ignored a deadline for a response to the ICO.

Just as the ICO was about to issue an information notice to the DWP, which legally obliges them to make a response, we received a reply from the DWP which stated:

“Under our records management policy internal memos must be retained for one year and so, due to the passage of time, we do not hold the information requested. However, to be helpful I can confirm that a reminder was sent out on 2 October 2015 which stated the following:

“The current filework guidelines are available in the knowledge library. Current version is 10 and it states: “Where there is evidence of a previous suicide attempt, suicidal ideation or self-harm expressed in the ESA50/ESA50A, the HCP must request FME.”

The 2^nd October 2015 was the week after press reports about Michael O’Sullivan appeared.

Benefits and Work pressed for further information and eventually, the DWP provided us with a copy of the memo of 2 October.

They insisted that the names of all the recipients should be removed, but the ICO ruled that one recipient, Angela Graham, was not a junior member of staff and could reasonably expect to be identified.

There is an Angela Graham who was clinical director for the WCA contract for Atos, who Disability News Service reports “claimed that claimants came into assessment centres with knives and “threaten to throw acid in the face of the receptionists”.

“There is no wriggle room here”
The memo, which appears to have been sent out by Maximus who took over the WCA from Atos in March 2015, is reproduced in full below.

It requires an email from every WCA health professional who examines claimants’ files to say they have read and understood it. It goes on to deal specifically with further medical evidence (FME) ‘in those indicating previous or potential self-harming behaviour in their ESA50/50A’:

“We have had two historical cases recently brought to our attention where we have been challenged regarding a decision not to request FME at the filework stage. In both of these cases there has ultimately been a tragic outcome. Whilst the outcome may or may not have occurred in any case, the facts remain, that at filework the practitioner has not followed guidance.

“The current filework guidelines are available in the knowledge library. Current version is 10 and it states

“Where there is evidence of a previous suicide attempt, suicidal ideation or self-harm expressed in the ESA50/ESA50A, the HCP must request FME.

“This is clear and unequivocal and has been in guidance since version 6 dated December 2010. There is no wriggle room here – you must request FME.

“If you follow the guidance then we can defend you should a tragic incident occur. If you do not follow the guidance we cannot.”

More cover-ups?
Here at Benefits and Work we have not the slightest doubt that no similar, earlier memo was sent out by the DWP as a result of the Michael O’Sullivan inquest. If health professionals had been required to send emails in 2014, there would have been no need for them to do so again.

The reality is much more likely to be that the DWP didn’t bother to take any action following the coroner’s warning, because the death of a claimant is not something that weighs heavily upon them. It was only when the press took up the story 20 months later that the DWP, panicking that they had been caught out, finally sent out a reminder to staff.

Just as the coroner feared, more lives are likely to have been lost as a result.

The question now is, will those responsible be made to pay the price or will there be more cover-ups and more “wriggle room” for the guilty parties?

THE MEMO IN FULL
From: (Withheld: Section 40(2) FOI Act)

Sent: 02 October 2015 13:29

To: (Withheld: Section 40(2) FOI Act) (Atoshealthcare)

Cc: (Withheld: Section 40(2) FOI Act) @maximusuk.co.uk’; (Withheld: Section 40(2) FOI Act) ‘Angela Graham’; (Withheld: Section 40(2) FOI Act)

Subject: Filework FME – IMPORTANT

Importance: High

Text below to go out to all filework practitioners immediately please.

As a business we require written confirmation from each practitioner that they have read and understood this. I suggest they each return an email to whoever can coordinate this in your unit. These records must be permanently kept in each unit. This is urgent and certainly by the end of next week we need a return from each CM that all bar the unavailable have confirmed read and understood. You also need to have a robust system in place to catch those who are currently off and any new filework practitioners you train in future.

All Filework Practitioners and those auditing or otherwise managing them MUST READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS.

FME in those indicating previous or potential self harming behaviour in their ESA50/50A.

We have had two historical cases recently brought to our attention where we have been challenged regarding a decision not to request FME at the filework stage. In both of these cases there has ultimately been a tragic outcome. Whilst the outcome may or may not have occurred in any case, the facts remain, that at filework the practitioner has not followed guidance.

The current filework guidelines are available in the knowledge library. Current version is 10 and it states

Where there is evidence of a previous suicide attempt, suicidal ideation or self-harm expressed in he ESA50/ESA50A, the HCP must request FME.

This is clear and unequivocal and has been in guidance since version 6 dated December 2010. There is no wriggle room here – you must request FME.

If you follow the guidance then we can defend you should a tragic incident occur. If you do not follow the guidance we cannot.

I am sure most people’s reaction will be that you all already do this. Unfortunately we have clear evidence where it has not occurred.

(Witheld: Section 40(2) FOI Act) | National Clinical Manager

Centre for Health and Disability Assessments

Cardiff ASC, Block 2, Government Buildings, Gabalfa, Cardiff, CF14 4YJ

MOB: (Witheld: Section 40(2) FOI Act) (Witheld: Section 40(2) FOI Act)

WEBSITE: www.chdauk.co.uk

Abnormally Funny People Paralympic Special- Review

September 14, 2016

by samedifference1

Abnormally Funny People are a troupe of disabled comedians. Their official website describes them as ‘a group of gifted standup comedians strutting their funny stuff.’ Yesterday, 13th September, and today, 14th September, they are doing two special shows at London’s Soho Theatre, to mark the 2016 Paralympics.

I had the pleasure of going to see last night’s show, in which four of the troupe’s members performed standup routines which focused heavily on disability, politics and disability politics.

Steve Day, who is deaf, opened the show. As he said, he thinks he is the only deaf standup comedian on the circuit- and if there are any others, he hasn’t heard! He also mentioned his friend and fellow Abnormally Funny People performer, Chris McCausland, who is blind. He said that he often gets asked if Chris McCausland is any good but he always responds “He’s never seen me and I’ve never heard him!”

Steve Day also talked about how he, along with Boris Johnson, hosted an event to mark the end of the London 2012 Paralympic torch relay. He described how he was asked to do a countdown to the end of the relay for the crowd, but Boris Johnson took this moment over!

Then came Don Biswas, who has dyspraxia and Asperger’s. His dyspraxia, he kept saying, makes him disorganised. His funniest joke was that he gets the refugee crisis, because his dad fled persecution in Asia in the 70s- but “my mum tracked him down!”

Laurence Clark, a wheelchair user with Cerebral Palsy, came next. He talked about his very successful BBC documentary from 2012, We Won’t Drop The Baby. The title, he said “was not my idea, I dropped him loads!” He mentioned his wife, Adele, but made it very clear he didn’t mean the singer! He also talked about his new show, Independence, saying that it has recently become topical- because of Brexit! In a moment that I, as someone with Cerebral Palsy, completely related to, he talked about how he wasted his youth trying to do shoelaces independently. He now has velcro shoes, but still has to waste his time doing buttons!

The final act, Liz Carr, talked more about disability politics and disability benefit cuts than the other acts. She also tried, unsuccessfully, not to mention her role as Clarissa in Silent Witness! She described how after one stand-up comedy show, someone told her about his dead brother who had spina bifida. She had a drink with the audience member and bought his dead brother’s wheelchair “for a song!”

The troupe’s ‘token non-disabled person,’ Steve Best, was around too, but Liz Carr kept shooing him off stage and even called him “brave” in a moment of sarcasm towards how disabled people are usually treated by people without disabilities!

The part of the evening that I, personally, found least funny was the improvisation segment, in which all four acts got together to describe a made up sport.

I spent so much of the evening laughing that the show’s 75 minutes flew by. I barely even noticed that Liz Carr and Laurence Clark performed their stand up comedy routines sitting down!

This is the second Abnormally Funny People show I’ve seen live. I’m already looking forward to seeing another one. I do think the troupe should consider changing their name, though. The first part of it, that is. They are certainly all funny people- but there is nothing abnormal about their comedy.

#ToyLikeMe Launch Website Featuring World’s Largest Range of Deaf Toys as Tinkerbelle gets a 3D Printed Cochlear Implant!

September 13, 2016

by samedifference1

A press release:

After successfully crowd funding earlier this year #ToyLikeMe launch website hub to connect customers with products which represent diff:ability and continue their call on the global toy industry to better represent 150 million children worldwide with disability and difference.

The website, which launches as the Rio Paralympics is in full swing, features images of #ToyLikeMe’s signature makeovers such as Hulk with a hearing aid and Storm Trooper with a prosthetic blade, as well as the world’s largest collection of deaf toys with hearing aids and cochlear implants available to buy, thanks to the power of 3D printing. Yes, characters including Tinkerbelle, Paw Patrol’s Ryder and Frozen’s Kristoff have all made it to the front of the audiology waiting list!

“We’re turning triple dipple somersaulty backflips of happiness to launch toylikeme.org, ” says Rebecca Atkinson, the UK journalist and creative consultant behind #ToyLikeme. “ We ’ve scoured the internet looking for products which represent diff:ability. Now for the first time ever, parents and carers can find them all in one place.”

Atkinson, who is herself partially deaf and partially sighted, established the #ToyLikeMe ‘toy box revolution’ in April 2015 to call on the global toy industry to positively represent 150 million disabled children worldwide. With over 40k followers in 45 countries, and fans including Stephen Merchant, Julia Donaldson and Katie Piper, Atkinson hopes the unique celebratory approach taken by #ToyLikeMe will help bust pervasive stereotypes and inspire change in the way that diff:abilty is presented to children, both diff:abled and otherwise.

“It’s time diff:ability got a creative airing,” says Atkinson. “For too long diff:abled people have been portrayed in an unimaginative and boring light in the toy box. Wheelchairs are nearly always in the hospital sets and usually grey . At #ToyLikeMe we aim to use creativity to push the aesthetics of disability into the modern times and shake out the dust !” #ToyLikeMe hope that the products featured on toylikeme.org will be enjoyed by all children, not just those with diff:abilities themselves.

“ Harper Beckham who was recently snapped with a toy wheelchair has shown that ALL children can enjoy playing with diff:abled toy ,” says Atkinson. Recent research by academic Sian Jones at Goldsmith University’s Psychology Department has also found that non-diff:abled children are more open to forming friendships with diff:abled classmates after playing with wheelchair toys.

Universal Credit promotion continuing and DWP involvement with The Poverty Agenda Group Oldham And Tameside.

September 13, 2016

by samedifference1

The poor side of life

Well, well well it seems that the DWP aren’t giving up as Teresa May suggested. My instincts were right in thinking that they would continue the planned roll out, after all they had just employed new staff especially for this purpose at a Jobcentre in a nearby town.

Today I received a rather interesting email. It was from an organisation called Greater Manchester Poverty Action. They work closely alongside several networks and organisations to provide resources and help to raise awareness, and to also provide practical help to those living in poverty across the Greater Manchester area.

In this email that was sent out, it included a selection of roll out tools for the promotion of Universal credit.

Now I found this extremely interesting as Universal credit has been proven to not make work pay. The waiting time for a Universal Credit claim to be processed at its quickest is…

View original post 536 more words

CP Athlete Robyn Lambird Stars In Sportswear Ad Campaign

September 12, 2016

by samedifference1

A 19-year-old athlete with cerebral palsy wants to challenge perceptions of disabled people by appearing in a sportswear advertising campaign.

Robyn Lambird, who was born in England and moved to Australia when she was nine, is able to walk but sometimes needs a crutch or walking stick.

She also uses a wheelchair when her symptoms become too painful.

“As a person, I am not only disabled. I am a woman, I am a creator, and I am an athlete,” she said.

She’s a competitive wheelchair racer and hopes to take part in her first World Championship in London next year.

And now she’s added modelling to her CV, after appearing in Target’s new spring campaign catalogue, believed to be the first campaign by a major Australian retailer to feature a disabled adult.

She posted on Facebook, “Such an awesome step forward for disability ad inclusion and diversity.

“This isn’t about seeing past disability; it’s about accepting people who have them.”

Robyn got involved with the campaign through her work as an ambassador for the Starting with Julius organisation, which aims to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in the media.

“I’m so proud to be apart of Target Australia’s push for greater diversity and the inclusion of people living with disabilities in mainstream advertising.”

SNP Calls On Theresa May To Scrap The ESA WRAG Cuts

September 12, 2016

by samedifference1

THERESA May is facing calls from the SNP to shelve “devastating” cuts to welfare payments for disabled and sick people who are unable to work.

Tory ministers plan to slash Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) by £30 a week for those who are in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG).

The payments for sick and disabled claimants in that category go from £102.15 to £73.10 from April 2017 – equal to jobseeker’s allowance – if they are deemed fit for “work-related activity”.

However, SNP MP Neil Gray has written to the Prime Minister, calling for her to “scrap the expectant arbitrary cut to payments”, which he claimed would damage the health of vulnerable claimants.

Gray, the SNP’s spokesperson for Fair Work and Employment at Westminster, challenged May to deliver on her pledges to fight “burning injustice” and take on the “privileged few”, made in her first speech after she entered 10 Downing Street in July. In his letter warning the PM about the consequences of the cuts, Gray said the welfare changes would push vulnerable people into dire poverty, as he cited a survey showing that some claimants were struggling to survive on their existing benefits.

Gray said: “Theresa May must live up to her rhetoric on social justice and inequality instead of ploughing forward with devastating cuts to support for people who have been deemed unable to work by her own government.

“Far from acting as an incentive for disabled people and those suffering from ill health, this arbitrary cut of £30 a week is more likely to push people into hardship – it is only by tackling the barriers facing people with additional needs we can truly help disabled people and those with ill health back to work.

“Tory backbenchers were promised support for disabled people in the still pending Work and Health programme. It’s time Theresa May sent a clear message that the rights of the sick and disabled people will be protected by her Government.

“The SNP Scottish Government announced new employability support programmes for disabled people with respect and dignity at their core – but with 85 per cent of welfare spending still in the hands of the increasingly right-wing Tories at Westminster, the SNP will continue to put pressure on the UK Government to reverse the damage done by their regressive social policies to the most disadvantaged in Scotland.

“It is time for Theresa May to admit that Iain Duncan Smith got it badly wrong with his welfare reforms and to abandon their ideological commitment to austerity. The new Prime Minister must immediately scrap the cuts to ESA WRAG before even more damage is done to the lives of people who are disabled and sick.”

The plea to May to abandon the cuts comes after the SNP’s social justice policy team at Westminster held talks in Edinburgh with disability organisations to gather their views on Tory changes to welfare support.

In his letter to the PM, Gray said: “This cut takes no account of the actual ability of sick and disabled people to work. I note your pledge in your inaugural speech to fight ‘burning injustice’ and take on the ‘privileged few’. These words are encouraging, however they must translate into action.

“It would send a clear message that your Government is committed to social justice and ending inequality by abandoning these devastating cuts to support for people who have been deemed unable to work by your government.”

Gray highlighted a survey from the the Disability Benefits Consortium to the PM which found that seven out of ten disabled people said that a cut in ESA would cause their health to suffer, with a third saying that they couldn’t afford to eat on the current amount they receive.

However, a spokesperson from the UK Government’s Department for Work and Pensions said: “These changes are about ensuring that people with potential for work aren’t trapped on welfare benefits. Nobody currently on ESA or those with the most severe disabilities is affected by these changes.”

The spokesperson added that the Scottish Government “now controls over £14 billion of income tax and welfare spending and has significant powers to create new benefits”.

Mo Stewart On The ‘Killer’ Political Policy- Disregarding Diagnosis

September 12, 2016

by samedifference1

The Comedian’s Autistic Son

September 12, 2016

by samedifference1

Like anyone else engaged in his peculiarly brutal trade, standup comedian John Williams is “used to dying on stage”. Over the years he has developed a thicker skin, but one gig – his worst ever – will never be forgotten. In fact the impact of an audience so utterly not amused inspired an entirely new show.

Four years ago John was booked for a corporate gig at a London comedy club. He decided to try some new material, inspired by family life. “The comedian before me talked about his family. Lots of standups talk about their kids. I wanted to talk about mine too.”

The audience stopped laughing when John mentioned that his son has autism. “The reaction was hideous,” he says. “One bloke came up at the end and asked if what I’d said was real. When I said it was he just shook his head and walked off. The attitude was, ‘We’ve come for a night out, we didn’t want this.’”

John concluded that he had perhaps been a bit naive, but also felt angry that his son’s disability seemed to render him unmentionable. There was no intention to shock. “I thought there must be a way to talk about my child without that response.”

The result was My Son’s Not Rainman, an hour-long show and accompanying blog, about his then 12-year-old son and their life together.

A success at the Edinburgh fringe 2013, My Son’s Not Rainman continues to tour Britain – “very slowly” as John, a single father, arranges his childcare. This month, John’s book of the same name, which is inspired by the success of the show and his blog, is published.

I had to lay the groundwork that all this comes from a place of love. People need to know that it’s OK to laugh

Although John has a significant following among other parents of children with autism and those working in the field (he has spoken at events with the National Autistic Society and in many special schools), he does not want to be portrayed as any sort of expert. “I can’t possibly be, given how the one condition affects so many people in such hugely different ways. All I can ever tell is our story.”

He hopes people will understand his son – and in turn others who are different – a little better, and he wants to dispel a few myths.

“The thing is that we only really celebrate disability when there’s a skill involved. Take the Paralympics, incredible as they are, they’re all about strength, courage and bravery. All I really wanted to do was to celebrate the smallness of it all, of just being in the world without justification. There’s joy in the little things … and humour and laughter.”

Clearly, life is not always easy, but John is not inviting pity. “Perhaps before they hear our story people assume our life is a misery. My point is that there is lots of joy. My son is brilliant. We make each other laugh, with or without his diagnosis. I want others to see that.

“I hate the idea that people will take what I’m saying as worthy or twee,” says John. Even more critical, though, is that it is never exploitative. “That is always in my mind, it’s my filter. What kind of dad would I be otherwise?”

In writing the show and then the book, working out what to include and exclude was difficult. “It felt right, but terrifying. I don’t believe jokes need a target, but comedy seems to have gone a bit that way,” says John. (Frankie Boyle famously achieved both a sell-out tour and widespread disgust with his jokes about autism.) “I’m not interested in offending anyone.

“I had to lay the groundwork that all this comes from a place of love, to make clear that I care for this boy more than anything in the world. Without that it would just be picking on a kid. That wouldn’t be funny. People need to know that it’s OK to laugh.”

John creates this starting point by guarding his son’s privacy, naming him simply The Boy – “It’s what he wanted to be called” – and deeming certain aspects of his life off limits, puberty for instance, and by including him in putting the show together. There are graphics sequences and voiceovers that father and son produce together. “He likes the idea of being the star of the show.” John is introduced in a recording by his son: “Ladies and gentleman, please welcome to the stage, my funny dad.” (He insists the adjective was inserted unexpectedly by The Boy.) “I wanted the audience to connect with him, and I love hearing his voice when I’m on stage,” says John.

He is conscious that he must not become complacent in protecting The Boy’s privacy. “He is getting older. He knows what I am doing and I read him all the blog posts, we have a chat about what the audience were like after each show and his input has been hugely important to the book. But I have to be confident it won’t embarrass or hurt him later.

Using comedy lets people get as far as seeing the child inside without being distracted by behaviour

“He will always be more than any of it. If he wakes up one day and says he doesn’t like it then it will all go.”

The Boy has seen bits of the show and heard the whole thing on the radio, but when he was asked if he’d like to sit through a whole show, his only comment was, “One hour. Boring.”

“It has improved the wider family’s relationships with The Boy. Using comedy lets people get as far as seeing the child inside without being distracted by behaviour.”

Challenging behaviour is something that John doesn’t shy away from, but the humour never comes at The Boy’s expense. “We are actually laughing at people’s perceptions of disabilities.” John recounts the change he and The Boy – who also has cerebral palsy – encounter when he occasionally uses a wheelchair.

“Suddenly I’m pushing round Mother Teresa,” says John.

A trip to play crazy golf saw them insistently ushered to the front of the queue by other families. The reaction when The Boy then rose from his chair to take a shot verged on disgust. “It was excruciating. I knew how it was going to go. Basically, people want full paralysis or nothing at all.”

As well as challenging attitudes, John’s work also proclaims the value of children with disabilities “just being themselves”. We should be able to celebrate people’s quirks and differences, without having to define them by labels, he says.

In a favourite reminiscence, he shares his experience of taking The Boy to the disco at a special school he attended in the past.

There are stereotypes – the child with ADHD energetically DJing, another with OCD checking hand hygiene in the toilet, someone else counting the sprinkles on the cupcakes – and one Edinburgh fringe reviewer considered the material “dodgy”. Yet, says John, parents and teachers of children with disabilities always tell him how much they love this story. It was also featured on Radio 4 as one of journalist Robert Peston’s Picks of the Year 2015. “It is all true. It was a room full of people who just didn’t give a shit what people thought. I’ve always been a bit of a try-hard people pleaser and for me to see these children simply doing precisely what they wanted at that precise moment was such an eye opener. If you have actually experienced that you see how magical it is.”

It is great to get letters saying I love your son. Having a child with a disability can be isolating

John considers himself a better father for doing the show and the blog. “It encourages me to let go a little, to see the funny side and also think more about why my son might do certain things.”

Naturally, says John, he also basks in the affection of audiences and blog followers – he’s had more than a million hits to date. “When you’ve spent your life with people constantly finding the negative and never looking past it to see just how brilliant he is inside, it is great to get letters saying I love your son. Having a child with a disability can be isolating. Having that recognition and understanding for both of us has been incredibly encouraging.”

His ultimate dream would be to perform together with his son. “He has a fantastic sense of humour. It’s my very favourite thing about him.”

A few years ago John was asked to play Father Christmas at the children’s respite centre where he used to work. He agreed – and then realised he would have to take The Boy along. An elf costume was cobbled together.

“He insisted on calling me daddy, giving his opinion on everyone’s Christmas wishlist and chucking a gift at them with the words, ‘It’s a selection box. They’re all the same.’

“We had a brilliant time.”

Belgian Paralympian Marieke Vervoort Is Not Ready To End Her Life

September 12, 2016

by samedifference1

The Belgian Paralympian Marieke Vervoort, who suffers from an incurable degenerative muscle disease, says she will choose euthanasia, but not yet.

The wheelchair racer, who won a silver medal on Saturday in the 400m, said she signed euthanasia papers in 2008.

The Belgian press had reported she might take her life after Rio, but she rejected the speculation at a news conference following her victory.

She said she was “still enjoying every little moment”.

“When the moment comes when I have more bad days than good days, then I have my euthanasia papers, but the time is not there yet,” she told journalists in Rio.

Euthanasia is legal in Belgium.

The 37-year-old suffers from a degenerative muscle disease that causes constant pain, seizures, paralysis in her legs and leaves her barely able to sleep.

She was just 14 when the diagnosis was made and gradually her life became “a constant battle”.

In spite of it, she achieved a distinguished career in wheelchair racing, winning 100m gold and 200m silver in the 2012 London Olympics, and now a silver medal in Rio.

But the punishing training schedule is proving too hard. This was her last Paralympics, she confirmed, making her Rio achievement bitter-sweet.

“It’s a feeling of ‘Yes, I won a silver medal'”, she told the BBC , “But there is also another side to the medal, the side of suffering and of saying goodbye to the sport. Because I love the sport, sport is my life.”

The possibility of euthanasia gave her the courage to keep going as long as she has, she says, adding that Euthanasia must not be characterised as “murder.”

“It gives a feeling of rest to people,” she says. “I know when it’s enough for me, I have those papers.”

National campaign encourages more disabled people to be active

September 12, 2016

by samedifference1

A press release:

The Together We Will campaign looks to address the low number of disabled people who regularly take part in sport or exercise as highlighted in the most recent Sport England Active People Survey.

Results show that disabled people are half as likely to be active as non-disabled people. As one in five people in England have an impairment or long-term health condition, disabled people are a large proportion of everyone’s community. However, research highlights often disabled people do not find the opportunities accessible or appealing enough, or do not know where to go to find the right information.

Other insight shows that disabled people are keen to involve family and friends when being active and do not necessarily take part with just other disabled people. Fun is also highlighted as a key motivator for disabled people to be active.

Eight National Disability Sports Organisations (NDSOs) are working together with the English Federation of Disability Sport to deliver the campaign, with backing from Sport England.

The Together We Will campaign shares first-hand experiences from people with different impairments or health conditions, about why being active is important to them. It also brings together useful information and support from the NDSOs on how and where you can begin getting active.

These stories all share a common theme – how being active has supported them to be healthier and stronger, while having fun along the way. NDSOs and EFDS will share disabled people’s experiences of sport and exercise, so others can learn more from the information and make choices about the activities they want to try.

Well-known actor, Will Mellor, is one of those championing the three-month campaign. He is extremely passionate about ensuring more opportunities exist for disabled people. With lived experience of disabled people in his family, Will wants to help make a difference and spread the Together We Will message. He is joining in the campaign by raising awareness of the opportunities and organisations that can support disabled people to be more active.

The eight NDSOs are British Blind Sport, Cerebral Palsy Sport, Dwarf Sports Association UK, LimbPower, Mencap, Special Olympics Great Britain, UK Deaf Sport and WheelPower.

Each NDSO plays a valuable role in providing accessible opportunities and support for disabled people. The Together We Will campaign will help direct disabled people, their friends, family and supporters, to the recognised NDSOs for more guidance and information about being active.

Speaking about the campaign, Will Mellor said:

“I’m proud to be part of this campaign which helps to encourage disabled people to be more active. It’s about everyone coming together to have fun and become healthier.

“My sister had Marfan’s syndrome which affected her physically as well as with her learning. She sadly passed away in 2013, but I recall fondly how much we loved being active as a family together. Therefore, I’m really looking forward to meeting our ambassadors and hearing their stories. We can all make a positive change and support more people to reap the benefits of an active lifestyle.”

Lisa O’Keefe, Director of Insight of Sport England, on behalf of all the campaign partners, said:

“We know that disabled people are half as likely to be active as non-disabled people. The National Disability Sports Organisations work with the sector to provide opportunities for a range of impairment groups to address this issue and encourage inactive people to get in to sport and physical activity.

“That’s why campaigns, like Together We Will, are so important. We need to put people and what they want and need at the very heart of everything we do. That includes supporting people to get active in places where they want to take part, in activities they want do and with people they want to be active with.
“We’re really excited about this campaign and are looking forward to working with all the National Disability Sports Organisations to help more disabled people to get active this summer.”

The campaign will run from July to September, as the nation embraces a summer of sport.

Activity organisers and providers can be involved in Together We Will. Encourage disabled people to take part in your events and share the local support available to disabled people looking to be more active on social media using #TogetherWeWill.

For more information about Together We Will and support on how you can be more active, visit the joint campaign page www.efds.co.uk/together.

Join the conversation on social media using #TogetherWeWill and share your personal stories and photos of being active this summer.

Nightclub Turns Away 19 Year Old Woman With CP

September 10, 2016

by samedifference1

A teenager with cerebral palsy was left in tears after being refused entry to Visions Video Bar in Dalston, east London, last week by a manager and two security staff because of her condition.

Katouche Goll, 19, told BuzzFeed News that she was turned away as part of the club’s policy not to let disabled people into the venue for health and safety reasons.

Goll has lived with cerebral palsy – which affects mobility and coordination – since birth and needs to use two canes or crutches to get around when she’s outside her home.

Goll arrived at the nightclub on Friday night just before 11:30pm. She said the bouncers initially mistook her for a passer-by. “They thought I was trying to get past them to continue down the street, but I explained to them that I was here to come to Visions,” she said.

“At first they asked me whether I was sure I wanted to go inside… and then they said something along the lines of ‘We’re sorry, but you can’t come in with your crutches because the venue is inaccessible for you.’”

After several attempts to negotiate her way into the venue, the history student at SOAS, University of London, said she was eventually turned away.

“I went to a nightclub the night before, I have stairs in my house, I went to [Notting Hill] carnival on Monday, I lived by myself at university, I do everything for myself,” she said.

“The manager was very dismissive and told me that after having [staff] meetings they’ve decided that it’s part of their policy not to let disabled people into the venue as they can’t guarantee their safety.”

By law, venues are required to make reasonable changes or adjustments to ensure they are accessible to disabled people under the Equality Act.

In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Visions manager Gianno Parris said that allowing Goll inside the venue “was considered too great a safety risk for all in attendance including her”. He also said that disabled people are required to notify the club in advance.

“Safety is the magic word that rests on the mind of every well-run licensed venue. Especially in times like these where London’s nightlife is under attack,” he said.

“If someone has a disability which inhibits their movement or the movement of those in close proximity, it’s important that we are notified in advance so that we can make adequate preparations and where possible nullify any hazards.”

However, Goll said that her condition means that she plans ahead before going anywhere. She said she had called the nightclub several times earlier that day, but had no response.

Goll also said she had previously checked the club’s website, but found no specific information about policies relating to disabled people not being able to access the venue. A Visions spokesperson told BuzzFeed News: “Katouche was in contact with us throughout the day on Facebook and did not mention her condition.”

Parris said that the venue’s security had considered whether they could make an exception for Goll. “After observing her navigate the pavement and taking into consideration the capacity of the venue at time, potential alcohol consumption and the steep staircase leading down into the basement, it was considered too great a safety risk for all in attendance including her,” he said.

Goll, who arrived at the club alone, said she found the experience very distressing and upsetting. And although she said people who witnessed the incident in the queue were supportive, there was nothing they could do to change the manager’s decision not to allow her entry. “It was very disheartening…I don’t normally cry but I started to cry. I just left eventually,” she said.

“Cerebral palsy is a condition I was born with, so I fully understand my capabilities – they were turning me away because they thought they knew my condition more than me… This is what happens when you’re disabled: People always think they know better than you about the things you want.”

After she shared her story on social media, Goll said, some people showed no sympathy and continued to tell her that the club made the decision for her own good.

She was upset by the way some people responded, but not surprised. “I know that clubs in London are inaccessible, and I understand that it’s a problem,” she said. “But in the meantime I refuse to be deprived of that aspect of my social life because of it.”

Philip Connolly, a spokesperson for the charity Disability Rights UK, told BuzzFeed News that disabled people have the same rights to enjoy themselves as everyone else.

“It’s surely time the club trained its security staff to host disabled customers instead of asking them to leave,” he said.

“Disabled people have the same rights to enjoy themselves as anyone else. Nightclubs cannot provide a less favourable service to disabled customers than anyone else. To do so is likely to be direct discrimination.”

Job Opportunities- Physically Disabled Woman Seeking New PAs

September 10, 2016

by samedifference1

These adverts are being posted on behalf of Sapna Ramnani, a friend of Same Difference. Please share this post as widely as possible.

1) Part-time carer wanted: Weekend mornings

Part-time female support worker needed for physically disabled PhD student.
I am a physically disabled female student and live in a friendly and relaxed, informal home with my family in Wembley just a few minutes walk from bus stops and tube station (Preston Road area). I am looking for a carer who can help with personal care (e.g. getting out of bed, showering, getting ready for the day and some domestic tasks).
Timings: 8:00am to 11am on Saturdays and Sundays. £10 per hour. Previous experience not required since training will be provided. Please contact me if you would like to discuss the positions informally (07988863672 or email pa.applications2016@gmail.com)

National Insurance number and references are essential.
Reliability, punctuality and a view to long term commitment is essential.
These jobs are exempt from the Equality Act of 2010.

2) Vibrant woman who works in a creative profession seeks a new Carer/ PA to add to her team. I am a physically disabled (wheelchair user) female postgraduate student. I am looking for a female Carer/Personal Assistant to work Tuesdays from 1pm to 7pm and Wednesdays from 11am to approximately 10pm. There may be opportunities to work more hours than specified here on a long term basis.

I am looking for someone to physically assist me with daily tasks and independent living. This is a real opportunity to assist someone to live their life the way they want, and we should develop a good, friendly, working relationship. The whole point of this job is that you do the things I need help with so that I can live life in the same way that anyone else does. This fun and rewarding work requires someone to help me with going out and maintaining my independence, accompanying me to events, physically assisting me to meet friends, physically assisting me with reading, researching, recreation and helping me physically to participate in my personal life. This position also involves personal care and may involve basic use of computers for routine tasks (e.g. checking email).”

Skills and experience required :
The ability to communicate well is important , must have basic computer skills and a good telephone manner. All backgrounds will be considered.

National Insurance Number and references are essential. Prior experience of disability is not necessary as training will be given.

Please send a letter explaining why you are suitable for this post, and include your mobile number so that in the event that your background is suitable, I can call you to arrange an interview.

Only successful applicants will be contacted for a possible interview. Please send your CV and cover letter to pa.applications2016@gmail.com

‘Dramatic Drop’ In Support Group Acceptance Says Fightback

September 9, 2016

by samedifference1

Truth AMW- The First Disabled Rapper To Play Bestival

September 8, 2016

by samedifference1

Truth AMW will become the first disabled rapper to perform at Bestival at the weekend.

James Ellis, 25, was born with cerebral palsy and has been given a slot at the annual festival on the Isle of Wight.

“Honestly speaking, I never thought it would happen,” he tells Newsbeat as he rehearses from his house in Nottingham.

He was given the opportunity by the founder of the festival, Rob da Bank, after he saw a video of Ellis.

That came when charity Fixers got involved with James and his passion to perform his music more widely.

“I was born with cerebral palsy,” he says. “It means my limbs are quite stiff and it decreases my mobility.

“I’ve never let anything hold me back in life. I went to university and am now pursuing a career in music.”

He says he doesn’t want to be “boastful” but plans to put on a show “that Bestival won’t forget”.

“My lyrics have to be on point I can’t miss a beat. My flow’s going to have to be on point too.”

He’s performing on the Big Top stage, the festival’s second largest.

It means he will be on the bill at Bestival alongside acts like Major Lazer, Wiz Khalifa and Sean Paul.

He says he has one message for people who will go to watch him perform.

“Look at me and think he’s a rapper. Then if they think ‘oh by the way he’s in a wheelchair’ afterwards, then my job is done.”

James Ellis was brought up on a diet of soul music in America by his mother.

He moved to the UK when he was 12 and says Dizzee Rascal’s Boy in da Corner was a massive influence.

“That album gave me an insight into what London life was like. I thought if he could do that in an album, then maybe I could put across what my life was like through music.”

He says Wretch 32, Akala and Tupac Shakur were all big influences on his life too.

James and his girlfriend Sarah had their child together, Amira, in November 2015.

The pair had their baby despite both having cerebral palsy and concern from doctors.

“I was prepared to do it [have a baby] because I felt as though all a child needs is love.

“That was the one thing I knew for sure I could give, regardless of what anyone said.”

He says one of his biggest influences is his family, especially his mother.

She brought him up as a single mother in the 1990s.

“She is the reason why I have to push and be the best that I can be.”

Maltesers Paralympic Adverts On Channel 4

September 8, 2016

by samedifference1

Last night, during the Paralympics opening ceremony, Channel 4 launched the new Maltesers adverts- ‘Look on the Light Side of Disability.’

There are three of them. Theo’s Dog is only in Sign Language:

Same Difference really likes this one. It is quite possibly the first and only advert in the UK to be created only in Sign Language. An original idea. We really like original ideas.

Then there is Dance Floor, which shows a wheelchair user talking about dancing at a wedding:

Our favourite by far, though, is New Boyfriend:

It stars one of our editor’s favourite actresses, Storme Toolis, talking about a naughty moment with her new boyfriend.

Same Difference thanks Maltesers and Channel 4 for all three adverts, but particularly for New Boyfriend. We hope that this little 30 second advert will add to a very important discussion- a discussion about disabled people having romantic and sexual relationships with partners of their own choice.

We’ve been saying for a very long time that it is about time that more non disabled people realised that disabled people have sex, too. So we’re pleased to see that fact put out there in such a light, fun way. By a very popular brand that everyone’s heard of, no less.

We’re pleased to see the launch of New Boyfriend being covered in the Mirror, too.

We’ll definitely be buying Maltesers for a long time to come!

Belgian Paralympian Considering Euthanasia After Rio 2016

September 8, 2016

by samedifference1

Belgian Paralympic champion Marieke Vervoort has mixed feelings about Rio. She is aiming for gold to add to her medal haul, but when the Games end, she is considering coming home to plan her funeral.

The wheelchair sprinter, 37, who will compete in the 100m and 200m sprints in the coming weeks, has described victory in Rio as her “last wish” before she returns home to considers taking her own life.

She won gold in the 100m sprint in her T52 class, and silver in the 200m at London four years ago, but she suffers from an incurable degenerative disease and is now considering euthanasia, which has been legal in Belgium since 2002.

Hopes for gold

“I want everyone to have a glass of champagne in hand, and a thought for me,” she told French newspaper Le Parisien. “I have started thinking about euthanasia.”

She added: “Everybody sees me laugh with my gold medal, but no one sees the dark side.”

In the lead-up to Rio, Vervoort had said that growing health conferences meant the competition in Rio would be her farewell to paralympic sport, but had struggled with the decision of whether or not to take her own life.

She told the newspaper: “I suffer greatly, sometimes sleeping only ten minutes a night – and still go for the gold. Rio is my last wish. I train very hard even if I have to fight day and night against my illness. I hope to finish my career on a podium in Rio.”

Vervoort will begin her 2016 Paralympics with the T52 400m event on Friday night. She begins her 100m title defence next Friday morning.

She added that she will then “see what life brings” and insisted she will continue to “try and enjoy the best moments”.

A hard struggle

However a combination of fatigue from sleepless nights and the agony of her condition means Vervoort faints regularly at home, woken only by her dog licking her face.

Vervoort has made no final decision over euthanasia, she told the French newspaper, but has drawn up a “bucket list” of events and activities to enjoy before she dies.

On her website, the athlete writes regular diary updates for her fan, many of which had focused on her health.

In July, she wrote: “When I sit in my racing chair, everything disappears. I expel all the dark thoughts, I fight fear, sadness, suffering, frustration. That’s how I won the gold medals.”

On The Eve Of The Paralympics, Our Editor Calls For #RightsAndGames

September 7, 2016

by samedifference1

A personal opinion on the Paralympics:

There are some very respected disability campaigners who this week are protesting against the Paralympics because they would rather have rights for disabled people, and disability benefits, than the Games.

I completely understand the point these campaigners are making. However, I strongly believe that all disabled people should be fully supported to do anything they find interesting. Personally, I’m no Paralympian, but if, for you, that’s Paralympic sport, I’ll gladly sit on the edge of my sofa cheering you on.

All I will ask in return is that when you come home, you use your high profile to fight for improvements in the lives of the whole disability community.

On the eve of the Paralympics, I call for #RightsandGames.

I wish all the Paralympians lots of fun, friendship, safety and success. May the fastest wheelchair (or blade) win!

The Importance Of Asking For A Copy Of The Assessor’s Report

September 7, 2016

by samedifference1

The New PIP Renewal Forms Are Being Checked By Medically Unqualified DMs

September 6, 2016

by samedifference1

What To Have With You When Filling Out A PIP Form

September 6, 2016

by samedifference1

Two out of three people with MS live in an area with a shortage of MS nurses

September 6, 2016

by samedifference1

A press release:

Today the MS Trust launches its #No1alone campaign to fund new specialist nurses across the UK and ensure no one has to manage MS alone

A new report from the MS Trust has found that 64 per cent of people living with MS in the UK – around 68,000 people – live in an area there aren’t enough MS nurses to provide vital care and support.

Without this specialist care, people with MS can feel left to manage an unpredictable and sometimes devastating disease by themselves. This is why the MS Trust is launching a campaign to fund new nurses and to make sure no one has to manage MS alone.

The MS Trust study found that there are worrying variations in support across the UK. Almost 1 in 4 people with MS live in areas where the nurses have to care for twice the recommended numbers. Not having the right care and support when they need it can have serious consequences for the health of people with MS.

Liz Watson a MS Specialist Nurse covering the Bradford district said: “There are approximately 800 people with MS that I see from Bradford, so my active caseload at any time is around about a quarter of that, 200 patients at a time. The work done by the MS Trust has identified that as a specialist nurse a manageable caseload is 358 patients – I have more than double that number of patients in my caseload.

This results in patients getting a watered down service due to me splitting my time equitably amongst all of those patients. It sometimes means that response time to phone calls is longer than it should be and the waits at clinics should be shorter.”

MS Trust research has shown that MS nurses are absolutely crucial for the health and wellbeing of people with MS. They often work with people from the moment of diagnosis, throughout their lives with MS, providing expert information and support in making choices, particular about MS drugs.

With obvious strain on the NHS, MS specialist services are often not a priority. So the MS Trust is addressing this problem by launching its #No1alone campaign to fund new specialist nurses. They have mapped services across the UK and highlighted the areas in greatest need. Now they are going to fund, train and support new MS nurses to make a difference for thousands of people living with MS today.

People living with MS across the UK are facing difficulties when it comes to accessing a specialist MS nurse. The areas in greatest need of MS nurses include:

• North-West England

• London

• Southern Scotland

• Leicestershire

• North Wales

• Teeside

• West Yorkshire

Amy Bowen, Director of Service Development at the MS Trust said: ““At the MS Trust we believe that MS nurses play a vital role in helping people deal with the shock of diagnosis and can help them adjust to, and manage, a full life with MS.

“The dangerous lack of specialist nurses can have grave consequences for people with MS. They may have to rely on nonspecialist support for what is a highly complex disease. And they may have to resort to using A&E services if their symptoms become worse.”

Today the MS Trust launches its #No1alone campaign to bring more MS nurses to the areas of greatest need. In 2017 they will fund three new MS nurses to provide life changing support for thousands of people living MS. In the coming years, they plan to fund even more MS nurses to make sure that everybody living with MS can access the best possible care, and no one has to manage MS alone.

Thursdays demo. “You saved my life and didn’t even realise it”

September 5, 2016

by samedifference1

The poor side of life

I honestly didn’t think that we would still be stood outside Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre over two years after making the decision to be a solid presence there. I can’t stress too much how heart breaking it can be at times. I don’t think that anyone could perceive the horrors that still continue happening inside that building. I do feel that its reputation of being one of the worst Jobcentres in the country is very well earned.

As you may know we now hand out food parcels that are donated to us from a lovely lady nearby who helps the homeless in my area, and we also get food parcels donated from friends, members of the public and even MPs on occasion. That was a lovely surprise. These food parcels have become essential because we now have claimants that depend on them every week to keep going.

For example the…

View original post 1,027 more words

Theresa May Refuses To Rule Out More Welfare Cuts In Run Up To Brexit

September 5, 2016

by samedifference1

Theresa May will not rule out delivering yet more brutal welfare cuts if the economy suffers a Brexit nosedive.

The new Prime Minister refused to offer any guarantees that she will not again take the axe to struggling families’ benefits if more Whitehall savings are needed in the coming months – despite the relentless Tory attacks on welfare since 2010.

And it comes after the previous Chancellor George Osborne announced in March that he had ‘no further plans to make welfare savings’ before the 2020 general election.

Asked by the Mirror if she will stick to that promise, Mrs May replied: “We are continuing the plans we have as a Government.

“Obviously we have to look and see what happens in the economy and how the economy does start to move – if there is any further movement post the Brexit result.

“We’ve got the plans that are there at the moment. Obviously anyone will be looking very carefully at how the economic situation pans out.”

Mr Osborne’s replacement as Chancellor Philip Hammond has already warned he may have to ‘reset’ the Government’s tax-and-spend policy if the economy starts to tank this autumn.

Phil Harris/Daily Mirror

Mrs May’s comments – at the G20 summit in China – will fuel fears that welfare would be targeted yet again.

Her spokeswoman denied that was the case, saying: “There is an existing commitment not to cut welfare and that commitment still stands.”

But Mrs May arrived at the G20 warning of ‘difficult’ economic times ahead for Britain following the Brexit vote.

She said: “I think the reaction of the economy has been better than some had predicted post the referendum – but I won’t pretend it’s all going to be plain sailing.”

“There will be some difficult times ahead.”

Mrs May is poised to trigger the two-year countdown to Brexit by February next year, and Whitehall sources fear business confidence could falter as the date approaches.

Mrs May said a final decision on whether to deliver a major shake-up of tax-and-spend policy will be made in time for the Autumn Statement in late November or early December.

She said: “We’ll be looking at this issue. We have to take all the data into account.

“Obviously by the time of the Autumn Statement we’ll have more data available and we’ll have a better picture of what’s happening in the economy.”

But making clear there will be no end to Tory austerity, she added: “What I’m clear about is we’re going to continue as we have done in Government over the last six years – ensuring that we’re a country that can live within our means.”

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News, Views and Information For People With Disabilities

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‘Very serious issues’

‘Concentrix wasn’t aware’

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‘Bleak diagnosis’

What is immunotherapy?

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What are complementary and alternative therapies?

Lack of regulation

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‘Second class citizen’

‘I deserve dignity’

‘Kicking down barriers’

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What is autism?

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‘It’s hard to understand why we have all had to go through this’ – Angelene Wright, 66, from Lincolnshire

‘Irreversible brain damage is irreversible. I don’t understand why I am being reassessed’ – Anonymous, 31, from Glasgow

‘The whole process was costly and demeaning’ – Anonymous, 38, from Staffordshire

‘The arbitrary nature of the system infuriates me’ – Charlie Saben Fox, 61, from Edinburgh

‘By the time I got into the room I was a nervous wreck’ – Catherine Hart, 36, from Sheffield

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‘No food’

What are tax credits?

‘Highly supportive’

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Scope of the inquiry

Deadline

Specialist advice

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