Don’t Believe The Hype Unemployment Is Back On The Rise

Graffiti Gov lies bank steal rich laugh AThe number of unemployed people has risen by 20,000 people compared with the same period last month despite DWP spin that the numbers out of work are falling.

2.34 million people were unemployed in October – December 2013 compared to the figure of 2.32 million a month earlier.  The rate of unemployment grew to 7.2% of the working age population, whilst the number of people ‘economically inactive’ also rose.

Today’s figures have led to some confusion with the DWP spinning wildly that everything is fine and unemployment is still falling.  The problem lies in the way the figures are presented.  It is true that unemployment has fallen from the previous quarter – meaning there were less unemployed people between October – December 2013 than July – September 2013.  However there were more unemployed people between October and December 2013 than there were between September and November 2013  – suggesting unemployment rose sharply in December, or that the previous two months figures were exceptionally good and that trend has juddered to a halt.

The good news is that the number on people on workfare has dropped, although the number of people now self-employed – although not necessarily making any money –  is soaring, however you look at the figures.  The number of people claiming out of work benefits due to sickness or disability is also believed to be on the rise, although finalised official statistics have yet to be released.

The Claimant Count – the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance did fall in January, but this figure doesn’t include new unemployed claimants on Universal Credit.  The latest figures show that there were 3,600 people on this benefit by November last year, and the number is likely to have risen considerably since then.

The benefit sanction figures were also released today and show that 236,780 claims were stopped for anywhere between four weeks and three years between July and September last year.  This is likely to have an impact on the Claimant Count as many claimants on long term sanctions disappear off the books.

Whether this month’s rise in unemployment continues remains to be seen.  About the only thing we can be sure of is that even if it does, the DWP will use every last trick in the book to try and hide the truth about unemployment in the UK.  Which is that however you spin the figures there’s still no fucking jobs.

Follow me on twitter @johnnyvoid

353 responses to “Don’t Believe The Hype Unemployment Is Back On The Rise

  1. Landless Peasant

    DWP = Department for Work Propaganda. Joseph Goebbels would be proud of them.

    • Funny, I’ve been calling it “Dept for worklessness & persecution” lately.

      • dept for wankers and parasites!

        • Dept. for wasters and pisstakers!

          • Department for FUCKING EVIL, MORONIC, CALLOUS, TOTALLY INCOMPETENT, MATHEMATICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY CHALLENGED CUNTS MORE LIKE IT.

            • FUCKIN VERY WELL SAID MATE 🙂

              • something survived...

                Depressed Wart-Prickers [a technique of the witchfinders]
                Department of Warty Pricks
                Department of Werewolf-Persecutors
                Dial While Pedalling!
                Dicks, Wankers, Pedants
                Death With Pain
                Dig, Workshy Proles!
                Decided to Waste our Population
                Dictatorship, Weapons, Poverty
                Deal With Pigface! [see previous posts: the G4S securipig of my JCP]
                Dementors Worry Pedestrians
                Deniable Wicked Perversity
                Department of Workhouses and Prisons [coined by Andy Hamilton]
                Delusional Weirdo Park [ie you do have to be mad to work here]
                Die While Penalised
                DEFCON-4: War Preparations!
                Dave’s Work Programme
                Ditch Welfare Protection!
                Dead Wombat Pasta [could out-think this lot]
                Despair, Weak Peasants!
                Driving While Pickles

    • I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY AGAIN, TO STRESS HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR A CLAIMANT TO HAVE ALL THE FACTS AT HAND WHEN CHALLENGING A DWP DECISION………

      IT IS YOUR RIGHT TO REQUEST ALL INFORMATION THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF WORKS AND PENSIONS HOLD ON YOU.

      SEND THEM A LETTER, RECORDED DELIVERY OF COURSE, AND ASK FOR YOUR INFORMATION.

      IT COSTS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING……………….

      GIVE IT A GO!!!!

      MY INFORMATION ARRIVED IN THREE LARGE ENVELOPES AND WAS OVER SEVEN INCHES, 18CM DEEP.

      STRANGELY MY HISTORY SHOWED THAT I HAD EASILY MAINTAINED OVER 15 POINTS, NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE BENEFITS IN THE PAST, YET WHEN TESTED BY ATOS, ACHIEVED ZERO………

    • Department of Wankers and Pricks. They all trouser fiddle themselves and each other whenever a sanction has been started against a victim of the state. Cum stains on trousers are an daily occurence in the DWP.

  2. If I have 1 steak and kidney pie,no matter how many pieces I slice it in,it is still just 1 pie.

  3. A quarter of a million sanctions…that is absolutely outrageous! I agree that a lot of people have been pushed off benefits by any underhand trick possible and now just about exist. The reality is so very different from the picture they paint.

  4. The figures quoted are up to the end of December 2013. Well of course it will look like an increase because of all the temporary christmas jobs.

    Pity they didn’t include the figures up to the end of January when all of the people employed up to chrismas have now lost their jobs.

  5. One thing I always wonder is… when they say there are X number of vacancies at the moment, how is that calculated? Is it based on vacancies advertised on the jobcentre website? Because if so, chances are the true figure is way, way lower.

    1- Employment agencies add their vacancies to third party websites like Monster, Jobs in Kent and CV Library. Several of these third parties add their vacancies to the Jobcentre website, which can result in the same vacancy being advertised 3-4 times on there, but each time under a different source (It’s a problem I’ve come across where I get excited that 5 admin job are advertised that day and it turns out to only be two).

    2- Employment agencies advertise non-existent jobs in order to direct more people to register with them – if you try to actually call the agency to ask about the job instead of just applying online or registering they refuse to answer any questions.

    3- Fake employment agencies put up fake ads in order to phish for CVs and personal data – an issue I believe this site has already reported on. I did a quick bit of research on this myself and wrote a blog post about the number of fake ads I found here: http://uristmcdorf.tumblr.com/post/76552856350/why-is-government-website-carrying-fake-jobs

    4- “Earn amazing money working from home!” scams actually advertise on the jobcentre website – I included them in my post above.

    5- The jobs that are advertised overwhelmingly now include bogus apprenticeships (apprenticeship retail staff?! apprenticeship cleaner?! weren’t apprenticeships supposed to only be for skilled trades that genuinely require a year of study and training?), zero hour contracts, self-employed or commission-only jobs (which aren’t always up-front about the commission-only thing – my other half was devastated after his first job offer in months turned out to be one of those), short term temp work and very low hours part time vacancies. While some of these can still be useful for jobseekers looking to keep their CV updated, they do NOTHING to truly solve the problem of long-term unemployment.

    Because my other half is now (thankfully) in full time work, and because G4S were more a hindrance than a help, neither of us is on jobseekers any more. But I am still out of work, still looking, and half the time I spend searching for work each day is spent filtering out fake jobs and duplicates of jobs, rather than actually applying for work.

    • The number of vacancies at any one time is based on whatever suits their purpose.

    • “4- “Earn amazing money working from home!” scams actually advertise on the jobcentre website”

      Advertise on ? They’ve just about taken it over in the North East. Last week , 14 out of the first 16 “top 100” local jobs in my Jobcentre were self-employed leaftlet distribution “opportunities”.

      Sign Of The Times – Non-Jobs Take Over

    • Universal fucked-up match is total b******s. full of fake recruitment agency websites, private mobile phone contacts, and scam e-mail contact addresses. If I suspect an agency website is to good to be true, I use an reverse IP look up website to trace the source and organization of that website whom is freely advertising on Universal cock-up match.

      I messed around with one website (no longer on UJM) – ‘Searchjobvacancies’ – advertising for non-existant shop staff & cafe assistants in every town in my travel-to-work area by inputting fake names and e-mail addresses in that website’s job apply process. I may have contributed to that website’s demise from flooding UJM with fake job vacancies. Ha ha bloody ha! 🙂

    • UNIVERSAL JOBMATCH IS USING UNSAFE HOSTED NETWORK SERVERS – SPREAD THE WORD PEOPLE!!
      INFORMATION CONFIRMED USING CHROME BROWSER EXTENSION ‘SCRIPTSAFE’

      > direct.gov.uk

      > businesslink.gov.uk

      * Both of these sub-pages show in blue text some of the hosted network links USED for both gov.uk sites. Click on these (blue text) network links to discover more information…

      https://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=direct.gov.uk
      https://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=businesslink.gov.uk

  6. ffs Johnny, get a grip. falling unemployment my arse! the falling in unemployment is directly proportional to the rise in jobseekers being sanctioned and jobseekers and being referred on to slave labour schemes such as the work programme and mandatory work activity, all of which don’t count the jobseekers as being unemployed in the bogus statitics that the criminal dwp churn out from their arseholes!

  7. I guess that’s quarter of a million that won’t be voting for them at least.

    Things are very, very grim at the bottom of the social strata and getting worse by the week especially with their ever more punitive terms and conditions putting people in an increasingly impossible situation. Tripping up will be inevitable for most if not all at some point no matter how genuine.

    This is my experience as a jobseeker genuinely seeking work. But they sweep the unpalatable facts under the carpet conveniently.

    • something survived...

      Funnily enough, when you *are* the bottom stratum (layer), you are not supposed to know what stratum means.
      When there are plenty of those at the top who can’t work out how much milk or bread costs, or know how to boil water.

      As for us all watching that uber-prick Jeremy Kyle, well that is erroneous and insulting.

      All those in government who set the level of benefits, and talk about ‘why we must stop benefits’, have no idea at all about economics (meant to be their specialist subject), reality, poverty, society… or anything else! The only reason they manage to make their speeches at all, is because they’ve got a timeshare agreement on the shared brain cell.

      • They keep banging on about not being able to afford benefits, but if The gov. of the day hadnt given 860 billion to the banks it wouldnt be my fucking problem, would it?Giving all that cash to prop up a failed property market only put off the problem, and if we are going to cave in to these cash grabs every so often to support the price of Tarquin’s canary wharf apartment and my landlords portfolio value there is no point contributing. My rent would not be as dear if we had let the banks fail !

  8. A while back on the BBC news, which I was only watching at my mum’s because I don’t have a TV, they said unemployment had fallen. I wanted to gag. By the way, beeb, sick your licence, don’t watch your drivel of repeated, 5 year old episodes of “Flog it” and your other snore fest programmes. Obvious that you’re not spending the money on the programmes.

    • “KNOW YOUR PLACE 2″

      YESTERDAY I ATTENDED A TRIBUNAL TO TRY AND GET MY DLA REINSTATED.
      IT HAD BEEN STOPPED LAST JULY BECAUSE I DID NOT FILL IN A QUESTIONNAIRE ABOUT MY DISABILITY AND HOW IT AFFECTS ME.

      STRANGELY THEY NEEDED THE INFORMATION TO SEE IF I WAS GETTING THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF BENEFIT…………

      I THOUGHT THIS RATHER STRANGE, AS I HAD NOT REPORTED A CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCE AND THE DWP’S OWN DOCTORS HAD AGREED MY DISABILITY WAS UNLIKELY TO CHANGE IN THE FUTURE.

      THE QUESTIONNAIRE WAS TITLED, DLA80 OCTOBER 2011?

      I HAVE BEEN EXISTING ON £32.23P SINCE THEY STOPPED MY DLA. THIS PAYMENT IS INDUSTRIAL INJURIES BENEFIT.

      UPON ENTERING THE COURTROOM I WAS FACED BY THREE PEOPLE, A MAN IN THE CENTRE, WITH A WOMAN EITHER SIDE.
      THE MAN INTRODUCED HIMSELF, TELLING ME HE WAS A SOLICITOR OR LAWYER.

      HE THEN INTRODUCED THE WOMAN TO HIS LEFT, AND STATED THAT, “I THINK YOU HAVE MET BEFORE”.

      HE THEN WENT ON TO TELL ME THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER LADY PRESENT AT THE SIDE OF THE ROOM AND THAT SHE WAS JUST AN ONLOOKER, A PERSON WHO WAS GOING TO JOIN THE TRIBUNAL PANEL AT A FUTURE DATE.

      THE LADY FROM THE DWP MUST HAVE THEREFORE, SAT TO HIS RIGHT.

      WHAT ASTONISHED ME FROM THE OUTSET, WAS HOW A FEMALE DOCTOR THAT HAD BEEN PRESENT AT ANOTHER ESA TRIBUNAL I HAD PREVIOUSLY ATTENDED, BE SITTING ON THE SAME BENCH????

      IF, AS THE COURTS SYSTEM PROFESSES TO BE, TRULY INDEPENDENT…………

      WHAT WAS SHE DOING HERE AT ALL?

      ………….AND WHO WAS THE MYSTERIOUS WOMAN ATTENDING AT THE SIDE?

      I ASKED THE MAN, THE CHAIRMAN, WHY I WAS SENT A QUESTIONNAIRE RELATING TO DLA, AND DATED 2011, WHEN I HAD BEEN INFORMED ON 3RD MARCH LAST YEAR THAT PIP WOULD BE INTRODUCED ON THE 8TH APRIL LAST YEAR, TO SUPERSEDE DLA PAYMENTS………..

      IN FURTHER CONVERSATION I MADE IT PLAINLY CLEAR THAT I HAD BEEN INFORMED ON THREE OCCASIONS BY DWP, THAT THE STOPPAGE OF MY DLA COULD NOT BE APPEALED.
      AFTER A FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST I WAS TOLD THAT IT COULD BE APPEALED, AND SHOWED HIM THE REQUEST TO PROVE IT…..

      QUOTING STATEMENTS FROM PIP LEGISLATION I TOLD HIM THAT ACCORDING TO WHAT THE DWP TELL US, PIP REPLACED DLA AND ALL PREVIOUS AWARDS, WHETHER FOR LIFE OR SHORT PERIODS HAD COME TO AN END.

      HE EXPLAINED THAT THIS WAS NOT THE CASE, THAT ANY AWARD UNDER EXISTING DLA, STILL STOOD!

      EXPLAINING THAT I WAS STRUGGLING TO LIVE, THE AMOUNT I RECEIVED WAS BELOW THE MINIMUM THE DWP STIPULATED, NONE OF THE BENCH BATTED AN EYELID.

      I EXPLAINED THAT I WAS SURVIVING ON CREAM CRACKERS, CUP A SOUP AND OUT OF DATE, 8P MUSHY PEAS………

      STILL NO REACTION……

      MENTIONING I HAD A SON OF SEVENTEEN AND A PARTNER WHO WORKED AT M&S FOR A FEW AFTERNOONS, GOT NOWHERE FAST.

      THE BENCH ASKED ME TO LEAVE AND ON DELIBERATION SAID I HAD LOST MY CASE.

      I TOLD HIM TO STICK IT UP HIS ARSE!

      …………WHAT I FIND MILDLY AMUSING IS THAT A LADY HAD PUT FORWARD A FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST, ASKING THE DWP IF PIP COULD BE SANCTIONED.

      THE DWP HAD SENT BACK A MESSAGE STATING PIP COULD NOT BE SANCTIONED.

      ON THE SAME DOCUMENT THEY ALSO LISTED OTHER BENEFITS WHICH COULD NOT BE SANCTIONED, AMONG THEM DLA………..

      “sanctionable benefit” means (subject to subsection (2) and to any regulations under section
      10(1)) any disqualifying benefit other than–
      (a) joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance;
      (b) any retirement pension;
      (c) graduated retirement benefit;
      (ca) personal independence payment;
      (d) disability living allowance;
      (e) attendance allowance;
      (f) child benefit;
      (fa) child tax credit; (fb) working tax credit;
      (g) guardian’s allowance;
      (h) a payment out of the social fund in accordance with Part 8 of the Social Security
      Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;
      (i) a payment under Part 10 of that Act (Christmas bonuses).
      If you have any queries about this letter please contact us quoting the reference number
      above.
      Yours sincerely,

      DWP Central FoI Team

      • Sorry Geoff that you didn’t get a result. These people are all nazi’s and are all in it together! It’s a stitch up between the government, the DWP and organisations like ATOS to screw people out of everything they have.

        Please don’t give in, keep fighting and making life uncomfortable for them. Write to your local paper shaming them and hopefully they’ll print the letter and shame the b******s.

        • nazi war crimanal

          no they are not nazis thats very offensive.

          • Not nearly as offensive as removing someone’s benefits and leaving them to die in the cold and starving to death.

          • I fail to see the difference… they just haven’t progressed that far yet.
            Do you think the NAzis achieved there aims overnight ?

            • They HAVE achieved there aims actually- To whit
              numb and dumb the populace down with bought paper and media , and walk all over them while they snore into another election won by a political party.
              WAKE THE FXXX UP! I dont want to hear complaints from anybody who votes for a party next time unless its the Xmas Party.

            • And also note Cameron and I.Dunkin Shits rhetoric about closed curtains and people sponging off the state while they themselves live on 3 or 4 grand a week in luxury is little different to Hitlers bilefull propaganda about the Jews living in rat infested hovels and sleeping in excrement.
              Not ONE of these arsewipes has EVER had anything resembling
              an actual job, yet pratts who’s families have voted one way all there lives follow on with it. Its all finished I tell you. The only way to change it is to sack em all or stay shackled the rest of your lives.
              Out, for now.

      • Have any of the readers ever noticed the handiwork of the DWP’S now infamous, psychobabble “NUDGE UNIT”.

        Yes, the part of the DWP that they have decided to get rid of before the full story comes out………….

        Every document written by the DWPcontains some hidden, veiled threat to take away your benefits unless you comply.

        I will give you a couple of examples;

        DLA QUESTIONNAIRE,
        CONSENT,
        WE MAY WANT TO CONTACT YOUR GP, OR THE PEOPLE OR ORGANISATIONS INVOLVED WITH YOU, FOR INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CLAIM. THIS MAY INCLUDE MEDICAL INFORMATION.

        YOU DO NOT HAVE TO AGREE TO US CONTACTING THESE PEOPLE, BUT IF YOU DON’T AGREE, WE MAY BE UNABLE TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE ENTITLED TO THE BENEFIT YOU ARE CLAIMING.
        PLEASE TICK ONE OF THE OPTIONS AND SIGN BELOW.
        ………………………………………………………………………………………………..
        BLUE BADGE SCHEME;

        PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING DECLARATION.
        PLEASE SIGN THE BOX ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE TO INDICATE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND AND AGREE WITH EACH DECLARATION.

        NOT TICKING ONE OF THESE DECLARATIONS MAY MEAN WE ARE UNABLE TO SUPPLY YOU WITH A BLUE BADGE…………..

        ………even stranger, on the blue badge application it states;
        I AGREE TO THE LOCAL AUTHORITY CONTACTING AN ACCREDITED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL IF NECESSARY, FOR THE PURPOSE OF OBTAINING FURTHER INFORMATION IN SUPPORT OF MY APPLICATION.
        also…
        I UNDERSTAND THAT I MAY BE REQUIRED TO UNDERTAKE A MOBILITY ASSESSMENT WITH A HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL, WHO IS INDEPENDENT OF MY EXISTING CARE AND TREATMENT, IN ORDER TO DETERMINE MY ELIGIBILITY FOR A BLUE BADGE…….

        SINISTER HOW AN UNQUALIFIED, EX BED PAN WASHER CAN TAKE AWAY YOUR DISABILITY FREEDOMS?

      • overburdenddonkey

        geoff
        if you feel up to it, the fight that is i know it is very draining….get a statement of reasons, then ask for a set aside and/or leave to appeal to UT wrong in law etc, contact the tribunals service straight away they will give you of all the details including time scales…they have to be totally clear on the SoR why they rejected your claim, clear to a layperson…the test is functional abilities, limited functional abilities and have the dwp proved in law that one is not entitled…

      • Geoff, unbelievable outcome of your case, yet believable. Glad to see you are still in fighting form. One day these crimes against humanity will come to light, I am sure.

  9. Sad state of affairs Geoff Keep yer chin up mate

  10. Pingback: Don't Believe The Hype Unemployment Is Back On ...

  11. Wait. Since the DWP havd told us that they have a new transparency option then we could take them at their word and challenge them. And maybe have a whip round and collect £600 to get them to get off their arse and answer our FOI requests like WHAT IS THE EXACT DEATH TOLL ?

    • Actually I fancy doing exactly that ..I might put forward £100 I put by and offer it to DWP …then they can’t weedle their way out of it can they ..

    • STRANGE, BUT TRUE………………………

      DID YOU KNOW THAT THE DWP CAN MAKE YOU EXIST ON LESS THAN THE AMOUNT THEY DEFINE AS BEING THE MINIMUM NECESSARY.

      A TRIBUNAL DECLARED YESTERDAY THAT £32 WAS SUFFICIENT FOR ME, ON LIFETIME DISABILITY, MY 17 YEAR OLD SON AND PARTNER.

      YET THEY WROTE THIS;

      12/ Has a study ever been done to clarify if the £71.00 was
      sufficient to provide a proper diet that would not shorten the life
      expectancy of a poor person?

      We believe that the amounts payable are a reasonable sum, having regard to all relevant
      factors. The amount that people need to live on varies greatly depending on their needs and a
      range of factors so it would be misleading to attempt to evaluate the level of the personal
      allowance against a single ‘cost of living’ measure.
      If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number
      above.
      Yours sincerely,

      DWP Central FoI Team

  12. Unemployment is so high that I believe everyone would get a shock if they knew, including the government.
    So many schemes, sanctions, workfare, zero hours etc takes people off the unemployment, including those on UC!
    The only thing that this unelected coalition is good at, is the fudging of figures, which is usually done by lower staff and then fed to the minister/s in charge. The government don’t know the half of it!

  13. The government likes having unemployed people as it weakens job security for the employed.

  14. From here – Ex-football star Alan Lawrence admits postal theft
    but this is the important bit:

    “Sentencing Lawrence, Sheriff Petra Collins told him: “Offences of this kind normally attract a custodial sentence, but I am persuaded marginally to allow you the chance to do a community payback order which will include supervision and to complete 100 hours of unpaid work within nine months.

    This is a direct alternative to custody.“”

    UNPAID WORK is a DIRECT ALTERNATIVE TO CUSTODY – yet this is what innocent jobseekers are being sentenced to for the ‘crime’ of being unemployed.

    • end unpaid..ive said all along the dwp staff have more powers than the police they can fine impose sanctions without any legal reasons..i hope theyre time comes big style they are the “stazi”

  15. The number of the most severe sanctions (refusing employment, leaving employment voluntarily or losing employment through misconduct) has reduced – almost halving compared to last year.
    The most common reason for a JSA sanction (36%) was a failure on the part of the jobseeker to actively look for work. A further 30% were sanctioned because they failed to participate in employment programmes (including the Work Programme) designed to help people back to work and 20% were sanctioned because they didn’t have a good reason for missing a meeting at the Jobcentre.
    Today’s statistics also show the number of sanctions given for people in the work-related activity group for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). People in this group are expected to be able to return to work in the future and so have to attend support programmes as a condition of receiving their benefits. The figures show that from 3 December 2012 to June 2013 there were 11,400 sanctions for people in this group mainly because they didn’t take part in the programmes designed to help them move closer to getting a job.
    The government is now introducing the Claimant Commitment for anyone making a new claim for JSA. The commitment will see jobseekers having to account more clearly for their efforts to find work in order to receive their benefits. It will roll out in around 100 jobcentres a month until it’s fully implemented across the country in the spring.
    More information
    Read the full statistical release.

    ***Sanctions are used as a last resort and the DWP has put in place a comprehensive monitoring regime to ensure that sanctions are always and only applied where appropriate to do so.***”

    The decision to impose a sanction is taken by an independent decision maker – and everyone has the right to appeal. Crucially, people are always made aware of their right to appeal before any sanction is imposed.
    People who are in genuine need can apply for hardship payments.

    • Leaving employment or refusing to take a (terrible terms) job is anathema to the Tory principle of ‘thou shalt skivy to the bone until death’, Sanctions were designed, as is the new system to create a job market ‘easy on the employer’ to whit slavery, and create ultimate competition to eat, where before there was a little fairness.
      I dont think they really understand that if they push this to the limit, there will actually be a revolution. Mind you. I dont think Marie Antoinette
      thought there would be either. I. Dunkin Dohnuts has cake coming out of his ears.
      He may be surprised when somebody CHOKES him to death with one.

      • something survived...

        Sure those stats are wrong. Most sanctions are for no fucking reason at all. Or for the staff filling quotas of people to sanction. Or they don’t like your face, or indeed the colour of your skin.

        Pigface [G4S security guard], telling ‘joke’ to JCP colleague: “So, a nigger, a paki and a chink go into a pub…” [I walked out at this point and didn’t get to hear the rest. I had to leave. That instant. As decking a securipig is generally frowned upon.]

  16. unemployment benefits. The concept of a conditionality regime enforced by financial sanctions—i.e. stopping benefit payments for a limited period—for claimants who fail to comply with the rules dates from the 1980s. The system has been strengthened a number of times in recent decades and broadened to apply to a greater proportion of the workless population—there are now requirements on some claimants with ill-health and disabilities and lone parents with young children to at least prepare for a return to work, for example.[70]

    77. For a typical claimant the conditions for continued entitlement to JSA include: signing a JSAG; actively seeking employment; being available for at least 40 hours work per week; attending the Jobcentre as required (as noted in chapter 3, most JSA claimants are currently required to attend fortnightly); applying for any job notified to them by a Jobcentre Adviser; and completing any relevant job-search activity as directed. Exceptions and flexibilities apply to claimants with ill-health or disabilities which limit their capacity to work and to people with caring responsibilities.[71]

    78. Under Universal Credit the conditions are broadly similar but with reduced powers for Jobcentre staff to apply discretion.[72] As noted in the previous chapter, the Claimant Commitment potentially adds a layer of conditionality in that it enables Jobcentre staff to require claimants to spend 35 hours per week looking for work.

    79. In our Report on Universal Credit implementation we concluded that conditionality has an important role to play but that the strict conditionality inherent in the Claimant Commitment should be balanced by meaningful employment support for claimants.

    *** We noted that there is little evidence that sanctions strengthen work incentives on their own ***”

    ; our view was that sanctions should therefore be used primarily as a deterrent and a last resort.[73]****

    80. We reiterate our view that conditionality is a necessary part of the benefits system and that sanctioning, if used appropriately, can be a useful tool for encouraging engagement with employment support. Sanctions should be used primarily for this purpose and as a last resort. Strict conditionality regimes should be balanced by meaningful and in-depth advice and support from JCP for those who need it.

  17. “Advisers have a positive impact by raising customers’ confidence, convincing them of the value of employment support (securing commitment), equipping them with jobseeking skills and helping with job applications.9

    An additional important finding from DWP evidence is the importance of demonstrating that work pays.10

    Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found significant improvements in unemployment levels in the UK through active job search strategies “such as those organised through personal advisers”.

    Independent research consistently finds that the use of advisers is associated with greater numbers leaving benefits…11

    … and this is particularly strong for lone parents where work focused interviews (WFI), independent of other factors, increased the likelihood of leaving IS six months later by up to 2 percentage points.12 Lone Parent WFIs (LPWFIs) were a key mechanism for caseloading lone parents onto New Deal for Lone Parents, participation in which significantly increased the likelihood of a range of lone parents leaving Income Support (see section below on impacts).13

    21. The NAO concluded that “benchmarked organisations operate in a similar way to JCP but with some significant differences which enable them to spend more time with customers. Notably, these differences concerned the amount of regulatory activity required in JCP-monitoring and enforcing compliance, for example which produce more favourable outcomes and external organisations still commented favourably on the ability of JCP personal advisers.”

    22. Studies indicate that when advisers are able to tailor provision, they are more likely to help people move towards employment.14 The 2007 DWP Report What Works for Whom concludes, “One of the strongest conclusions to be drawn from evaluation evidence is the perception that personal advisers are critical to the success or otherwise of interventions.”15

    23. Despite often needing to conduct challenging interviews with claimants, user satisfaction remains high with over 80% of customers stating they were satisfied or very satisfied with Jobcentre Plus, comparing favourably with other public employment services in other countries.16

  18. Reblogged this on Britain Isn't Eating and commented:
    Unemployment falls again?
    Less claiming benefits?
    More people in jobs?
    NOT F’KING LIKELY! Read on..

  19. http://ssac.independent.gov.uk/about/independent-work-programme

    Social Security Advisory Committee

    DWP communications

    Support systems for UC.

  20. Rachel Reeves: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the effect of the exclusion of universal credit claimants on the overall claimant count in (a) April, (b) May, (c) June, (d) July, (e) August, (f) September, (g) October, (h) November and (i) December 2013. [185690]

    Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

    Letter from Peter Fullerton dated January 2014:

    On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the effect of the exclusion of universal credit claimants on the overall claimant count in (a) April, (b) May, (c) June, (d) July, (e) August, (f) September, (g) October, (h) November and (i) December 2013. (185690)

    Prior to the introduction of Universal Credit (UC), the Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiled the Claimant Count from the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentreplus Administrative System. With the introduction of UC it was intended to extend this definition to include those claimants of UC who were out of work and subject to a full set of work search requirements. However, initially the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have not been able to supply ONS with this information in a way that has allowed its inclusion within the Claimant Count, resulting in the exclusion of UC claims from this measure.

    ONS initial assessment was that the impact of the exclusion of UC claims would be small, relative to the overall level and changes within the Claimant Count. This was based on the Pathfinder initially being rolled out in a single Jobcentreplus office and for a limited range of claimants. This assessment was supported by monitoring the change in the number of JSA claimants at that Jobcentreplus office relative to the change in the number of claimants of other nearby Jobcentreplus offices. Continued monitoring of the number of JSA claimants at that Jobcentreplus office, along with the other Pathfinder Jobcentreplus offices as UC was rolled-out, confirmed the assessment that the impact on the Claimant Count was small.

    On 3 December 2013 DWP published Universal Credit claimants in pathfinder areas—experimental official statistics to September 2013. This showed that at 30 September 2013, a total of 2,030 people were on the UC caseload. This figure would be an overestimate of the effect on the Claimant Count at that point, since it includes the whole UC caseload and not just those who were out of work and subject to a full set of work search requirements. For example, this total would include a number of people who had moved into work and were still eligible for UC subsequent to their initial claim.

    On 22 January 2014 DWP published Universal Credit claimants in pathfinder areas—experimental official statistics to October 2013. This showed that at 31 October a total of 2,720 people were on the UC caseload. The increase of 690 in the UC caseload occurred over a similar period to the Claimant Count excluding UC claimants decreasing by 34,300 between 10 October and 14 November 2013.

    ONS is continuing to monitor the impact that the roll-out of UC is having on the Jobcentres affected and will continue to assess whether it considers the impact to be small or more significant in the context of the level and changes in the Claimant Count. ONS intends to include UC claimants within the Claimant Count once a suitable timely supply of information becomes available. At this time it is expected that revisions will be made to the periods since the introduction of UC to produce a Claimant Count including the appropriate subset of claimants of this benefit.

    National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at

    http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

  21. 23. 80% of Customers state they were satisfied or very with jobcentre plus .. Well, you arent going to say its all a piece of shit while you are signing, and there would be nothing to gain by blotting your copysheet when you leave as you dont want your card marked .. So thats all a speculative piece of crap isnt it? I wouldnt do that to my avisor; he’s a rare fair bloke for 1 o them and its not his fault I.Dunkin shit is a CUNT!

  22. I suspect its a survey your own performance job.

  23. Oh, I very much doubt drunks are allowed to loiter. Its excellent cover for a revolutionary. Oops, I mean terrorist.

  24. http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2014/01/from-harryph-cutting-the-numbers-stuck-on-disability-benefit-is-an-important-achievement.html

    CUTTING THE NUMBERS STUCK ON DISABILITY BENEFITS IS IMPORTANT

    Now if that was phrased more accurately such as “REMOVING SUPPORT FOR DISABLED ” I wonder how that would go down ? Or how about ‘cutting disabled money in order to direct more public money to our rich lobbying friends and donors “

    • overburdenddonkey

      chewie
      if we thought that we were stuck on them, we’d fight tooth and nail to get off of them and yet we now have to fight tooth and nail to stay on them..arrrgh! please don’t put me on benefits or give me my pension, i’ll suffer if you do…are human rights activists up in arms stop harming people by paying welfare benefits? “warning retirement leads to an early death.”….i really have no interest in how the right wing parties justify their crap, just read the nazi party propaganda to do that, as it is more or less the same stuff…somehow i doubt that there are any blog posts out there, demanding an end to abuse by being paid benefits by the recipients of those benefits…..except from those who believe that they are more entitled than others of course…

  25. Reblogged this on Beastrabban’s Weblog.

  26. “THE DWP”,

    …………WHAT A CRUNCH OF FUCKING BOOKS?

  27. Landless Peasant

    Welfare reform offers new hope, says David Cameron

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26252095

    Comment section is still open (I’m blocked).

    • overburdenddonkey

      l p
      yeah, he’s on a moral mission to save us, hallelujah…..moral people NEVER use force, but gain consensus….

    • Another Fine Mess

      Camoron is in for another bashing by the Bishops tomorrow.

    • overburdenddonkey

      l p and a f m..
      have you read any of the historically accurate tales by michael jecks…many are set in the 13th cent britain…the same types are in control now, as were then…

      • Another Fine Mess

        Nope, know a bit about history but never heard of him.

        • overburdenddonkey

          a f m
          whoops, i should have said that they are supposed to be historically accurate….but my knowledge of history is more general than deep….

      • Landless Peasant

        I’m not familiar with Jecks but I do get your point. The Ruling Elite have enjoyed many generations of wealth & power, it’s the same happening today as happened over the past 1000 yrs. The evil Barons laying waste to the North, and all that. Then the Inclosures. If only the masses could adopt an enlightened teleological view of their own history, we might get somewhere.

        • overburdenddonkey

          l p
          yes, that is what comes through very powerfully in his books….they feel authentic, like we know our place in a history written for us and not by us and, as if, that history, our history, is now extinct, when in fact it coarse’s through our veins, as alive now, as it was then….i now feel that i cannot connect to it, as the gulf is now too great to bridge, but at the same time i know it is not….the levellers….come to mind…

        • Here is a radical new idea; what if everybody voted for a local (minimum 8 yrs resident) independant M.P. Whose mandate would be to canvas the constituents on their wishes and concerns , and vote accordingly with those views thereby actually representing the people?
          If you keep voting for a party you will always be cannon fodder for the elite.

  28. if it was 7.1last month and its 7.2 this month how can it be going down they think were idiots and we cant add up.

  29. Just watched a video of Dennis Skinner speaking at one of the Atos demonstrations. Nice to know that there’s at least one politician prepared to stand up and be counted unlike the rest of the Labour fake asses.

    • Dear Meredith Ong,

      Thank you for your Freedom of Information request received 30 July 2013. You asked;

      “How much has been spent on this doomed fiasco?

      When will ministers accept that it is not fit for purpose and never will be?

      Whose head will roll if it is abandoned?

      What happened to the security measures within the software?

      How long before it is abandoned, leaving one of the largest bills for a failed project in British
      history?”

      Answer;

      We hold no information on a doomed fiasco.

      If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number
      above.
      Yours sincerely,

      DWP Central FoI Team

    • Another Fine Mess

      Surely they know the end is near, even the main man, bob the builder had to throw a sicky to get out of it.

    • Landless Peasant

      YESSSSS!!!! Good news at last 😀

  30. Dear JV,
    Well done for doing the unemployment feature. We have probably had mass unemployment since the early-80s.
    Good to see the Bishop attacking the government but where were the Labour MPs. Worthless. Skinner, Meacher among the few who acknowledge lack of jobs.
    A QUESTION? Do we know how many people on JSA have won an appeal against sanctions? I won mine late last year. It took 13 months and the bastards were obstructive, but eventually got money back. It was pleasing to note that the Appeal Judge’s comments in my favour landed up on some desk in Whitehall. If everyone appealed we would be in a much better position.

  31. Another Fine Mess

    “27 Anglican bishops and 16 other clergy accuse the Tory-led coalition of creating hardship and hunger.”
    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/27-bishops-slam-david-camerons-3164033

    • Saw a video of some of the people that have committed suicide over this and it would make you weep. The worst thing was a girl got stripped of her benefit and threw herself and her baby off the roof of a building.

      When are we getting an accurate death count of people that have died after being found fit for work?

      These people are heartless and have no empathy or humanity.

  32. There is something that needs pointing out here, and that is
    ‘Self Emploment’ starts off with the allure of not having somebody skim off a vast %age of your earnings.
    However. When every cleaner and Nanny and car Valetter is self employed the rate will work out less than working for someone else.
    You wont get any holidays. ;There are no employment laws to protect the self employed, so tell the job centre crew to
    ‘STUFF IT UP THEIR FUCKING ARSE’ in respectful tones,
    When they suggest you set up as a self employed dog walker. (!)
    Unless you see Neil Kinnock, or T.Burculosis.Liar or That fella brown (who was he again?) doing it, you are compounding the problem.

    • Mustn’t forget that the Self Employed NI Class 4 Contributions don’t count towards your State Pension, nor do they count towards eligibility for any Contribution Based Benefits.

      Yes you can set some things against tax, but it doesn’t count for much.

      If you become too ill to work and try and claim ESA you will be told that you have to officially close down your accounts to proceed to make the claim. Then you will be told that your NI Contributions don’t count and you can claim Income Related ESA, unless someone in your home earns more than £7.500pa, then you don’t qualify.

      Same if there’s no work and you need to claim JSA. Close down your books

      Then there’s the Tax Return, fines galore if you are 1 day late or there is a small mistake on it.

      JC+ shouldn’t be pushing anyone into self employment unless they can provide the back up support you need when you start a business.

  33. Reported inappropriate sanction referrals

    87. Most witnesses accepted that conditionality regimes were necessary and that sanctioning of benefits was the most practicable method of enforcing a conditionality regime—a notable exception was the PCS union, representing Jobcentre staff, which was of the view that sanctioning “does not work in terms of getting people into work”.[80]

    88. However, witnesses also believed that Jobcentre staff were too quick to raise doubts and make sanction referrals without applying due discretion. We were provided with a number of real life examples of referrals which appeared to be inappropriate. These included referrals made for missing Jobcentre appointments despite claimants having good cause and informing the Jobcentre of the reason.[81] Citizens Advice reported an example of a claimant referred for a sanction for not actively seeking work in the period between finding a job and starting that job.[82]

    89. The PCS union reported that Jobcentre staff were being put under pressure by management to increase sanctioning rates. DWP has strongly denied the existence of any national or local targets for sanctioning—following an investigation and report to the Secretary of State on the issue carried out by Neil Couling. However, PCS believed that the Department had “expectations” about the appropriate level of sanctioning and that these were “targets by another name”. The PCS also highlighted that Jobcentre staff whose sanctioning rates were not meeting expectations were subject to an “improvement plan”—formal performance management proceedings.[83] The Minister for Employment recently confirmed that the number of sanction referrals made by Jobcentre Advisers is part of a “variety of performance data” used to monitor Advisers’ performance.[84]

    90. Neil Couling told us that he and the Department had an expectation that people would be sanctioned, “because that is the law” and “public servants are meant to follow the law.” DWP monitored sanctioning rates to highlight and investigate anomalies with a view to ensuring that sanctions were being properly and consistently applied across the Jobcentre network. In the course of his investigation into the alleged existence of sanctioning targets, he had found variations in sanctioning rates between different Jobcentres which he was seeking to address.[85]

    91. Under the new rules introduced in late 2012, the number of sanctions has increased to the extent that some 5% of all Jobseekers Allowance claimants are sanctioned every month. Some 860,000 Jobseekers Allowance claimants were sanctioned in the year to June 2013, the highest number in any 12-month period since at least April 2000. Our evidence suggests that many claimants have been referred for a sanction inappropriately or in circumstances in which common sense would suggest that discretion should have been applied by Jobcentre staff.

    The link between sanctioning and benefit off-flow

    92. Several witnesses noted the risk that Jobcentre staff might see sanctions as positive outcomes in themselves, particularly as JCP performance is measured primarily against the proportion of claimants coming off benefit by specific points in claims (known as benefit off-flow, see chapter 5). The concern was that Jobcentre staff might see sanctioning, and other actions which discourage people from claiming benefits, as a route to achieving off-flow performance targets. Inclusion believed that such behaviour was unlikely to be widespread but noted that it had occurred when similar targets were in place in the 1980s.[86]

    93. The Minister implied that the risk was minimal because, when you are under a sanction, “So long as you continue signing on, you are not taken off the claimant count.” [87] We asked DWP to clarify whether in fact a claimant could be required to continue to sign on if they were not receiving benefit because of a sanction. We also asked DWP to provide data on the number and proportion of sanctioned claimants who do not continue to sign on during the period of the sanction or for longer periods. The response we received merely confirmed that sanctioned claimants come off the claimant count only if they become disentitled to benefit because they choose not to sign on during a sanction period. DWP was unable to provide any information on the number or proportion of sanctioned claimants who choose this course of action. [88] The impact of sanctioning on benefit off-flow therefore remains unclear.

    The impacts of sanctioning on claimants

    94. Some witnesses were concerned that sanctions were leading to severe financial hardship for some claimants. Most notably, Church Action on Poverty (CAOP) and Oxfam reported that financial hardship due to sanctioning was a significant factor in a recent rise in referrals to food banks. A joint CAOP/Oxfam report published in May 2013 estimated that 500,000 people in the UK were “reliant on food aid”. The report estimates that “up to half” of people who turn to food banks do so “as a direct result of having benefit payments delayed, reduced, or withdrawn altogether.”[89]

    95. The Trussell Trust, a charitable organisation which runs the largest chain of food banks in the UK, reported in October 2013 that it had received 350,000 referrals to its food aid in April to September 2013, a threefold increase on the same period in 2012. It has previously published statistics which show that changes to benefit payments, including sanctions, are the third most commonly reported reason for referral to food aid, accounting for 15% of referrals in 2011-12.[90]

    96. DWP has stated that Jobcentres “signpost” claimants to food aid where appropriate. However, there are no official data on referrals to food aid or on how many referrals are related to financial hardship caused by benefit sanctions. Ministers have also stated that the Department does not currently collect or collate data on the number of claimants signposted to food aid by Jobcentres.[91] However, in oral evidence, the Minister reported that she believed that DWP was “doing a lot of information gathering into why people present themselves at food banks”.[92]

    97. We recommend that DWP take urgent steps to monitor the extent of financial hardship caused by benefit sanctions, including by collecting, collating and publishing data on the number of claimants “signposted” to food aid by Jobcentres and the reasons for claimants’ need for assistance in these cases.

    Monitoring the conditionality regimes

    98. On 15 May 2013, DWP set out terms of reference for an independent review of the JSA conditionality and sanctions process. An independent review of the operation of the sanctions regime is required by the Jobseekers (Back to Work Schemes) Act 2013. The independent review’s report will be presented to the Secretary of State as soon as reasonably practicable after 26 March 2014. The terms of reference for the review include:

      The clarity of information on conditionality provided to JSA claimants;
      The options available to claimants who are sanctioned, including the availability of hardship payments; and
      The clarity of the review and appeals process.[93]
    99. In oral evidence the Minster told us that she was committed to establishing a further independent review to investigate whether sanctions were being applied proportionately.[94]

    100. It is important that JCP makes fair and proportionate sanction referrals and that the process is transparent. We welcome the current independent review which will focus on the clarity of communications between JCP and claimants in relation to the conditionality and sanctioning process; the availability of hardship payments for sanctioned claimants; and the clarity of the review and appeals process. We strongly believe that a further review is necessary and welcome the Minister’s commitment to launch a second and separate review into the broader operation of the sanctioning process.

    101. We recommend that the second review of sanctions investigate: whether sanction referrals are being made appropriately, fairly and proportionately, in accordance with the relevant Regulations and guidance, across the Jobcentre network; and the link between sanctioning and benefit off-flow, including whether benefit off-flow targets have an influence on sanctioning rates. We also recommend that this review consider whether, and to what extent, the use of sanctions is having the desired effect of encouraging claimants to engage more actively in job-seeking. We further recommend that this review is launched as a matter of urgency and reports before the end of 2014.

    • “doing a lot of information gathering into why people present themselves at food banks”

      Er because the claimants are starving ?

      Fucking hell..are they ” wilfully ignorant ” ?

      • They know what they are doing.

      • Yet still they vote political party. . .
        And so the dance goes on.

      • And still the people want want to vote ‘party politics’?
        HA ha ha ha ha . Just imagine what Dave has coming in under the table? T.Burculosis Liar must be going green inside when he thinks of Dave’s ‘Legacy’…

      • I notice that any mention of food banks, the tory morons go silent and deny people are having to use them as their jobs or benefits have been taken away for a length of time.

        There’s a food bank in my town now – you can’t tell me nobody is using it and there are 1000’s of jobs going spare. the opposite is true, if people didn’t need a food bank, the food bank would have no just cause to open. One of my local papers even mentioned the food bank in great detail, something that the fucking morons in power like to ignore and say ‘we are committed in helping people back to work’.

        what work? come to my town David Camoron, there’s nothing here but a half empty high street, loads of charity shops, foreign food shops, betting shops, pubs and off-licences, or even fast-food joints. Which employment opportunity am I missing out if I refuse to work in any of these places. DC, I have got qualifications in logistics & warehousing, not in a fucking polish food shop where they don’t pay any business taxes or rent.

        • Unfortunately, this is a downward spiral. If you are qualified above Mcjobs then you must move away to where you might find some gainful employ, not compete with non english speakers for the silly paper hat jobs.
          You will end up a suicidal alchy otherwise. Dead towns get worse, not better. Cheap labour areas attract arsehole employers anyway.

        • AWP, same here where I am, that’s the eastern counties. Nothing but charity shops, fast food places, caravan parks, betting shops or old folk’s homes. There’s never any jobs advertised at those places except the caravan parks but there’s the annual part-time Xmas vacancy advertised at Argos every year, it’s a lost cause and this constant monitoring and harrassment by the stooges in gov’t that keep on making us feel like wrong-doer is just is a merry go round of sadism and psychological warfare.

    • They know what they can do with their sanctions – stick them up their own arses. I was stuffed over by the JCP morons with a four-week suspension as they claimed I wasn’t doing enough to find work. If there are no jobs in my area, I can’t wave them out of thin air. David Camoron, visit my town if you dare, and not for some bloody photo opportunity like you did with the recent flood victims, you tory twat!

      My town is dying fast. No jobs anywhere, no proper transport links like rail , too many foreigners over-running my town, the list goes on.

      * My town once had two railway stations on two seperate branch lines, but these all closed down in 1964 and 1968 respectively and now have bloody housing estates on the old railway station sites, with the remaining rusting railway line ending just outside of town now, having been last used for freight in 2000 and with the old goods yard taken over by a factory car park being built on the goods yard in 2001) . With the loss of a good railway link, the town is falling apart badly.

      Roads links are no good here, buses are getting too expensive to use and all the jobs are in other locations where rail can easily connect to and is a lot cheaper that bus usage.

      • What town do you live in if you don’t mind me asking? I live in Brentwood in Essex where we have lots of Tory morons who have provided our Tory MP (Eric Pickles) with a majority of 16,921 and 33% over the Lib Dems.

        • All I can say is that I live in one of the fenland towns in North Cambridgeshire. Exact details I have to with-hold as I suspect the internet is being monitored by the government, and that if I say too much about my present location It could be possible that my JSA claim will go tits up with another sanction – this time for three months – if by pure chance a JCP goon happens to come across this blog website and sees me using AWP as my call-sign on here and not my real online identity of which they already have half-knowledge on.

          I can’t risk losing my JSA claim for three months for speaking up on here against the corrupt benefit system that I am trapped in.

  34. Several of my replies are missing. Along with a Dinosaur, apparently.
    I will ask the street sweepers around victoria and see what comes up. Try again tomorra.

  35. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-data-strategy–3

    DWP OPEN DATA STRATEGY.

    I got this from a PDF which in its introduction said something about how it
    will public trust with the govt..

    Are they fucking serious ?

  36. Reblogged this on The Heckler and commented:
    A useful, critical look at the hype coming from the Department of Work & Pensions about unemployment levels…

    • In other words…

      * ”We, the DWP, simply don’t give a flying fuck if you are not employed. That’s your fault you lazy sod. There are jobs out there, so don’t come to us saying the job market is tough at present”

      The DWP is losing money every day, not through benefit fraud but instead through giving IDS a salary. Lazy bald-headed berk needs to be sectioned for claiming a wage through fiddling the country with his propaganda and lies.

  37. Falling un-employment? More fucking spin and lies from the tory twats illegally occupying government. The claimant figure is being manipulated by people being forced onto MWA, the failing work programme, excessive use of sanctions, and foreigners being handed british jobs on a plate by employers.

    I can’t even get a job interview in my local area, after constantly going round town with completed application forms or spec calling the company to see what is available.

    My own town is in the dregs now, being over-run by the pesky immigrants intent on claiming all manner of benefits purely to spend on cheap cans of booze – of which every night they neck in full view of the public whilst in alcohol restricted areas. My town centre is covered by an DPPO to try an crack down on people getting pissed from cheap booze in public areas.

    I raised this problem on a local website and those running this local town website simply don’t give a fuck in taking up this issue – they are trying to brush the immigrant drinking problem under the carpet. Every night small groups of these outsiders congregate in restricted zones in my town, away from any CCTV camera to get pissed and carry out intimidating actions to anybody walkiing by.

    • Landless Peasant

      Pesky immigrants? That’s a rather reactionary and small-minded view. I know immigrants who are employed, hard-working, decent, pleasant people. I know some Brits, on the other hand, who are feckless wastrels it has to be said. But you can’t simply tar everyone with the same brush! As for your town being “in the dregs”, so is mine, a large city, and has been for several decades, not due to immigrants but due to withdrawal of industry overseas to exploit cheaper workforce, and lack of investment.

      • The pesky immigrants I refer to are NOT the hard-working communities employed in the local companies around my town, there ARE plenty of honest, hard-working people – I am on about those immigrants who don’t want to work, who instead are intent on claiming benefits, buy cheap cans of beer with all of their dole money and then get drunk every single night in the DPPO areas imposed in my town centre, causing tension with local people through actions of their excessive drinking.

        My town now has several no-go areas away from CCTV, especially at night, because certain people like to chuck all of their dole money away on nightly booze sessions either in town or in other public spaces.

        • Landless Peasant

          “buy cheap cans of beer with all of their dole money and then get drunk every single night”

          Yes AWP, those people are called Alcoholics, it’s an illness.

      • No one is denying the fact that some immigrants are hard-working or that there are not many reasons for Britain having such a deplorable rate of unemployment but allowing MASS immigration to a country which HAS A SEVERE LACK OF DEMAND FOR PEOPLE’S LABOUR IS making a bad problem WORSE.

        A sensible country severely restricts all but the most highly-skilled migrants from coming here to work WHEN IT HAS A LACK OF DEMAND FOR PEOPLE’S LABOUR and when I say highly-skilled I mean people like brain surgeons, nuclear scientists ect.

        This is just patriotism and COMMON SENSE so that rules out Tory/Labour/Lib Dem for a start.

        • Landless Peasant

          Patriotism? WTF’s that? As for “COMMON SENSE”, there is no such thing, only consensus Reality.

          • something survived...

            But Brits with no skills can go and work abroad as holiday reps, pool attendants, bar staff? And nobody questions that? Don’t even have to bother to learn the language, whether Spanish or another.
            (If you’ve watched some recent documentaries, it seems the main duty of many holiday reps seems to be getting drunk, getting everybody else drunk, and taking their clothes off and having sex in public.)

            • If holiday reps didnt double the price of every local attraction and sell it to weary hungover kids as they arrived at the hotel (the welcoming drink)
              they would barely earn enough to eat!

            • As for skying lodge work etc, the pay is 150 euros a week but you might be working 7 days. You dont imagine a french etc person would take that money, do you?

  38. Reblogged this on and commented:
    Some explanation from the very wise Johnny Void on the DWP’s spin on employment figures. In truth, there has been no real employment recovery and there are no jobs.

  39. An example of the nazi-run DWP…

    DWP :- Client has not been looking for work in a set two-week period

    JSA Claimant :- had to deal with moving house and setting up new contracts with utility suppliers during the time period concerned

    DWP :- Four-week sanction has been formally issued; client made himself un-employable

    JSA Clamaint :- Tries to appeal as this house move contributes towards better job prospects than previously

    DWP :- JSA Claim will be looked at again near the end of the suspension

    JSA Claimant :- Will noe be forced into begging for money to pay new bills and rent, food bank will now have to be used

    JSA Claimant ‘Please sir (DWP), can I have some more?

    DWP :- ‘No. Fuck off, you made yourself un-employable’

    JSA Claimant :- ‘I did explain to the JCP nazi goon that my impending house move would help my job prospects and they agreed with me and made notes n my JSA claim file that this will enhance my prospects’

    DWP :- ‘We have not received this new information, now fuck off’

    • and again;
      THATS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT RAZOR, THEY STOPPED MY MONEY BECAUSE I REFUSED TO FILL IN A QUESTIONNAIRE THAT ASKED ABOUT MY CIRCUMSTANCES EVEN THOUGH THEIR OWN DOCTORS HAVE SAID THEY WILL NOT CHANGE IN THE FUTURE….

      THE QUESTIONNAIRE ASKED FOR A SIGNATURE THAT SAID I WOULD GIVE PERMISSION TO THEM TO SEND ME FOR ANOTHER BOGUS APPRAISAL IF THEY DEEMED MY CIRCUMSTANCES HAD CHANGED.

      WHATEVER THE CLAIMANT WROTE ON THE QUESTIONNAIRE, THEY WOULD DEEM IT TO BE A CHANGE AND WHISK YOU OFF TO AN EX BEDPAN WASHER FOR A BOGUS MEDICAL REPORT.

      SAME OLD VEILED THREATS ON THE QUESTIONNAIRE, “IF YOU DON’T AGREE, WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO PAY YOUR BENEFITS”……………………….

      WHAT A FUCKING LAUGH!!!

      I HAVE BEEN LIVING ON INDUSTRIAL INJURY BENEFIT OF £32 PER WEEK SINCE LAST JULY, AND I HAVE A GROWN UP SON AND A PARTNER……………….

      THE MINUTE YOU SIGN ANY DOCUMENT FROM THE DWP YOU ARE,

      “ENTERING INTO A CONTRACT AND HAVE GIVEN UP YOUR RIGHTS”

      YOU ARE BEING HERDED TO GO FOR AN EXAMINATION OF YOUR ABILITY TO WORK, IN FRONT OF A STATE SPONSORED CHARLATAN WHO HAS BEEN ON A SHORT COURSE TO GET A GLOSSY CERTIFICATE, NOT RECOGNISED EVEN IN DEEPEST PERU…………………

      ATOS AND ALL THE OTHER FINANCIAL MALINGERERS THAT PURPORT TO UTILISE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS ARE NOTHING BUT A SPIN OFF, OF THE DISABILITY DENIAL MACHINE OF UNUM CORPORATION OF AMERICA.

      I AM COMPLETELY BEWILDERED WHY THE AUTHENTICITY OF A CHARLATANS STATEMENT, OVER THAT OF A TRUE DOCTOR, HAS BEEN GIVEN ANY CREEDENCE IN THE UK.

      THEY ALL SING FROM THE SAME SONG SHEET, THESE BASTARDS………………

      REPLACING ATOS WITH ANY OTHER IS JUST A THREE CARD SHUFFLE………..

      SAME OLD SHIT, DIFFERENT UNIFORM!

  40. I’ve been wondering what fabricated bullshit I will get next week during my mandatory signing-on attendance in the local gestapo office. Makes me fucking laugh watching all of the tinpot hitler pretending to do some work behind their centrally-heated desks when instead we all know the reality of what they actually do – they watch porn or maybe play online gambling games to try and get some more money than their piss-poor wages.

    One or two of the brain dead twats at my so-called jcp office has got an BMW Z4 convertable that he likes to flash and show off by parking it in the front car park, directly next to the JCP entrance. The next time I go to that fucking prison to sign my life away, I ought to take a screwdriver with me and scratch the fuck out of the cunt’s BMW Z4.

    And yet they have the fucking cheek to expect me to live on basically nothing each fortnight. As soon as my JSA is in one hand, it’s out of the other in rent payments. I can’t even fucking afford to spend it on some treats or luxuries for myself every so often, and as for wanting to get on the bus for a day out and away from my piss-poor town, forget it. The bus fare is fucking ridiculous nowadays.

    When that smug tory wanker IDS is arrested for crimes against humanity, I will be having a street party booze up and also a bonfire with his effergy right at the top, dosed in petrol obviously.

    Those lazy cunts pretending to help me back into work can simply fuck off and leave me alone. I can get on much better, faster and more constructive in finding work than instead having to be dragged down sewer level to out-dated JCP practices.

    One-size policy, which is the current mantra from the DWP does not fit all. Everybody is different and everybody has different employment requirements, depending on past and current skills, training and experience.

    Maybe the DWP wants us all to eat, dress and work in unison, just like the North Koreans have to do, for fear of being sent to prison if refusing to toe the official goverment propaganda.

    Bollocks to the JCP. Stop pissing me around with work programmes, etc and fucking help me get back into work. New Deal, YTS, and everything else you throw at me does not work.

    • I really feel for you and your situation. I am one of the people who are classed as “economically inactive” which means I am unemployed yet I am not signing-on. There are said to be AROUND 9 MILLION ECONOMICALLY INACTIVE PEOPLE IN Britain nowdays. That is the TRUE MEASURE of unemployment.

      I should sign-on but I don’t because I wouldn’t be able to cope with the incessant harrasement you lot all get merely for having the temerity to get some money off the state for being unemployed. The last time I signed-on I got so mad one day at a JSA advisor who was treating me as though I was completely nothing I slammed the door to the job centre and nearly broke the glass in the window.

      I really despair at the prejudiced and bigoted assumptions of this wretched ‘government’ and the so-called ‘opposition’ who introduced this callous attitude with their so-called ‘New Deal’. I don’t know how we are going to get the country to take a fresh look at this dire situation so that the government takes a HELPFUL stance that will WORK for the unemployed and the country.

      • All the government training schemes since YTS were purely designed only to create money for the people running these schemes. It has nothing to do with job creation or vacancy filling, just how much money they can gather during their three year placement contracts.

        Take my current incarnation as a guest of her majesty’s Work programme. Everything I have done to date has been an exact carbon copy of my previous two terms on New Deal and later Flexible New Deal. Same bullshit and lack of help, but just a different corporate name, different company and different ways to peddle lame propaganda to me.

        I look & apply for jobs constantly, yet does this wash with the JCP or work programme? No chance. They just look at me and think I have just fell out of a tree head first. Real help from my JCP or WP means bunging me onto any uncertain zero hours contract in order to fulfil their obligations of fiddling the local un-employment figures and to ensure the WP gets a cash payment for bunging me off somewhere on the cheap.

        I know what dodgy stuff my WPP is up to and I won’t give ground to them. Since I removed my rights of them having my CV on file, I am useless to them and also they cannot fiddle a back-to-work payment claim if I found a job through their services.

        Looking forward to filling out a WPP release comments form later this year. I shall be writing down obscenities and home truths about every dirty little trick they pulled against me in order to fiddle weekly £250 payments per session attendance…

        • I know how you feel mate. The last time I signed-on was in 2003 under that twat Tony Bliar. I left because I was being passed-over constantly by the private contractor wankers. I needed REAL HELP to get a job and they just ‘helped’ those who were already ‘near the labour market’ as the terminology goes. It was even worse than the Job Club I had attended previously! If the public knew how many BILLIONS of their money that has been wasted by these sharks they would be LIVID.

          This was Bliar’s so-called ‘New Deal’. Yeah, some ‘new deal’ for the unemployed – NOT!

          Have you done workfare yet? I wouldn’t do that unless I was PAID THE NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE RATE FOR THE WORK I WAS BEING ASKED TO DO.

          If they forced me to work somewhere like McDonalds and didn’t pay me then I would be highly tempted to throw some burning oil in the slavemaster’s face!

          • Not yet been dragged onto workfare as I am a few months away from the release of my prison term within the work programme. Although, I have done that crappy four week Mandatory Work Activity which in my opinion was a joke and a waste of my time and job talents.

      • The gov. dont give a flying fuck wether you get a job or not. If there were no unemployed to frighten the wage rates down with they would import some more. As long as the squeezed middle mugs keep punching in at 8.00 A.M. every morning on P.A.Y.E. your local m.p. doesnt care.

    • Advanced Driving Instructor

      Wouldn’t worry about the tosser in the BMW Z4 mate 😉 a lot of fuckwits that can’t drive their way out of a paperbag buy these sort of cars – and I would bet that this jc cunt is one of them. The only car they will have driven previous to this is the 1.2 Corsa they scrapped through their driving test in lol Cars are ‘skins’ – hey, look at me, I am a fuckwit jc adviser who can’t their way out of a paper bag driving a BMW on hire purchase.. too busy fucking showing off until … BOOM! the car is wrapped around a tree and the jc cunty adviser is flattened by a 10 tonne truck… 🙂

      • Of course, this JCP fucktard could have stolen the BMW Z4..

        I can’t see how his piss-poor JCP wages could help him buy a top-of-the-range convertible. Maybe I should nick the car, it will be the compensation I need after those crooks stole my JSA last year.

        • One thing though if I nick his car. I can’t drive. Still, it won’t stop me from wrapping it around a tree at high speed. I’ll simply blame the JCP cunt and have him done for drink driving.

  41. “WHY WOULD THE DWP TELL BLATANT LIES ABOUT THEIR INVOLVEMENT WITH A DISCREDITED, DISABILITY DENIAL FIRM, UNUM?……………….
    22 April 2013

    Dear Mr Reynolds
    Freedom of Information Act – Request for Information
    Our Reference: FOI IR 0306

    Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) review request which was received on 28
    March 2013. In that request, you asked for a review of your FOI reference 5116.

    You asked:

    I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Work and Pensions’s handling of
    my FOI request ‘U n u m corporations failure to record a conflict of interest.’.

    Its quite obvious that there is a conflict of interest, hence your reluctance to answer.

    Please be assured that your request has been given our full consideration and that all aspects of
    your review were taken fully into account.

    The review was conducted by an independent official of the Department, of the relevant grade
    and authority to carry out such requests. The case has been examined afresh, and guidance has
    been sought from domain experts to ensure all factors were taken fully into account.

    After consideration the internal review has confirmed that DWP does not hold any information on
    the Corporation identified above, as they are not connected to the DWP Medical Services
    Contract.

    You might find it helpful if I explain that Freedom of Information (FoI) Act is about the supply of
    recorded information held by the Department rather than explaining or confirming whether your
    assumptions are correct or not.

    If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number above.

    Yours sincerely

    DWP Business Management Team
    Health & Disability Assessments (Operations)
    ……………………………………………………………………………………………
    and yet;

    13. UnumProvident is actively engaged with the Government, policy-makers and large employers to share best practice and to see where our systems and approaches might be applied more widely. We are currently working with the Department of Work and Pensions on this, and have had discussions with officials in HM Treasury and the Prime Minister’s office. We have met with officials to help better understand the nature of the IB casebook, and to discuss how our commercial experience and expertise might be more widely applied. In addition, we will shortly be supporting the National Employment Panel in its work on the New Deal for Disabled People through a secondment of one of our senior managers.

  42. “You can remove as many obstacles as you wish, in an effort to con the populus”……………………………………………………………………………….

    Sadly the stench of corruption alway’s finds a way out………..

    David Christopher Kelly, CMG (14 May 1944 – 17 July 2003) was a British scientist and expert on biological warfare, employed by the British Ministry of Defence, and formerly a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq. He came to public attention in July 2003 when an unauthorised discussion he had off the record with BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan about the British government’s dossier on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was cited by Gilligan and led to a major controversy. Kelly’s name became known to the media as Gilligan’s source and he was called to appear on 15 July before the parliamentary foreign affairs select committee investigating the issues Gilligan had reported. Kelly was questioned aggressively about his actions.

    He was found dead two days later……………………………

    • CONSIDER HOW MANY OF OUR TROOPS HAVE DIED WHILST FIGHTING IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, TRANSPOSE THIS ON TO THE BIGGEST COVER UP OF AN ILLEGAL WAR, STILL HIDDEN BY THE CHILCOTT INQUIRY, THEN EQUATE THIS TO THE WAR AGAINST OUR MOST VULNERABLE…………………………..

      HOW MANY LIVES ARE THE GOVERNMENT WILLING TO ACCUMULATE BEFORE THE TRUTH BECOMES KNOWN?

      THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN OUT, NOW THE CLERGY ARE COMING TO THE FORE………………………….

      THE GOVERNMENTS OF THIS WORLD ARE FOLLOWING A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AGENDA TO THE VIEWS OF THOSE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT.

      YOU, THE PEOPLE, ARE SECONDARY TO THE OBJECTIVES OF THE GREAT POWER HOUSES OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY.

      SOLD DOWN THE RIVER ON THE WHIM OF A VERY FEW………….

      STAND BACK AND BE OBJECTIVE BEFORE YOU DISAPPEAR INTO THE FOLDS OF THE WORST KEPT SECRET OF OUR TIME………….

      • Our government have an uncanny knack of releasing statistics to support their propaganda machine………………………

        Why are they refusing to give statistics of the ever growing mortality rate of the victims of the welfare reforms?

        The answer is plainly obvious…………

        “THE DEATHS OF THOUSANDS OF UK PERSONNEL IS A WORTHY SACRIFICE IN FURTHERANCE OF THE GOALS OF THE PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES WHO HAVE INFILTRATED AND CONTROL THE GOVERNMENT………………………..

  43. Glad I came to this blog.
    It’s awesome.

    I wonder how many disabled people have been miss guided into saying they are self employed because the way direct payments are so overly complex it is effectively self employment.

    I also wonder about people who take cash in hand jobs who are probably ‘advised’ into being self employed.

    That’s probably the biggest way companies can pay less than minimum wage. By buying production not paying time. Then it’s upto the self employed whether to pay tax. Why should they though they’ve effectively been taxed. The company involved gets to save money. They are the winners.

    Let’s not forget the top echelon live on benefits called the agricultural sit on your arse payment.
    The bottom scumbags on the universal credit/all the separate things
    The squeezed middle are the workforce who pay tax. Argh I could go on…
    Btw I should make it clear I’m not demonising people who genuinely need welfare. That’s what it should be for.

    • I would gladly be back in work, but it won’t happen whilst the goons at my JCP keep holding me back from actually doing something to better myself.

      Their idea of help and support is –

      ”What have you applied for in the last two weeks?”

      or

      ”How many spec approaches have you made lately?”

      Then at the end of the signing, we get the classic cheeriness from the smug twat behind the desk impatient for their tea or smoke break..

      ”see you again in two weeks”

      Not bloody likely if they were to stop blocking my serious attempts in securing work instead of being a pawn in their box ticking games.

      • Yes, this is what they do. It all started with that gormless twat John Major trying to be ‘hard’ (don’t laugh!) and impress the morons on the ‘Right’ of his party (after annoying them with the Maastrict Treaty) by introducing the Job Seeker’s Allowance Act 1995 (before it was called UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT. Subtle eh?) and it was that act that introduced all the stupid
        restrictions like not being able to go off to college to learn new skills if it broke a pretty narrowly-defined ‘availiabilty for work’ test. Then the fuckwit and war monger Tony Bliar made the situation even worse with is so-called ‘New Deal’ which was even more beurocratic restrictions on the unemployed and this government has continued in the same way.

        It would be much better to scrap all this needless beaurocracy and go back to the old unemployment benefit. Then, at least, the unemployed would have a bit of liberty to do whatever THEY think is the best way of getting a job instead of having some slavemaster moron in the job centre say do this, do that so I have things to write in the folder about you. GIVE JOB SEEKERS SOME FREEDOM AND MOST WILL DO THE RIGHT THING!.

        Of course, the best way of helping the unemployed would be to create a decent economy with ENOUGH JOBS TO GO AROUND.

        • Capitalism doesnt work if there are enough jobs to go around,
          as everybody demands the going rate. It only works if there is the threat of destitution to keep the workers slaving for peanuts for 2500 weeks, at which point they can eak out their savings and snuff it.

        • Please don’t get me started on about ‘New Deal’ and its so-called replacements ‘flexible New Deal’ and the cock-up work Programme

          Different names, different so-called work training each time, but exactly the same old crock dressed up all fucking fancy and do-dah.

          How is looking in out-of-date papers and using knackered computers in any government scheme conducive to training you for work? You’re lucky to spend a maximum 6 months unpaid WP or new deal forced work in a charity shop like what happened to me on my first merry-go-round with the broken system.

          My latest incarnation – stuck on the lame WP is even worse than being on New Deal. At least then they did everything to help & support me back in to work with weekly job reviews and suggestions.

          But the WPP that I am on – ‘Papworth Trust’ – funded by those tax crooks Ingeus, don’t give a flying fuck about me. They are just interested in securing a large cash payment if i return to work through them.

          They’ve tried every scam in the book to screw me over and basically hope to say to me ‘we’ve got you back in work so now we can justify a large back-hander for all our efforts’

          Wrong. All I have done for nearly two years is use their antique computers to search in vain for work. Each time I am there I have to write down what jobs I found and then have to see my cow of an so-called WPP advisor and show her this list of jobs. Too bad if I am now feeding them with out-of-date information, and I am wondering how long it will be before they wake up and realise I am scamming them with old information not matching the relevant job applications I declare in my JCP diary.

          If they tried to force me into zero-hour work (three failed attempts), messed up my CV (compiled previously with Learn Direct assistance), insisted I either change my outlook address or create a new one, and are keen to make me attend in-house training classes where nothing is achieved except talking and writing down work related information; then It’s only fair that I should fuck them about in return.

          Every so often I try to break into their computers mid-job searching to see if I can change user log-on passwords or the Network connections so I can fiddle around with the IP numbers and disconnect the computer on purpose. No luck yet but I still have a few months left to try and corrupt their computers.

          My JSA depends each fortnight on what is written in my JCP diary, not WPP attendance or anything that I have to ‘show and tell’ at a WPP session. So far, to date (since June 2012) I have been seen by three so-called WPP advisors each on a six month basis – pass the parcel is a game they like to play otherwise I should be just one person for the entire two year prison sentence, not fucking three of the cunts. This proves to me that they can’t accept their responsibilities nor care of duty towards me.

          It’s one thing being on the WPP, but after I leave them will I get real help and useful suggestions or will they bombard me with postal requests and phone calls asking how am i getting on or wanting me to fill out questionnaires?

          If they do this ‘after-care’ with me I shall threaten them with legal action leading to full compensation from harassment. I get enough of it now from the JCP, not the real help that they lie about.

          Some interesting details keep emerging to me about the building that my WPP occupies. Near the shared street entrance (fucking intercom access) postal letters have piled up. Last week I noticed a pile of letters from HM Customs & excise. Either the WPP or some other organisation using the shared building hasn’t been paying corporation tax and duties – I hope it’s the WPP who are fiddling the tax service. Every week I hope in vain that the building has finally been secured by HM customs with the entrance lock having been changed and a notice on the door saying ‘This building has been closed until further notice’

          My last day will be fun… I intend to leave those tax demand letters in a pile on my WPP reception desk and watch their smug faces in response.

      • Exactly. When I was out of hospital following heart failure (I was lucky not to die), I took a break from uni for what was supposed to be two years to fully recover and recuperate.

        One of the first things to do was to attend an appointment at the confusingly named JobCentre. They had sent a letter to me following my social workers application she made for me to ESA.

        Naively I was expecting this to result in finding temp work in an office or something. The JC is down the high street so I went there on my own, the weather was fine. It only took me about 20 min. I get to my appointment on time and I’m greeted with: “Oh I see you’re in a wheelchair. I’ll just put you into the right category so you wont need to come here again.”

        I was pretty wound up by that. I said “No, I want to work even if it’s just a job doing basic office work -I have experience working in an office…” She asked what other sorts of things I could do. I said: “anything as long as I can do it sitting down.” I gave her a list of my qualifications and told her about the units I’d done at uni. I’d been originally doing a bsc in computer animation but I’d switched to a ba in animation.

        While at uni I’d been taking freelance work doing database web apps / websites / and hosting of websites as well as previously having run my own registered company when I was 18 (when I was walking-it was a virtual pet software) which I wound down and it completely ended when I was 22 (when I became a dribbling turbo mega spaz-the reason is because I wanted to do something else).

        I noticed how frustratingly slow she was typing with one finger obviously not adding in anything about the specialist software, video editing, or programming. I added “I can actually type properly and could do your job better than you.” Or some other such cheeky remark which, I felt, was justified by her being such a prejudicial douche-nozzle when the appointment began.

        When she’d finally finished I left and took the elevator down stairs and saw all the dilapidated computers on these weird high-up tables which people stood at to find Jobs. I wondered why I had not been told to checkout some jobs and apply from a more accessible computer.

        Several months later. I realised that the JobCentre was never going to write to me or ask me to attend a training thing like they were supposed to. I was getting pretty depressed by the situation. Being jobless and living in the middle of a densely populated council housing area in Portsmouth wasn’t the only thing bringing me down.

        The cuts to social care were just starting to really get ridiculous. My care package went from 40hrs per week to 5 and a 1/2 for a deteriorating, life shortening, genetic condition. Justify that Ian Dickhead Smith. So now I had 45 mins with a carer everyday rather than what I used weekly about 3hrs a day but with 8 hrs on Tuesday so that I could get the shopping, get help with cleaning the flat, open and close the windows as and when needed, and all the other things that are actually impossible for me to do like making a bed.

        So for a year I lived in deteriorating filth. My mum would come visit and clean every 3-4 months but I live 300+ miles away from her. I had to have showers given to me by Adult Care Workers who rush everything because they don’t have time. I’d be shivering in the bath seat because they wouldn’t have time to wait for the heater to warm up. They’d make me a sandwich and stick it in the fridge. That was lunch. I’d microwave a ready meal for dinner. They’d prepare and put a hot drink on my table, wash my dishes from the day before and then leave.

        I’d spend the rest of the day struggling with laundry, I didn’t have time/care to dust. My walls were white. My lights had no shades. There were no pictures on the walls. The windows were either open or shut all day and night. It was such a depressing existence.

        Eventually my mothers partners eldest son got me a job at the company he works for. I could do it from home even though the office is in Chester.

        My health stopped deteriorating so fast – it still does just it’s more stable now. I’m married now. We only have one light bulb exposed and stuff around our home is prettier. We are still in Portsmouth though desperately trying to move.

        The best thing was going into the JobCentre after two years and saying I’m employed no thanks to you. I showed them my employment contract which they photo-copied for ceremonial reasons since my folder probably doesn’t exist. I’d got off benefits after 2 years… Originally I thought I’d only be on them a few weeks.

        They should simply sack the workforce at the JC and fill all the vacancies with the unemployed. Let them taste their own medicine.

        • Wow. I’m bloody pleased things are looking up for you, Pal.
          You deserve a break. And yes, many jc+ advisors are only one O
          level in front of a lifetime working for McD’s. Its not their fault, the problem is the exams have dumbed down so you now have people of
          below average I.Q. advising people how to get a job.
          But well done to you anyway. Some fucker should endure time behind bars for what you’ve been through.
          GOOD LUCK!

          • Thanks :). Unfortunately incompetents are often employed in surprising numbers in any profession. A staggering amount in publicly paid for jobs. The guys at McD’s actually manage to give me a hot well assembled Big Mac in 3 minutes. I doubt any politician could do that with the same level of ability day in day out following what seems to be a short bit of on the job training.

            • Hmmm. Yerse.
              It bloody aggravates me so badly if there isnt a fresh cheeseburger ready to go in the hot drawer that I just walk out-It is FAST FOOD joint after all.When you walk into a fish n chippy they have most stuff prepared. Imagine being told to wait for a fish cake each time you went in?
              In the U.S. I imagine the Mc D’s would be shunned for such sloppyness.

  44. Jobs for Iain Duncan Smith following his resignation in May 2015…

    * Zoo keeper. Surely he can be capable helping out in the monkey cage. After all, he is currently getting plenty of experience working with trained chimps running the DWP. I hear Twycross zoo are looking for staff.

    * Toilet cleaner. IDS will be well at home in this cosy little job. Sweeping up the sick off the floor or cleaning out the brown-stained bogs. IDS already talks a load of old sh*t so nothing new here.

    * Nazi officer. I hear that IDS has a party trick he likes to do in private during the state opening of parliament. His party trick is to dress up as hitler and practice his goose stepping and whip wielding…

    • something survived...

      Toilet cleaner: This post is already earmarked for Katie Hopkins, to be turned upside down and her head used as a bog brush.

      Other jobs for IDS:
      Exploratory landmine consultant (send him to wander around mined fields)
      Logistics performance ameliorater (To fix pothole problems, IDS and fellow tories will be incorporated into motorways.)
      Cactus-dildo tester
      Playmate for large randy bear bloke in jail on Viagra
      Moving target for military to shoot to study gunshot wounds (if it’s cruel to use live pigs)
      Something a tank can drive over
      Something people can piss on (it’s illegal to urinate in the street, so let’s make all tories and nazis legitimate designated public urinals.)
      Something footballers can practice kicking on
      Dung-eater
      Lit-firework catcher
      Bog-snorkeller
      Explainer of the need for welfare cuts, to a tank of hungry sharks, from inside tank
      Realistic dead body for Casualty, Midsomer Murders, etc (to do this job, and be as realistic as possible, applicant must be dead)
      Experimental mad cow disease sampler (IDS will be given CJD, and while slowly dying will be daily ordered to find work.)
      Carer for all the millions of kids left abandoned because he sent their parents on workfare…

  45. Domain:
    direct.gov.uk

    Registered For:
    Directgov

    Domain Owner:
    H M Government Cabinet Office

    Registered By:
    H M Government Cabinet Office

    Servers:
    ns1.p08.dynect.net
    ns2.p08.dynect.net
    ns3.p08.dynect.net
    ns4.p08.dynect.net

    Registrant Contact:
    GDS Domain Administrator

    Registrant Address:
    Aviation House
    125 Kingsway
    LONDON
    WC2B 6NH
    United Kingdom
    hostmaster@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk

    Renewal date:
    Monday 30th Mar 2015

    Entry updated:
    Tuesday 5th November 2013

    Entry created:
    Wednesday 17th September 2003

  46. Oh…by the way, Geoff….. Sorry to hear of how you are being treated by these evil satan worshipping NEW NAZIS.
    We are witnessing a total war on the poor.

    • CHEERS GORDON, THEIR IGNORANCE SPURS ME ON!

      • something survived...

        “These are not Neo-Nazis.. This is Nouvelle Nazisme!”
        Sobibor, Dachau, Bergen-Belsen, Treblinka, Majdanek, Auuschwitz-Birkenau, Chelmno…..

        If it talks like a nazi and acts like a nazi…
        Then it’s probably called IDS.

    • “ATOS USES PLAY ACTING”

      Re Role Players
      Atos Healthcare use experienced actors to perform the role-play for interviewee scenarios.
      Actors are not required to have any training other than “role play” for this activity. They act the
      role play scenarios which are approved by Atos Healthcare trainers.

      taken from f.o.i. to DWP

      • “HOW MANY TIMES HAVE MEMBERS OF PUBLIC BEEN TOLD BY THE DWP THAT THEY CANNOT APPEAL A DECISION?”

        “HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DENIED THE RIGHT TO AN APPEAL?”

        “HOW MUCH MONEY HAVE THE DWP MADE BY DENIAL OF A CLAIMANT’S RIGHT TO AN APPEAL?”

        ………and yet;

        YOU STATE, “HOWEVER, THE REGULATIONS WOULD APPEAR.”

        THIS IS NOT DEFINITIVE. CATEGORICALLY STATE THE CASE ONE WAY OR THE
        OTHER PLEASE.

        The Department cannot provide a definitive reply to your question. As stated in the previous
        reply, the decision on whether or not to accept an appeal is for the Tribunal judge to make.

        I should also like to add that you have now been informed on numerous occasions that the
        Freedom of Information Act is about the supply of recorded information held only, and is not
        about entering into a debate. As you have once again submitted a request which is attempting
        to engage in debate and is not for recorded information held by the Department, I find this
        request to be invalid and vexatious in nature. In view of this the Department is under no
        obligation to answer it, and will not enter into further debates or respond to further FOI
        Requests on this matter.
        If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number
        above.
        Yours sincerely,

        DWP Central FoI Team

        …………………………………………………………………………………………..

        everything can be appealed……………………………

        • Dear Geoffrey Reynolds,

          Thank you for your Freedom of Information request received 02 May. You asked;

          PLEASE SHOW THE RULES THAT PURPORT THAT THE DM CAN REFUSE TO LET
          AN APPEAL GO FORWARD.

          The information you have requested does not exist. Your suggestion that the Department’s
          decision makers can supress an appeal is not correct.
          If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number
          above.
          Yours sincerely,

          DWP Central FoI Team

          • “CAMERON’S UNITED KINGDOM”

            Biggest political move by Church of England in a generation as bishops attack the prime minister’s welfare reforms
            Criticism: Britain’s leading bishops have denounced David Cameron’s welfare reforms for creating a “national crisis”

            Britain’s leading bishops denounce David Cameron’s welfare reforms for creating a “national crisis”.

            In an unprecedented attack on the Tory-led Coalition, 27 Anglican bishops and 16 other clergy accuse the Tory-led coalition of creating hardship and hunger.

            For so many leading members of the clergy to launch such a direct attack on the Government of the day is unprecedented.

            This is the most significant political move by the Church of England since its Faith in the City report in the 1980s attacking Margaret Thatcher’s cuts.

            It underlines the deep concern felt by the churches over the Coalition’s brutal welfare cuts which have left so many facing hunger and hardship.

            In a letter to the Daily Mirror, 27 Anglican bishops and 16 other faith leaders say the PM has a “moral duty” to act on the growing number going hungry.

            The intervention comes after Britain’s leading Catholic Archbishop Vincent Nichols said the Government’s benefit cuts were a “disgrace.”

            A rattled Mr Cameron hit back by claiming the reforms were a “moral mission” and gave people “hope”.

            But he is now also at war with the Church of England and other faith groups including the Quakers and Methodists.

            In their letter the bishops say “Britain is the world’s seventh largest economy and yet people are going hungry.”

            It continues: “We must, as a society, face up to the fact that over half of people using foodbanks have been put in that situation by cut backs to and failures in the benefit system, whether it be payment delays or punitive sanctions.”

            Signed by 27 of the 59 Church of England bishops, it notes that half a million people have visited foodbanks since last Easter, while 5,500 people were admitted to hospital in the UK for malnutrition last year.

            The church leaders also challenge Mr Cameron’s claim that his reforms are part of a “moral mission.”

            “We often hear talk of hard choices. Surely few can be harder than that faced by the tens of thousands of older people who must ‘heat or eat’ each winter, harder than those faced by families whose wages have stayed flat while food prices have gone up 30% in just five years.

            “Yet beyond even this we must, as a society, face up to the fact that over half of people using foodbanks have been put in that situation by cut backs to and failures in the benefit system, whether it be payment delays or punitive sanctions,’ the letter says.

            It concludes by telling the Prime Minister he has an “acute moral imperative to act.”

            “Hundreds of thousands of people are doing so already, as they set up and support foodbanks across the UK. But this is a national crisis, and one we must rise

            “We call on government to do its part: acting to investigate food markets that are failing, to make sure that work pays, and to ensure that the welfare system provides a robust last line of defence against hunger,” the bishops write.

            Signatories include the Bishops of Durham, Oxford, Manchester, Salisbury, Newcastle, Gloucester and Leicester.

            The Bishop of Chelsmford, the Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, said: “Food banks provide a fantastic service but it is scandalous that in our society we should need a single food bank let alone hundreds of them.

            “It feels to me we are a more divided society than even a year ago and that troubles me deeply.”

            Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Rachel Reeves MP said: “This letter should be a wake up call to David Cameron.

            “The government have presided over a cost of living crisis and policies like the bedroom tax and cuts to tax credits are hitting the most vulnerable in society. Foodbanks are fast becoming the symbol of this out-of-touch government.”

            The Bishops’ letter is part of the End Hunger Fast campaign – which is calling on people to fast during lent in solidarity with the UK’s hungry families.

            The campaign will culminate with a vigil in Parliament Square in the run up to Easter.

            It comes as figures showed 818,000 benefit claimants have had their payments docked because of tough new sanctions since October 2012.

            Campaigners say the sanctions are one of the major factors causing people to seek aid from foodbanks.

            The Rev Keith Hebden, founder of the End Hunger Fast campaign, said the Government was “failing in its duty of care” to provide a basic safety net..

            “All kinds of circumstances push people to the edges of society where they now face a triple whammy of welfare cuts, wage stagnation, and food price rises. The Government is failing in its duty of care to provide basic safety net for its own citizens.

            “We must reconsider urgently the society we are becoming; the hunger we permit. For David Cameron to defend what is happening in the welfare system as a part of his ‘moral mission’, when the reality is that hundreds of thousands of Britains have been left hungry is truly shocking,” he told the Mirror.

            Chris Mould of the Trussell Trust, Britain’s largest provider of foodbanks. said it was “unacceptable” that hundreds of thousands of people could not afford to eat.

            “We need to wake up to the hunger on our doorsteps, and ask urgent, in depth questions about why this is happening and then be brave enough to take action to stop it. We’d urge people to add their voice to the call to end hunger fast,” he said.

            The Daily Mirror has been campaigning on food poverty and the exponential rise in foodbanks for over a year. Over half a million people took three days emergency food from Trussell Trust foodbanks alone during April to December 2013.

            Over Christmas, the paper launched a petition with the campaigner Jack Monroe, the Trussell Trust and Unite the Union that was signed by over 140,000 people in less than a week. The petition demanded a debate in Parliament on the rising use of Foodbanks – and to find solutions to the growing crisis of UK hunger.

            In December, Mirror readers also raised over £100,000 for British families in need of food aid during the paper’s Christmas Appeal.

            The Daily Mirror is also calling on the Department for Food and Rural Affairs to publish a suppressed food poverty report commissioned from academics at Warwick University and delivered almost a year ago to the department.

            Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Rachel Reeves MP said: “David Cameron’s so-called ‘moral crusade’ on welfare has been a disaster.

            “There’s nothing moral about working people paying more and disabled people being hit hardest.

            “This Tory-led Government’s welfare reforms have penalised, rather than helped, those doing the right thing. The idea that disabled people hit by the Bedroom Tax, young people desperate for a job but stuck on benefits, and working families struggling to survive on low pay have been given ‘hope’ by David Cameron is preposterous,” she said.

            A Number 10 spokesman said: “Of course many families are facing tough times as a result of the worst recession in a century.

            “That’s why, as the Prime Minister stressed today our welfare reforms are about building a country where people are not trapped in a cycle of dependency but are able to get on, stand on their own two feet and build a better life for themselves and their family.

            “Our welfare reforms are about giving new purpose, new opportunity, new hope and new responsibility to people who had previously been written off with no chance.

            “Seeing these reforms through is at the heart of our long-term economic plan and it is at the heart of our social and moral mission in politics today.”

            Here is the letter submitted to The Daily Mirror:
            Sir,

            Britain is the world’s seventh largest economy and yet people are going hungry.

            Half a million people have visited foodbanks in the UK since last Easter and 5,500 people were admitted to hospital in the UK for malnutrition last year.

            One in five mothers report regularly skipping meals to better feed their children, and even more families are just one unexpected bill away from waking up with empty cupboards.

            We often hear talk of hard choices. Surely few can be harder than that faced by the tens of thousands of older people who must “heat or eat” each winter, harder than those faced by families whose wages have stayed flat while food prices have gone up 30% in just five years.

            Yet beyond even this we must, as a society, face up to the fact that over half of people using foodbanks have been put in that situation by cut backs to and failures in the benefit system, whether it be payment delays or punitive sanctions.

            On March 5th Lent will begin. The Christian tradition has long been at this time to fast, and by doing so draw closer to our neighbour and closer to God.

            On March 5th we will begin a time of fasting while half a million regularly go hungry in Britain. We urge those of all faith and none, people of good conscience, to join with us.

            There is an acute moral imperative to act. Hundreds of thousands of people are doing so already, as they set up and support foodbanks across the UK. But this is a national crisis, and one we must rise to.

            We call on government to do its part: acting to investigate food markets that are failing, to make sure that work pays, and to ensure that the welfare system provides a robust last line of defence against hunger.

            Join us at http://www.endhungerfast.co.uk.
            Yours
            Anglican Bishops

            http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/27-bishops-slam-david-camerons-3164033#ixzz2tsnENUrE
            Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

            • ‘The Church used to preach the morality of hard-work and self-reliance … now they take their ‘lessons’ straight from the Labour party’ …. incredible (!).

              You / we, or anyone (other than someone in deep denial) could not make this ‘defence/rebuttal’ up ….

              It’s quite acceptable for there to be foodbanks on every corner though, and for those who can’t ‘manage’ properly to have to rely on them – that’s completely different & also has nothing whatsoever to do with the government … there’s plenty of time for people to get there too as long as they’re still available for work 40hrs per week and searching for it relentlessly (35 hours per week – seems very fair and reasonable in the circumstances).

        • If those smug DWP cunts refuse an FOI request, they are breaking the law

      • @GEOFF REYNOLDS worse than that Atos use role playing actorsvduribg disability assessment training ..where trainees are told they can use their own stethascopes.
        How kind of them..
        Would these be the HC professional from UDC university of derby corporate division who are involved in business training systems ?

  47. Pingback: Media-Ann-Such » Blog Archive » Being One of the Great Self-Unemployed and Subcontracting

  48. Check your change! 50p coin worth £24.

    Kew Gardens commemorative coin minted in 2009 leaps to nearly 50 times its original value in just five year.

    Just 210,000 of the coins were minted to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Botanic Gardens.

    Follow the link for a picture of the 50p coin.

    http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/feb/20/50p-coin-worth-24-pounds

  49. Nick Clegg on channel 5 news saying it is justifiable to stop benefits if the dwp do not think they are doing enough to find work – what he does not tell the interviewer is that people are fulfilling the punitive conditionality and still being sanctioned. Crackpot Clegg the mouthpiece for the tories.

    27 bishops have signed a letter opposing the benefit cuts and the fact that more and more are having to use foodbanks.

    If benefit cuts or sanctions did anything to secure work for the unemployed then there would not be increasing numbers of those sanctioned dependent on food banks, or is Clegg too thick to see that there are no jobs no matter how hard the unemployed look or how much they are sanctioned, therefore their cuts and sanctions are immoral and the bishops do right to speak out and not before time, they should be targeting new labour too who intend to carry on the crazy benefit regime, even though despite more borrowing will be providing very little in the way of employment for the long term unemployed, only more training courses to keep their middle class voters in their jobs.

  50. When listening to the radio i heard that Coronary Heart Disease was the biggest killer in the UK…………………..

    Surely this information is outdated.

    The biggest killer in the UK, is surely the DWP in tandem with ATOS.

    Mortality rates would show this, but are conveniently hidden from view.

  51. been told at the jobcentre today,jobsearch must now be recorded on universal jobmatch.the diaries we used to use will no longer be accepted
    anyone else had this

    • They have been saying that since it started. Just say you are very slow with a keyboard and find it much easier to write it down. It matters little, really. Except they cant keep your written copy . They cant validate written copy date wise, either but I dont think they care that much.

    • This is just a try-on. The JCP advisors in individual jobcentres think that the more people wrongly accept that it is the case, the more likely they will be able to make it mandatory to record jobsearch on UJM. Others on this blog will be able to give you a link or post the actual guidelines from the JCPs own UJM toolkit that say quite clearly that they cannot specify how we record our jobsearch. I photocopied my jobseekers diary as a master copy in case they refused, but was pleasantly surprised when one time about a month and a half ago my JCP advisor said “You don’t need to use the jobseeker’s diary you know. I then expected her to say you can record your jobsearch online, but she instead said “I can give you some A4 paper instead.” However I said I was OK with using the jobseekers diary. Although that was a few weeks ago, the same rules still apply. I believe it was Shirley Nott who posted information on one of Johnny’s previous blogs which stated that the evidence was to be “unsubstantiated” ie they don’t need print-outs or access to your UJM account either, and we each of us have an indisputable right to deny them access to our UJM account. When we hand them a written account of our jobsearch they have to input any relevant info and they want to get out of doing that; in other words, the JCP advisors in your jobcentreminus want you to do their job for them. You have fulfilled your part of the agreement by giving them a record of your jobsearch, and that is enough. They cannot refuse to accept the jobseekers diary, and if they do so, then ask to speak to a manager. If the manager is saying the same thing then take it higher.

      • I did go through this (two months running) and they will/did try their level best to insist on a print out from every job applied for – not just a written record because they wanted to see computer\based evidence not just what I said had been done (it was not that they didn’t believe me though! Much).

        Eventually it reached the point of them alluding to finding a printer ‘in house’ that i could sit down at and print out whatever it was they wanted.

        Manged to somehow explain in words they could just about understand that the jobs are applied for over the fortnight and it was not likely at any point that there would always be a printer to hand (or money to pay for the printouts) to ensure that they would get what they wanted week in week out and so i would not agree to it as wouldn:t be able to fulfil it.

        At various points took the info, from earlier blog/comments on here and from freedom of information requests/answers/refuted etc. which do state ‘we are unable to specify how a claimant should present their evidence and uj wil not change this’. It helped me to not be using uj in refusing them printouts but that was a whole other (separate) battle.

        It’s exhausting and the main thing i not understand is that they are relentless – gain an inch of ground – go back three spaces the next time. And that they don’t know what a foi is or what it is they’re really allowed to insist on but this won’t matter. Also they will take away what you show them (to check) and photocopy it out of view & come back and nitpick over it weeks later … as a fait accompli.

  52. People who have been stripped of benefits could be charged by the government for trying to appeal against the decision to an independent judge.

    Critics said the proposal, contained in an internal Department for Work and Pensions document leaked to the Guardian, would hit some of the poorest people in Britain, who have been left with little or no income.

    In the document about the department’s internal finances, officials say the “introduction of a charge for people making appeals against [DWP] decisions to social security tribunals” would raise money.

    http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/feb/20/people-stripped-benefits-charged-decision

    • @PAT they are taking the piss. In fact taking
      The piss to a new level

      • I see that, Chewie. Taking away somebody’s money, then making the course of action to get it back cost money.
        Up front, probably.

      • He’s digging a deeper hole around himself and filling it in behind him Bob.
        Are the public being indirectly billed for the universal credit fiasco?

        You can see the mentality of these arseholes when they ponder if an unemployed has the same right to healthcare and drugs as a rich person.

      • I noticed Ecclestone and his wealth tipped the judges decision Bob…….

        Strange how he won his case even though he was considered a liar and a corrupt businessman who bribed people………

        Wonder how much the judge took?
        or was he a fellow mason?

        • @Geoff that shows up in cases of child sex abuse cases such as north Wales where VIP abusers were masons and the judge who presided over the enquiry was also a free mason ..oh and the police chiefs too

        • something survived...

          Ecclestone is scum. He just said he supports Putin and the anti-gay law.
          So him shagging loads of young women (probably not very well), is okay? Why can’t he be ‘accidentally’ run over by an F1 car?

      • They already withdrew Legal Aid for all benefit First Tier Tribunals, thus denying us representation, that didn’t work, people still kept appealing.

        So they brought in Mandatory Reconsideration (with no time limit) then took away the payment of ESA for the MR period, and still people kept pushing through to the Tribunal to appeal, as is their right.

        Next, they made it that the claimant now has to lodge the appeal with the Tribunal Service and the DWP themselves, but didn’t bother telling any claimants that was what they now had to do. Despite this, people still keep pushing forward to appeal.

        This next step is logical to the Tory mind. Charge us for access to the law, any law. Charge us fees we don’t have, nor will ever have a hope of paying as we have had our Social Security payments stopped.

        Not only are they taking the piss to a new level, they will soon be drowning in it, just like we are, now.

    • “HAD I A SHOTGUN IN MY TRIBUNAL ON TUESDAY, WHEN THEY LEFT ME, A DISABLED MAN WITH ONLY £32 A WEEK TO LIVE ON, I WOULD HAVE BLOWN THE BASTARDS AWAY.

      NO HESITATION……………….

    • @Pat if you are stripped of benefits then you have no income ..so how can they charge anyone for appealing if you got no
      Money… Unless you have a whip round of which they will claim you don’t need benefits

      • Ps i am trying to find out about this ” monitoring ” of benefits sanctions process to see if they have been issued wrongly ..so far not seen evidence of monitoring process

  53. There are not enough jobs for people (partly due to immigrants, partly due to modern technology, partly due to the fact that our rulers want a certain amount of unemployment.) Plus there are people who are either genuinely too disabled to work, or because of prejudice would never be hired. (I have Asperger’s Syndrome; the only offers I get are for illegal money laundering, noone ever offers me a legit job.) What might make sense if there were jobs for everyone, is plain nasty when there is no such thing as full paid employment.)

    • With respect to how many HCPs have specifically sought advice on dealing with people with
      mental health issues;

      we estimate that the cost of complying with your request would exceed
      the appropriate limit of £600. This is because it would involve an extensive trawl of paper and
      computer records as the information you have requested is not routinely gathered. The
      appropriate limit has been specified in regulations and for central Government it is set at £600.
      This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 3½ working days in determining
      whether the Department holds the information, and locating, retrieving and extracting the
      information. Under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act the Department is not obliged
      to comply with your request and we will not be processing your request further.
      If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number
      above.
      Yours sincerely,

      Business Management Team
      Health & Disability Assessments (Operations)

  54. Dear Ms Ong

    Thank you for your Freedom of Information request received on 31st July 2013. You asked:

    Are any staff of the DWP, at any level, entitled to private health access as part of their contract?
    If so, please elaborate and give the annual cost?

    In response to your question:

    No Department for Work and Pensions staff, at any level, are entitled to private health access as part of their contract, therefore no cost is incurred.

    If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number above.

    Yours Sincerely,

    DWP HR Central Freedom of Information Team

  55. O/T sign the petition if you haven’t already

    http://basicincome2013.eu/

    • @Jasmine Geoff etc if you read my post from parliamentary committee it was reported that the over use of Benefit sanctions was to deter ANYONE claiming benefits in the idea it would ” save tax payers money ” thus denying benefits to really needy people … This practice was noticed

  56. Oh man! this is rich! Please watch this video folks. Is this the new JCP that has to have four security guards employed inside? Honestly if 20 years ago you’d have told me this would be happening i’d have said you were mad.

    • “Finally, if such an unprecedented attack was going to be made, the Bishops would have had more credibility if they had acknowledged some basic truths: That food-bank use increased ten-fold under the last Labour Government. That the Labour Government was so worried about the image that food-banks would create, that it prevented Job Centres from referring needy individuals to them (that’s got to rate pretty badly on the New Testament test) and that that the increase in food-banks will also partly be due to this added referral rate.

      The facts are that we have a dreadfully difficult task: to bring the country back into economic health so that we are able to continue to support a welfare state whilst at the same time reducing what is simply an unmanageably large current welfare bill.

      That was never going to be easy. Policies must be implemented by often very flawed departments, and human errors at all levels from the top of the department to the local job centre or assessment will occur.

      We must re-inject whole communities with self-esteem and the confidence to work. Any psychologist will tell you that takes time with an individual. With whole sections of our community, it is a mind-boggling task. Christianity is not about just giving people money. It is about enabling people back to work, encouraging them to take difficult, new steps towards confidence.”

      From the daily Torygraph

      The same paper that criticised welfare campaigners for ” using suicides ” to push their ” hard left agenda “

    • G4$ jerks. As always over reacting twats

    • WTF!- this is from the DWP website/gov website.

      This is fucked up..DWP says it wants to simplify the appeal process to avoid disputes
      Now talk of charging claimants for appeals
      ( the money goes to ministry of justice..
      Run by Grayliñg )

    • http://www.justice.gov.uk/tribunals/sscs

      Ministry of Justice appeals social security
      Advice guidance.

    • @ raining. Poor guy. Talk about heavy-handed. The policewoman with the black hair was talking nonsense, and the one with the brown hair was only slightly better. I’m glad that at least he was able to get it on film.

      • @fellow jcp the police don’t want to be filmed ..they have arrested people for just doing that..

        • @ bob I bet they particularly don’t want to be filmed talking nonsense!

          • @jcp sufferer they arrested someone for filming them and arrested someone for filming the arrest ….!!!

            Btw anagram of iain Duncan smith
            ” hi i’m cunt and sin “

            • This is unacceptable. Security guards can order ppl out of premises on a whim here. But they are not at liberty to lie to Police. I think job centers should have cameras so these creeps can’t say whatever they like about you. But the Police are equally guilty of not doing their job properly, as the guy says, that is a public building, and all the more so he needs to sign on. The Security should be challenged in court, but that would cost money, and most of us don’t have money… A complaint should be made to the local police chief, and everyone else that matters.
              As for filming….There is no law that prevents an arrest being filmed I am aware of.
              In USA some police try to prevent filming….but at least over there it is enshrined in Law, the plebs can film the police in public places and doing their duty. I would like to know what the rules are in these islands.
              This supposed to be a democracy. It’s not Syria or Ukraine. Not officially, yet….. tho it is very much a Nazi state for anyone on benefits of any kind it seems.

      • Yeah they don’t like it if someone is organised and pro-active about looking after their own rights. Did you hear that policewoman saying “I’m not comfortable being filmed”? Tough luck dear! that’s just the way things are. The thing that got up their noses was he never lost the plot and started swearing and ranting. They were hoping he’d do that then they’d arrest him.

    • “What makes a good news story?

      People working in the media are looking for strong and engaging news stories that are relevant to and will interest their audience. From an ESF perspective, they are most likely to be interested in the following story angles: 

      Human Interest: a story that shows how an individual’s life or a community has been changed for the better through ESF funded activity.
      Topical issues: stories that deal with a current employment, skills, education or inclusion theme. For example, redundancy and the lack of jobs for graduates or young people. The news agenda changes all the time – look out for anything that keeps cropping up in the media.
      Novelty, innovation and the unexpected: Has somebody done something completely new, surprising? Or is a project undertaking a completely new approach to training? Unusual or interactive events, especially if the journalist can join in, are good too.
      Project launches or significant investment in an existing programme: Focus on what it means to the community. How will lives be changed?
      Strong pictures: Sometimes a great picture alone will guarantee you a place in the paper – journalists are always looking for striking, engaging images to draw the reader in. TV reporters look for stories that can provide good footage.
      Celebrity: Whether it’s a visit from an MP or TV soap star, VIPs can give a story an edge.
      Follow-ups: Re-visit former stories. For example, if the original story was about a person launching their own business, contact them to see how the business has expanded and if they have taken on more staff.
      Surveys: Journalists like survey results that are of interest to their audience. Linking these to a relevant, strong human interest story of an individual provides a stronger story.”

      From DWP. ESF ..

    • “JSA payments to claimants who haven’t stuck to the rules have been suspended 818,000 times since we introduced new rules in October 2012.”

      DWP : Latest benefit sanction figures

      ” stuck to the rules ” such as suffering an illness attending a funeral ..being lied to by jcp forced on pointless workfare scheme told to use UJM when you dont have to..etc etc

    • https://www.gov.uk/government/news/record-breaking-numbers-of-women-in-work-as-employment-continues-to-rise

      ” RECORD BREAKING NUMBERS OF WOMEN IN WORK AS EMPLOYMENT CONTINUES TO RISE ”

      Oh hahahaha…

    • https://www.gov.uk/government/news/universal-credit-new-claimant-figures

      UNIVERSAL CREDIT NEW CLAIMANT FIGURES

      3,600 ppl are claiming using UC
      looks popular then….
      Oh wait this is a system thats not ready and fucked up ..oh ok..

    • https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-benefit-fraud-and-error-campaign-benefits-are-you-doing-the-right-thing

      DWP ” ARE YOU DOING THE RIGHT THING?

      How about letting loose a deranged psychopath in charge of welfare policy
      Or cutting benefits for claimants using
      feeble made up excuses
      Or sending sick people to an overpaid useless French IT firm to assess their illness and fucking that up claiming they are ” fit for work ”
      Or dumping people onto pointless unpaid work schemes
      Or producing phoney made up statistics
      Or refusing to respond to freedom of information requests over deaths of claimants
      Or ignoring court rulings when you have been found in breach of those rulings
      Or wasting millions of pounds on pointless and unworkable IT system
      So DWP I ask YOU the same question

      ” ARE YOU DOING THE RIGHT THING ? “

    • Duncan Smith’s hired thugs from one of UK’s most fraudulent as well as incompetent company G4S

    • My JCP has employed goons from G4S for a few years now. One of them is really arrogant and so far up his own fat chuff that it annoys me so much to see him strutting around the place with a smug look on his ugly face.

  57. eh up, trouble ‘t mill

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/10653076/Benefits-claimants-face-charges-to-challenge-decisions-over-payments.html

    the persecution of the poor, disabled and unemployed takes on a new dimension – persecution that is inhuman and illegal – time to get the coalition bastards good an’ proper

  58. Universal Jobmatch uses two gov.uk network servers –

    direct.gov.uk and businesslink.gov.uk

    * Both these sub-pages show in blue text the hosted network links for both gov.uk sites. Click on these (blue text) network links to discover more information…

    https://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=direct.gov.uk
    https://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=businesslink.gov.uk

  59. People who have been sanctioned could be charged to take their decision to a tribunal for appeal, according to a leaked DWP memo…

    http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/feb/20/people-stripped-benefits-charged-decision

  60. “Why Is The Obama Administration Putting Government Monitors In Newsrooms?”

    http://newswatch.us/why-is-the-obama-administration-putting-government-monitors-in-newsrooms/

    • Calls for ‘on-the-spot’ justice http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26277087

      WATCH OUT its the POLICY EXCHANGE

      On the spot magistrates !! And close down courtrooms. !!!

    • Calls for ‘on-the-spot’ justice http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26277087

      ON THE SPOT JUSTICE. ?
      Fucking hell policy exchange are now getting ideas from sci fi comics eg JUDGE DREDD

      • Dont Knock Joseph Dredd, Chewie. He has seen me through some tough times, and does have a heart.

        • @Pat you want a G4$ ” magistrate ” on your case ? Fukkin hell G4$ do weapons training
          I saw dodgy G4$ jobs on offer for weapons training in Afghanistan !!!!!

          • Oh, you mean a choccy fireguard type magistrate? Well I dont think that
            sort of legislation will get through the Lords because the legal mob protect there own. There is NO WAY they would allow cost trimming of such scale from the justice system because they demand a rise for lunch, a rise for 11ses and bought magistrates sitting in a cold cop shop all evening would be the thin end of the wedge.
            A g4s mgistrate would be as much use as an on call public solicitor.
            The one they call for you in a cop shop if you dont have your own.
            If the on call solicitor is helpful to you in any way, they dont get called next time. Seen it. Been there. There work neutrally.
            I have sacked one half way through an interview and walked out the cop shop ten mins later without having to speak! They are as crooked as shit and a g4s magistrate would have to find everybody guilty to get a cup of tea.

          • something survived...

            Funnily enough, if you apply for a job in weapons training in Afghanistan with an ‘alternative employment provider’ (competitor), this is called ‘terrorism’.
            Do it for our side, and you can get *medals* and shit. Number of bodies generated, doesn’t matter. It will stand you in good stead for, when your contract ends, applying for a job as a ‘disability assessor’ with Atos/Capita.

  61. Pingback: Don’t Believe The Hype Unemployment Is Back On The Rise | lezlow2012

  62. reply buttons are not working (it’s a sign of the times).

  63. Pingback: Shock Fall In Number Of Employees As Self-Employment Soars | the void

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