I introduce: The new Minister NOT for Disabilities. RIP Alf Morris
“Aha! We have the first jewelled utterances from the new Disability Minister, Mike Penning. Except he isn’t called the Minister for Disabled People any more. In the Daily Mail of course. Where else?” Sue Marsh isn’t impressed with the new Minister for Work and Pensions, Mike Penning.
Bedroom tax - unfair, unworkable and counterproductive
“The only way this course is changed is through resistance – from councils and housing associations refusing evictions and supporting court actions to individuals and communities supporting each other and resisting eviction.” Birmingham Against the Cuts describe their campaign for a no eviction policy.
The path to the precipice
“We are blithely rushing along a path towards a fundamental change in our welfare system that will have far-reaching social and fiscal consequences. There is a perfect storm of a poorly contracted Work Programme, political rhetoric, and short-term accounting practice.” Richard Johnson looks at the debate on the next round of welfare reform.
Despite all the propaganda, Britain remains liberal and collectivist
“One lesson for Labour might be that it needs to be more bold and speak above the heads of the media and more directly to people, to enable it to connect with the more liberal and collectivist attitudes that, despite all the propaganda, still dominate amongst the public.” Steve Hilditch argues that Britain remains a liberal and collectivist society.
Trying to work but living below subsistence level
“What a shame it is that the welfare system is not designed to facilitate those people who want to work, even if only part time, but instead makes it impossible for them to work.” The Masked AMHP tells the story of a couple who typify the unintended consequences of recent welfare changes.
‘Benefits Britain’, a study in enabling hate speech
“Ultimately it is clear that Benefits Britain served to enable an orgy of hate speech against disabled people, and it is difficult to conclude that this was unintended.” David Gillon is concerned that Channel 4’s portrayal of disabled people has legitimatised disablist views.
Channel 4′s Benefit Britain and the expansion of the Welfare State after 1948
“Moreover, thanks to the Coalition, poverty in Britain is actually increasing. What we need are fewer programmes purporting to show how generous modern welfare provision, and more that show how the Coalition’s policies and cuts are actually making it more widespread.” Beastrabban takes aim at Channel 4′s much-criticised Benefits Britain programme.
Benefits Britain
“Channel 4, you let us down. You hurt me. It’s your fault if people with invisible disabilities felt like Twitter was rounding on us during and after your programme.” Law Geek is not happy with the way Channel 4 portrayed disabled people in their Benefits Britain programme.
Benefits Britain and the rise of poverty porn
“They used to have a word for media programming used to distort public mood in favour of a political goal by using misrepresented data: propaganda.” Scriptonite argues that we must demand better from the media in how they portray the welfare state.
The (invisible) problem of riches
Last week on this blog, Jonathan Bradshaw argued that our ‘benefits system’ wasn’t broken and highlighted how the tax system in the UK did not do anything to help tackle poverty as it failed to redistribute wealth effectively. Whilst the tax system may not directly redistribute wealth, if everyone (including organisations) paid the tax that they were […]
Iain Duncan Smith is proud of this
“As part of IDS’s “proud record of achievement”, housing benefit and council tax benefit has been reduced by 22.5%, leaving Steve and his family with an extra £14.50 to find per week.” Jane Carnall explains why Iain Duncan Smith has little to be proud of.
Britain’s broken tax system
We are constantly being told by politicians and the press that the welfare system is broken. Actually cash benefits (and to a lesser extent spending on services) are the only part of the welfare state now reducing poverty and inequality in Britain. The tax system is the element of the welfare state that is broken […]
Not even human; disabled people are no more than names. It has to stop.
“Disabled people are being lost, forgotten. We need to act and at the very least show what the government is doing to our lives is unacceptable.” Becca explains how the Government’s welfare reforms rely on regarding disabled people just as names.
A selection of especially stupid sanctions
The number and length of benefit sanctions has risen hugely under the coalition. Two and a quarter million JSA claimants have had their money stopped, and since October 2012 sanctions are for a minimum of four weeks and a maximum of three years. ESA claimants can have 70% of their benefits stopped indefinitely. Imagine being without any […]
We know where you live!
“Mark Littlewood, the Institute for Economic Affairs and the Mail on Sunday can make their pious pronouncements that they are sure no harm will come of their modest proposal, but the truth for disabled people and other benefit claimants is likely to be far harsher.” David Gillon explains the impact on disabled people of stupid suggestions from think tanks and media commentators.
Increases in council tax and rents arrears, and rises in debt levels, are predictable yet avoidable
News today that council tax arrears are up 45% in a year sends shivers down my spine. 1.48 million homes were in arrears in April compared to 1.02 million a year earlier. Austerity and cuts to council tax benefit are to blame according to some, although the government has pointed out that changes to council […]
Attacking housing benefit is not the answer, investing in new, affordable homes is
It seems to be flavour of the month to be seen to be tough on welfare, with housing benefit being the latest target of politicians. The latest is Labour’s Ed Balls (‘Labour to examine housing benefit’), but he is just the latest in a line of politicians from all sides to do so. There is clearly […]
Have universal benefits had their day?
This week, Labour has made some (potentially) significant shifts in its welfare policy. On Monday, Ed Balls announced that a future Labour government would seek to means-test the universal Winter Fuel Allowance. And today, the BBC report that Ed Miliband will state that Labour wouldn’t reinstate the universal principle to Child Benefit. These are significant shifts: suggesting […]
Ways of extending the welfare state to the poor
“Part of the problem, in my view, is the ‘sloganization of social policy’ outside of academia, which leads to politicians framing the discussion as being a problem between ‘shirkers and workers’, ‘strivers and skivers’ and ‘hard-working families’ vs ‘troubled families’.” Stephen Crossley proposes some alternative, more thoughtful slogans for social policy.
Risky business
“[C]an the Work Programme work for all user groups? The short answer is: no, two years after launch, it is clearly failing the most disadvantaged jobseekers.” Richard Johnson explains why the Work Programme isn’t working - and why its failure holds important lessons for other areas of welfare reform.