Benefits and Work website yesterday published an email sent by Labour which explains their proposals to improve WCA.
It
is a summary of previously announced proposals but we thought we would
take this opportunity to restate, perhaps in even more strident terms
our position with respect to Labour’s WCA Proposals.
We
have done this many times of course, both on the blog and in direct
communication with Labour but nothing ever seems to sink in.
Labours proposals are:
1. We
will start by transforming the way the WCA is designed to make it more
effective at helping disabled people into work. With Labour, disabled
people would receive a copy of the assessor’s report of how their health
condition may affect their ability to work, and information about the
support that is available in their local area to help them – a first
vital step towards a more integrated system of support.
2.
Secondly, we would continue to produce an independent review of the
WCA, and ask the Office for Disability Issues to support an independent
scrutiny group of disabled people to work together with the independent
reviewer to assess whether the test is being conducted in a fair and
transparent way. We will commit to responding to the recommendations of
this report.
3. Finally,
a Labour government will go further in ensuring that the assessments
get it right first time. We would make sure that in the new system there
would be clear penalties for poor performance by assessors, measured
both on the number of times decisions are overturned by DWP decision
makers, and the number of times they are overturned on appeal.
These changes are falling very short of being crucial.
First
they are very vague, and do not address the very high number of ESA
overturned decisions by tribunals or even by DWP own reconsideration
process (before mandatory reconsiderations were introduced).
The
reviews that Labour is committed to produce have been discredited.
Professor Harrington, by deciding to talk about his misgivings about
moving IB claimants onto ESA only, after he lost his lucrative job for
DWP when he could have spoken up before, Dr Litchfield because he
devised the Mental health descriptors and was very unlikely to challenge
them later in his review.
What
disabled people have been waiting for, is a sign from Labour frontbench
that disabled people have been unfairly targeted by cuts, but also
mistreated, bullied, abused and driven to suicide.
They are still waiting.
One
Labour backbencher suggested that one way to improve things very
quickly was to pause the reassessments. This suggestion from Sheila
Gilmore is welcome and it is surprising that it was not followed up by
Rachel Reeves or Kate Green.
The
focus on disabled people working, contributing to the economy shows
that Labour, like the Tories only see people as economical variables,
not people who deserve to live a decent life.
Lastly,
if you still have some illusions, sanctioning disabled people wasn’t
introduced by the Tories, it began under the last Labour Government.
These
WCA Proposals from Labour are “figleaf policies”, intended only to do
the barest minimum needed to avoid embarrassment for Labour. It hasn’t
worked.
So here it is again, our response to Labour on WCA (maybe this time it will sink in):-
Are you taking the Piss?
The WCA DOESN’T WORK
The
WCA is a cause of stress and hardship to disabled people, it is
inaccurate, causes harm, and it DOESN’T EVEN GET DISABLED PEOPLE INTO
WORK.
The WCA has caused people to commit suicide and your WCA will continue to cause people to commit suicide.
You are still planning to use LIMA, a computer program to MAKE CATASTROPHICALLY WRONG DECISIONS, TIME AND TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
You are still planning to bully people who CAN NOT WORK with repeat assessments.
Will
you stop mandatory consideration? If so how are you going to handle the
flood of appeals from wrong decisions? If not, you are no better than
the Tories.
More “Harrington” Reviews of the WCA? Don’t make us laugh.
YOU ARE STILL INTENDING TO USE PRIVATE CONTRACTORS WHO DON’T CARE ABOUT DISABLED PEOPLE BUT DO CARE ABOUT PROFITS
and
after all that, after the fear, the misery, the anxiety, the hardship
and the suicides, your WCA won’t get disabled people into work because
THERE ARE NO JOBS AVAILABLE for us.
EMPLOYERS CAN’T BE BOTHERED WITH US, DONT YOU GET THAT?
And when a job is available, we can’t get there because WE DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO TRANSPORT,
DPAC’s response to Labour’s WCA proposals in a nutshell:
SCRAP THE WCA & ESA and Scrap Sanctions for all.
Then come up with something much much better that addresses our real needs, not Daily Mail headlines.
Has it sunk in yet?
