A Personal Message from Disability Rights UK this Christmas

In solidarity with you, our movement together is stronger As we come to the end of the year, I want to express my solidarity with you all. I know that this year has been a difficult one for so many in our community. Your lived experience and voices continue to be the force behind our collective efforts. We have a rich history as a movement of coming together and challenging the injustice and inequality. The cost-of-living crisis is leaving many of us without heated homes this winter, a scandal beyond words. All of our communities, up and down the UK, are experiencing harsher living conditions as a result – and unsurprisingly, Disabled people are being hit the hardest. We should never be forced to choose between lifesaving and affirming treatments, and having food, heating or social care. All of us at Disability Rights UK are committed to the fight for better, for equal rights and with you this will never waiver. Your voice behind our collective demands is important, I hope you will stay in touch and join us. As we close the year, module 2 of the Covid-19 Inquiry has just closed. We are proud of our contributions to the Inquiry. Our lawyers penetrating questions helped to lay bare the Government’s dismissal of our lives as Disabled people throughout the pandemic. We won’t stop until there is justice and accountability. This can never happen again. This year in response to the attack on our rights Disabled People’s Organisations from across England worked together to create a Disabled People’s Manifesto. It is packed full of radical reforms and transformative policies to improve the lives of everyone in the UK – an inclusive society works for everyone. The manifesto was launched at the People’s History Museum in Manchester, with Disabled activists and organisers across generations. The wealth of knowledge, history and passion was inspiring. Thank you for your continued support of Disability Rights UK and for being such an important part of this movement. I look forward to the coming year and working together for change. A final note from me: we know Christmas can be an especially difficult or lonely time of the year for some of us. As DR UK closes from December 22nd to January 2nd, I wanted to let you know of some support services and helplines available throughout this time: Age UK Advice Line open 8am-7pm, every day of the year. Call them on 0800 678 1602 Trussell Trust Their Help through Hardship line is open 5 days a week, 9am-5pm. They will be closed on Christmas public holidays. Call them on 0808 208 2138 Switchboard Their helpline for LGBT people is open 10am-10pm, every day of the year. Call them on 0800 0119 100 Samaritans Their helpline is open 24/7, every day of the year. You can call them on 116 123, or for their Welsh language line, 0808 164 123. The Silver Line Provides support for anyone over the age of 55 who may feel lonely or isolated. Their helpline is open every day of the year, 24 hours a day. Call them on 0800 4 70 80 90 Beat Their eating disorder helpline is open every day of the year, 1pm-9pm on weekdays and 5pm-9pm on weekends and bank holidays. You can call them on 0808 801 0677 if you're in England, or 0808 801 0433 in Wales. Mind Their helplines are open every weekday from 10am-6pm. They are closed on 25th and 26th of December and 1st of January. You can find out the numbers and more information about different organisations and helplines from Mind's webpage. Disability Rights UK's helplines will be closed the week beginning the 25th December, until January 2nd. From the whole team at Disability Rights UK, we send you our festive wishes, our solidarity, and our commitment to keep fighting for a world where we have justice and rights as Disabled people. Kind regards, Kamran Mallick signature Kamran Mallick CEO, Disability Rights UK

The Tory government is acting as pimps: The link between benefit sanctions and prostitution

There is evidence that suggests a link between benefit sanctions and prostitution. For example, a report from the English Collective of Prostitutes documented how cuts to single mothers' benefits have had an impact on the rise in prostitution ³. Additionally, MPs launched an inquiry into "survival sex" where benefit claimants impoverished by universal credit or sanctions have turned to prostitution to pay rent or feed their families ². Source: Conversation with Bing, 4/18/2023 (1) SUBMISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON EXTREME POVERTY .... https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/EPoverty/UnitedKingdom/2018/NGOS/English_CollectiveofProstitutes.pdf. (2) MPs to launch inquiry into ‘survival sex’ by benefit claimants. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/mar/19/mps-to-launch-inquiry-into-survival-sex-by-benefit-claimants. (3) The Impacts of Benefit Sanctions: A Scoping Review of the Quantitative .... https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-social-policy/article/impacts-of-benefit-sanctions-a-scoping-review-of-the-quantitative-research-evidence/9272BC857236795930DCD6AB7B8E04A1. (4) Criminalize vs. Decriminalize Sex Work: The Debate Continues. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/modern-day-slavery/202207/criminalize-vs-decriminalize-sex-work-the-debate-continues.

An AI composes a sonnet blaming successive Tory governments in the UK for benefit sanction deaths

Oh, Tories, how you've caused such needless pain, With policies that hurt the poor and weak, Your cuts and sanctions, each one more insane, Have caused so many tears and so much bleak. The benefit system, once a source of aid, Has become a tool to punish and shame, For those who need it most, it's now a raid, A game that's rigged and stacked in your own name. You claim to care for all, but that's a lie, For those who suffer most, you turn away, Your hearts are cold, your conscience will not pry, You let them die, and then you look away. Oh Tories, how you've caused such needless grief, May history judge you harshly, beyond belief.

Why sanctioning sick and disabled benefit claimants during a pandemic, recession, and banking crisis can be considered immoral

Sanctioning sick and disabled benefit claimants during a pandemic, recession, and banking crisis can be considered immoral for several reasons. Firstly, benefit sanctions are punishment fines whereby claimants’ benefits are docked for at least a month for supposed infringements¹. This can have a negative effect on claimants’ health and finances¹. In fact, DWP staff have admitted to inflicting psychological harm on claimants². Secondly, there is no evidence that benefit sanctions incentivize people to get work¹. A report by the National Audit Office in 2016 found that there was no evidence that sanctions work or that the system is saving the taxpayer money⁵. Thirdly, during a pandemic, recession, and banking crisis, people are already facing financial difficulties. Sanctioning their benefits would only add to their hardship. In conclusion, sanctioning sick and disabled benefit claimants during a pandemic, recession, and banking crisis can be considered immoral because it can harm their health and finances without any evidence of effectiveness. Source: Conversation with Bing, 4/14/2023 (1) DWP ordered to release ‘sensitive’ research into effects of benefit .... https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/14/dwp-ordered-to-release-sensitive-research-into-effects-of-benefit-sanctions. (2) DWP staff admit inflicting ‘psychological harm’ on claimants during .... https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/dwp-staff-admit-inflicting-psychological-harm-on-claimants-during-coalition-years/. (3) Benefit sanctions are punishing disabled people for the sake of it. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/20/sanctions-disabled-people-claimants-tough-love. (4) Disabled people denied benefit uplift during pandemic because it would .... https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/disability-benefit-uplift-universal-credit-dwp-it-system-b1724260.html. (5) Opinion | Disabled Americans Are Losing a Lifeline - New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/opinion/supplemental-security-income-ssa-disability.html.

17 March 2023 Budget announcement - what it means for DWP members

Wednesday’s Budget announcement means bad news for DWP members and bad news for the people they provide vital services for. There is no mention of more pay in the budget for hard-pressed PCS members working in the DWP but the Budget statement signals a major ramping-up of a punitive sanctions regime for claimants. At the same time doing this the government are providing tax relief on pensions for some of the wealthiest in society. Pay The budget fails completely to address the concerns over poverty pay for PCS members working in DWP and across the Civil Service. This hugely disappointing omission is despite the days of targeted and all out strike action taken by members. Because the government is refusing to listen to our reasonable demands on pay we have no choice to begin re-balloting members for further strike action from Monday 20 March. It is crucial we renew our mandate to ramp up the pressure on this government. Attacks on claimants and Jobcentre staff PCS completely opposes statement in the Budget that says: “The government will strengthen the way the UC sanctions regime is applied in Great Britain by automating parts of the process to reduce error rates, and additional training for Work Coaches to apply sanctions more effectively, including for claimants who do not look for or take up employment.” This is a massive attack on claimants that suggests there will be a huge increase in sanctioning activity unnecessarily forcing many already desperate claimants into deeper poverty to serve the failed and discredited idea that sanctioning people helps get them into work. The automation of decision making for sanctions suggests a “computer says no” culture, which means that the individual circumstances of claimants will be ignored. Particularly worrying in this statement is the implication that Work Coaches will be making sanctions decisions for claimants. Currently these decisions are made by remote decision-makers who are trained specifically to make complex decisions. Putting the onus for decision-making onto Work Coaches will destroy relationships between them and the claimants they support; sewing division, with the inevitable consequence that there will be more violent incidents in Jobcentres as claimants express their frustration with the excessively hostile environment that the government seem hell bent on creating. There is also a clear indication in the budget statement that the government and the DWP intend to extend significantly the “Jobcentre Innovation Pilot” forcing groups of claimants to attend interviews 10 times per fortnight and divisively incentivise staff in 30% of Jobcentres with insulting bonuses. The Budget statement also includes attacks on parents, in-work claimants and disabled people. The government seem intent on attacking the majority of citizens in this country. PCS demands a supportive social security system PCS will continue to negotiate and campaign for a fairer social security system. We will demand that the system allows our members to support and not punish people who need a social security system. Our demand is for a massive increase in staff to process benefits and support claimants in Jobcentres. PCS negotiators will press for these demands and for mitigation against the worst aspects of the government’s welfare strategy, particularly where they will result in compromising member safety. We will use all means at our disposal to fight for members safety and for a fairer social security system.