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Our year in parliament
Posted Friday 23 December 2011
It's been a very busy 12 months for everyone working in Mind's Parliamentary team. Here's a round up of their progress in 2011.
As the Government’s programme of sweeping reforms to the NHS and benefits system got under way, our supporters and service users told us they felt under attack and anxious about the future. So we declared ourselves Mental Health Defenders!
Our fight took us to the Commons, the Lords and the political party conferences, calling for improvements to the Health and Social Care and Welfare Reform Bills, gathering support for the Mental Health Discrimination Bill and promoting mental health awareness wherever we could.
In January, the Health and Social Care Bill proposed drastic reforms to the way health care is commissioned and delivered. Since its introduction we’ve been pushing for a guarantee that those who commission health services understand key mental health issues and prioritise mental health just as much as physical health.
We’ve run seminars for Peers and MPs to get our message across, and issued briefings to Parliamentarians as the Bill progressed through Parliament.
The Welfare Reform Bill followed in February and proposed a drastic remodelling of benefits and tax credits. We’ve been fighting for a fairer benefits system for several years and the introduction of this Bill gave us an opportunity to ramp up the level of our campaign and ensure mental health stays high on the agenda.
Our amendments have focused on inserting checks and balances to the new sanctions system, overturning the one year cap on Employment and Support Allowance, and making sure Personal Independence Payments (replacing the Disability Living Allowance) will be available to people with mental health problems.
When both these bills reach their final stages in January 2012, we’ll be there, continuing to lobby for amendments. It's been a very difficult fight and although the Government have made next to no concessions, we're determined to keep pushing.
In November, after a very busy party conference season - we introduced our crisis care campaign to key politicians. Charles Walker MP kindly arranged a Parliamentary debate to mark the launch of our campaign and Minister Paul Burstow agreed to work with us over the coming months to improve acute and crisis care services.
Finally, one of the highlights of our year came courtesy of Lord Stevenson of Coddenham who we helped table a Private Members’ Bill in April.
If passed, the Mental Health Discrimination Bill will remove four pieces of legislation that discriminate against people with mental health problems. These reforms are long overdue.
Our work supporting Lord Stevenson with his Bill has been met positively from all sides and has the support of Government. We will continue our efforts to make sure that the Bill passes in 2012.
So after a dynamic and challenging year, we’re taking a short break, just long enough to wear seasonal paper hats and enjoy a glass of mulled wine. But we’ll be back in January refreshed and ready to fight on!
Seasons greetings to all, and thank you so much for all your support.
Louise Kirsh, Paul Spencer & Vicki Ensor, Mind's Parliamentary team
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12 Comments
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-16292327
Perhaps MIND will raise with the UK Parliament, the issue of why Scottish politicians are able to see the truth behind welfare reforms (eg massive benefit cuts)
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The ATOS assessments need to STOP and the proposed PIP excludes mental health. Paul is right, these are not reforms, they are cuts.
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http://www.disabilityalliance.org/dlachallenge.htm
I think Mind should get behind a legal challenge because no one is listening to reason
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Benefits cut/employers dont want us, enter Workfare. Hear the Govt are proposing 'work training centres' for the unemployed. Sound familiar? I can see these places filled to the gills with service users just to make it clear to us where we stand in society. Mind should be more proactive in stopping all this, the psychological damage to those of us already shafted by society will be immense. What makes me sick is that noone appreciates that most of us are probably above average intelligence and resent being patronised in this way. Sometimes I just think the country beleives we are surplus to requirements and therefore the govt can do what they like to us
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spot on Linda
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I personally think that those suffering from mental illness and receiving sickness benefit are on their own in respect of welfare reform and keeping their sickness benefit under the new regime.
It is a sad state of affairs that when filling out the forms for ESA and DLA the best chance of keeping the benefits seems to me is to rely on the prejudices of society. Use all the stereo types of what society thinks of those with mental illness.
It is best to do no voluntary work, courses or contribute to society in any way that the authorites have to be informed of.
This especially applies to those on contribution based benefits They need to be in the support group where the time limitation does not apply. In my view you have to wonder what type of individuals designed ESA. -
I agree Paul, it's an irony that people get nil points at an assessment because they were not rocking back & forth, and these "reforms" are very much against mental health, I do feel all the charities need to be more vocal on this. I know this administration is hell bent on continuing but how many people have to die before it matters?
http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/politics/political-news/31-deaths-during-wait-for-benefits-judgment.1325732641
Mental health services need to back their users more as well, it's not good enough that ASTI and CMHT's are divorcing themselves from all social issues such as housing/welfare citing mental health as their only priority, how is one not affected by the other. I've seen these services instruct people to go to the CAB/Jobcentres for form filling and GP's state they will only do reports if it goes to an appeal. -
Hi all, happy New Year and thanks for your comments and suggestions. We know that the WCA and forthcoming PIP assessments are causing great concern, and will certainly continue to fight for improvements throughout 2012. In the immediate future, our efforts will be focused on securing changes to the Welfare Reform Bill so that PIP assessment uses accurate and fair descriptors and is properly monitored. Our work with Professor Harrington and the WCA descriptors also continues, and we hope to test our own fairer, more in-depth assessment against the Government's version over the coming months. Please check back regularly for updates.
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The same Harrington who wanted cancer patients reassessed whilst doing chemo?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16523649
Government will try to reverse Lords defeat on contributory ESA even though the amendments only meant an extension of one year to two years for those put in WRAG of ESA.
and an amendment for a small amount of money for young disabled people.
My view is that 95 per cent of people who lose their ESA will not be in paid work in the next five years. Most of course who will lose their benefits are not well enought to work especially within the profit pressure everyman for himself workplace that exists in this country.
They may however be in forced labour,misled and given false hope by people taking advantage but for most not paid work. -
The message I get from Workfare is YOU'RE WORTH LESS THAN ANYONE ELSE. Interesting how too old/toomad/too long on benefits acts to exclude us from proper employment but when it comes to 2 pounds an hour all of this will suddenly become irrelevent. We will be expected to work alongside people earning 5 times that-great way to improve someone's self esteem.
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I share your view Paul that most will end up on the lowest level of ESA [equivalent to JSA £67 a week] and on Workfare being forced to work in Tesco or Poundland for 30 hrs or picking up litter, doing what used to be reserved for community sentences. Those who can't keep up will then be subject to sanctions and then end up back in hospital or in debt unable to get a loan for food/pay bills.
They are determined to push this through and no amount of consultation will change that, time to change tactics for campaigners, but apparently combating public stigma is the highest priority of the the president. He might want to read this first before deciding what people's priorities are
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