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Welfare: where to from here?
Posted Thursday 17 May 2012
Tom from our Policy team looks back over a tough year for people campaigning for a fairer welfare system and sets out a 10-point plan for moving forward.
The last year has been frustrating for those of us campaigning for a fairer welfare and benefits system - one that accurately assesses people with illnesses and disabilities, offers the right support for them to return to work and adequately provides for people who can’t work.
Disabled people, grassroots campaigners and representative organisations have all fought hard. We tried big protests, spoof newspapers, and mass online mobilisation. But the Coalition Government has forced through changes that will make things even worse.
Since the Welfare Reform Bill passed, I have been thinking a lot about how we can improve the system and fight back against Government rhetoric and negative stereotyping of people on disability benefits. Considering what has happened in the last year, it’s a daunting task.
But there’s no other issue I’d rather be working on. I know the benefits and welfare system is absolutely vital to hundreds of thousands of people with mental health problems. It should treat these people as equal citizens and start providing the support they need.
One step back, two steps forward
Despite the bleak outlook, I don’t believe our work has been a waste of time and there are some things to be positive about.
On the back of our campaigning we are seeing a shift in the outcomes of Work Capability Assessments (WCA), which decide if people should get disability benefits. Statistics from a year after Professor Harrington’s first review show 12 per cent fewer people being found ‘fit for work’ and 18 per cent more people being placed in the Support Group.
The Government has declined to make further changes to the WCA, such as introducing expert assessors and greater use of additional evidence. But some potential providers we have spoken to do recognise the need for these elements in the assessment for the new Personal Independence Payment (which will replace Disability Living Allowance).
Mind’s reputation as a leading campaigner on welfare reform means that we are listened to. Paul Farmer’s resignation from the Scrutiny Panel because of concerns with the WCA attracted extensive media coverage including an appearance on BBC Newsnight.
And a community of determined, creative and influential grassroots campaigners led by bloggers such as Sue Marsh and Kaliya Franklin is creating opportunities for powerful new ways of campaigning.
My 10-point plan
So here’s what I have in mind for the rest of the year; a 10-point plan for improving the welfare and benefits system. We will:
1. push for additional evidence in the WCA process
2. work to convince the Government of the need for expert assessors for mental health
3. look for a solution to the ‘revolving door’ of endless WCA appeals and reassessments
4. make sure the Government backs some research to properly test whether the criteria used in the WCA are fit for purpose
5. push for further improvements to the new PIP assessment, particularly the mobility component, to ensure it fully recognises mental health
6. influence plans for the new PIP assessment to ensure it avoids the flaws of the WCA model
7. look into what the Work Programme is doing to support people with mental health problems and continue our work to make workplaces more mentally healthy
8. push back on the excessive use of conditions on the benefits of disabled people and harsh sanctions when these are broken
9. work with grassroots campaigners locally and online to build a stronger campaigning community
10. target key sections of the media to help shift public opinion on welfare and benefits.
It won’t be easy, these changes would lead to real improvements for people with mental health problems using the benefits and welfare system.
What do you think? How do you want to be involved? And what can we do to help you campaign on these issue?
Tom Pollard, Senior Policy Officer
If you'd like to stay up to date with Mind's campaigning on welfare reform and other issues that affect people living with mental health problems sign up for our monthly ebulletin.
37 Comments
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Theres are many groups of different types of illnesses, and many different types of ****, many of people who have genuine illnesses, for instant friend of mine who is severly disable and is living in pain everyday and is having operation was being force into a group for work, while the ***** live the good life.
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Why isn't Pat's Petition mentioned?
Everyone please sign and share Pat's Petition which calls for the government to "Stop and review the cuts to benefits and services which are falling disproportionately on disabled people, their carers and families". The link is here http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/20968 -
One of the main priorities has to be getting real life stories of what is happening to people with the ESA assessments and the DLA reforms into the media.
It needs to be backed up by Mind and all charities, speaking together.
The media pays attention when known organisations speak out, but ignore individuals.The only way to make progress is to counter all the media hype put out by the Government day after day. They have convinced the public that everyone on benefits is a liar, scrounger or idle. They must be called up on it every time they use false statistics. Like IDS saying a couple of days ago that there has been a 30% increase in DLA, when he knows this is not accurate and has been told before not to use this figure, when the DWP own figure is 16% accounted for mostly by demographics, with those retiring on DLA still entitled to it.
For every "scrounger" story there should be a list of cases of people who have suffered injustice at the hands of the ESA assessment or who will lose DLA.
If we don't win the minds of the public, these policies will continue with a vengeance.
So far, all disability charities have been lamentably quiet on the subject. Yes, we have individuals like Sue and Kaliya and others working themselves to death to get the message out, but where is their support from the "big guns" - the charities that the public will listen to.
There is excellent work been done by disabled people all doing their bit, as much as they can, but charities need to stand up for their members and be counted. Otherwise what is the point of them?
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Sue Marsh has paid a high price for her activism, she has 1.5 metre of bowel left instead of 4 and has been denied ALL benefits despite her obvious severe physical health problems - this is the problem for any recipient being publicly named - they risk losing all their benefits as a consequence.
There is enough evidence - it is being ignored.There is no intention of improving WCA/PIP, it can't be influenced, this is clear now.
The solution to endless appeals is to halt the existing WCA and rewrite it with proper mental health descriptors as opposed to do you watch Eastenders, can you pick up a pen, set an alarm clock and breathe. This isn't going to happen therefore the only useful things do are;
1] Pool resources with Rethink and any other charity who's willing to fund lawyers to challenge this.
2] Prioritise the resources of your own legal dept
3] Offer resources to above activists
4] Collate stats on attempted suicide, self-harm and admissions/other adverse consequences as a result of reviews and submit to the media, and if they fail to interview/print raise questions publicly as to why
5] Do not support the Work Programme which is nothing about support
6] Make the case for dropping sanctions and including more exemptions with all other willing charities - you need to present a united front.
7] Make the case for CHOSEN voluntary work as an additional outcome in between working/not working [remaining on same levels and backed by a mental health professional.
8] Take on more support work with reviews - writing/accompanying
9] Have a dedicated person responding to all negative media
10] Send adverse outcome stats to every single MP
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Correction,"the community of determined, creative & influential grassroots campaigners" is not led by anyone & its the net,social media , apps & the ever increasing number & type of networked portable devices people use to communicate,share experiences & organize that is creating opportunities for powerful new ways of connecting & campaigning & just as importantly establishing new ways for mental health service providers to listen to & learn from those they claim to treat,support & serve to enable people to make their own decisions about what mental health services & related support they want & need & to better represent themselves.
As a Government contract seeking service provider with a conflicting ' representational' role national Mind has been noticeably out of step with grassroots campaigners & many of its own community based workers & service users for years not just over the Work as Treatment & Cure & WCA bullying but also over the level of discrimination people with mental health difficulties continue to face from mental health services & professionals - entrenched systemic & very often excluding discrimination that the Mind/Rethink portfolio project Time to Change has only just officially & somewhat reluctantly acknowledged in a low key way even though people who use services or have tried to have long been highlighting their lived experience of harmful discrimination from MH service providers & professionals & calling for this services- side discrimination to be openly acknowledged & addressed alongside & with the same determination & resources as the high profile public facing Government backed anti stigma campaigns.
When mental health providers & professionals can discriminate against & bully people with mental health issues behind the scenes with impunity is it any wonder that the DWP, ATOS , GPs etc, feel entitled to adopt the same discriminatory attitudes & practices?
How come combatting services-side discrimination isnt on your list?
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As someone with mental health who was called "fake" by my last employment and who contributed to two breakdowns by unchecked bullying.
It means a lot to people like myself that Mind have set this 10 point strategy out for those of us whose voice goes unheard and where our invisible condition makes us easy targets for "scrounger" abuse from an establishment who perpetuates the bully culture through misleading and often blatant lies through the media which incites hate against some of the most vulnerable people in society.
It's time this government were to made to action their empty promises to protect the most vulnerable people in its "big" society.
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I agree with all the above.
But I think MIND needs to fight for full housing benefit for the mentally ill so that they are except from the under 35 rule, living in cramped poor accommodation makes mental health worse and the consequence could be more people needing inpatient care.
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Could I suggest that some serious research is now undertaken on PAID JOB outcomes for those with mental illness who lose their Incapacity Benefit or ESA through time limitation, failed WCA and put on JSA or WRAG ESA.
Importantly the type of job achieved and pay rate. hours worked etc, together with info on whether the job is permanent, government subsidised etc
My view is nearly all of these individuals who lose their IB/ESA will not be in paid work in 12, months 5 years or10 years into the future.
When the work programme and welfare reform disaster enfolds and costs are rising in other government departments due to these policy failures the disabled and mentally ill will possibly be herded back into institutions like pre 1980.
Putting people into institutions is a proposal put forward recently by a local council in the West Midlands.I have nostalgia about those Victorian hospitals but this is only about money and is a different proposition altogether. The hospitals have gone, perhaps some other form of building will appear in the next few years
Perhaps they will become the new "WORKHOUSE"Welfare reform was always about benefit cuts. destroying the welfare state and introducing everyman for himself. Tony Blair ex new labour wanted to end a speech like the American President God Bless Britain, instead of US sums it up really UK potentially the 51 state of USA and all its policies being imposed here..
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It seems to me that rather than actually listen to people who are being affected by welfare reforms and campaigners who have been working hard to oppose them, Mind is to continue to work with this government to try to in some way minimise their effects???
As someone involved in an online campaign/support group, we are seeing on an almost daily basis the severe effects of this government's policies on people who are being driven to the edge and want this victimisation of Disabled people stop, full stop... no tinkering about with the severely flawed WCA or PIP.
If Mind truly wants to work with campaigners it should listen to what people are saying and realise how severely many are being affected and act accordingly. -
Mental Health charities have been woefully inept over Welfare Reform and Social Care, thus separating themselves from their source of income, their user base.
If they took the time to speak to people at a local level, people relying on their services they would, I'm certain, discover people feeling left out in the cold, and disappointed that they have not seen MIND more 'out there' both challenging the Government and Media myths and providing balanced argument backed with evidence.
Can MIND (and the other TTC charity parters) take a step back and remember why they were formed and whose interests they were representing. There is such a danger, I feel, in consistently promoting a Govt work ethic, and parading a glossy group successful high achievers with a mental health diagnosis....eventually those who are seriously mentally ill will become marginalised by the very organisations who originally set out to champion their rights and to ensure that they were accepted in society.
Surely it has to be the welfare of vulnerable people first? The people using your services for housing; support; and help when they are very ill are the people most likely to be affected by Welfare Reform and Social Care changes, surely MIND should be championing their position, and actually 'talking' and 'listening' to them. Not everyone wants to work, it's enough for some to be able to attend an social event once a week, or get outside. Grassroots work looking at the aspirations of an individual and not pandering to a Government 'Get 'em all working' ethic.
There is a place for the charities to be helping people back to work, and that's when those individuals are making that choice and decision at a time that is right for them, then and only then should charities be involved in employment, and on a basis of ensuring people are helped and supported throughout the process.
When did all become about the money money money?
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Thank you all for your comments. This is the kind of feedback we were hoping for to inform the direction of future campaigning. The Policy team will go through your suggestions, ideas and questions, and reply in more depth next week.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/may/16/human-cost-disability-cuts
• Polly Toynbee describes government failure (Comment, 15 May), including withdrawal of disability living allowance. At a recent conference of people working in part of the voluntary sector, a wheelchair-bound woman with obviously severe disabilities spoke. She said she was able to do a limited amount of volunteer work for her credit union – a couple of hours a day – which had therapeutic benefits. The response of the DWP was, "If you are able to volunteer for eight hours a week, you can take paid work for eight hours a week." She lost her DLA because she had undertaken voluntary work with her credit union.
The irony is that volunteering, the so-called "big society", was the Tories' flagship policy in their 2010 manifesto.
Gerald Sandison
Leighton Buzzard, BedfordshireSo voluntary work is no longer acceptable - Mind you have volunteers, this could lose people their benefits, perhaps no charity should have anymore volunteers on benefits now
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What is the rush to get suggestions and seemingly close comments? (Nicky MIND 18 May 2012)
This blog is dated 17 May, virtually off front page within 3 days.
One more item and its off front page.
Is Welfare reform and its consequences an embarassment? -
I agree with Helen above, I also think that the under 35's should be exempt from the Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance rules. I am 25 years old and suffer from severe depression, BPD and social anxiety disorder, and in March my LHA was reduced to almost £100 less per month than what the rent is on my flat. Due to the nature of my mental health conditions I find it almost impossible to be around people, let alone live with them, but as I cannot afford my rent any longer I am going to have to look for a room in a shared house where I will be living with complete strangers. I have no close friends, or family living locally who can help me out. I don't receive any assistance from my local community mental health services and was in fact refused any support when I had a major breakdown at the end of last year (I was told I 'didn't meet the appropriate criteria for CMHT support - this despite the fact that I had already attempted suicide once). I don't know what I am going to do and I strongly feel that the pressures being placed on mental health sufferers will only serve to make our conditions much worse.
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What is the rush to get suggestions and seemingly close comments? (Nicky MIND 18 May 2012)
Exactly.! The whole approach here raises questions about how committed Mind is to listening to never mind being led by the people it claims to represent .
The blogpost invited people to start a discussion on Mind's welfare policy but the first comments were held back overnight so anyone coming to the post from the initial buzz Tom and others drew to it on Twitter and the like wouldnt have seen any feedback at all and that probably deterred a lot of people from commenting. There's also no way to rate or rank people's comments and suggestions on the site even when they do finally appear , meaning more voicelessness and qualitative and measurable data lost, and add to this the points Paul makes above and it becomes very clear that although Mind is happy to host the annual Mental Health Media Awards on our behalf and promote and reward effective use of Social Media its not prepared to practice what it preaches in that regard and is simply bent on continuing to decide policy issues and campaign strategy behind closed doors - even after getting welfare policy and certain aspects of the anti stigma campaigning so obviously and horribly wrong .
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@Paul @just saying. Sorry if I didn't express myself very well. I certainly wasn't trying to close comments on this blog. It's fantastic that so many people have aired their views and shared their experiences of the welfare system. So many, in fact, that it's going to take us a little while to take them all onboard. But please keep commenting.
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Christ Louise that's awful and I agree with you about housing policy, it's appalling there is no independence till 35 yrs of age.
CMHT's are increasingly turning away people on grounds of 'not fitting criteria' so what is this criteria then? Does it come down to how bad your social circumstances are i.e. having a home like landfill or no hot water? er nope, mental health services apparently 'only deal with mental health', so if your living circumstances are shit and you're up to your eyes in debt they don't want to know.
So what 'mental health issues' do they deal with then? It seems to me in order to qualify you have to have a 'serious mental illness' diagnosis ie psychosis or bipolar, and appear dishevelled and incoherent, malnourished, and be a nuisance or danger to others.
This isn't even a fire fighting service.. -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/9280038/Work-Programme-at-risk-as-too-few-jobs-in-UK.html
Work Programme failures and one of the reasons to follow up on what happens to claimants who lose their ESA etc.
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Nick
The critique isnt personal , its not about you , its questioning a corporate charity mindset and business model that have somehow ended up reinforcing and amplifying the same old deeply unfair notions of deserving and underdeserving in public perceptions of people with mental health issues.
That's a journey evidenced by the emergence of grassroots groups like Broken of Britain (BoB) , Paul Farmer's last minute resignation from the Scrutiny Panel and the surge in desperate calls for help to orgs like Mind from those written off and abandoned as undeserving and in this comments section Mind has been repeatedly asked in various ways to explain why it isnt doing more to invite , capture , share and where possible measure and act on the lived experiences and opinions of all of those it claims to be led by - not just the massively successful and celebrities.
It's a good question given that the heavilly mediarised orthodox economics of recovery has become the new grand narrative - Get well or get lost .
Tom Pollard reached out to a few people behind the BoB campaign on Twitter to help look at Mind policy on welfare and workfare and that's great but its not good enough as Mind can change its narrow corporate outllook and leverage existing tech to encourage, better evaluate and be more representaively led by far more open , inclusive and visible engagement with and experiences and feedback from the widest base of people with experience of mental health problems as possible not just a select few. Moreover if Mind's portfolio project Time to Change can socially connect with professionals and broadcast live policy updates and debates in an interactive way at regional level its pretty insulting that national Mind is still fobbing off the people it claims to represent with a site format stuck in the 1990's which has no mechanisms for sharing how feedback is weighted, evaluated and taken on board in Mind's closed centralised decision making process at all.
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@mindreader: I think it was because when I presented myself to the CMHT in my area with a diagnosis of BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) they pretty much washed their hands off me before I'd even stepped through the door. I've had this same problem trying to get help in my last three areas (I've moved house a few times in the last few years). However my GP has been fantastic, and although I'm still waiting for more in-depth support, I finally feel now as though someone is listening to me and taking me seriously.
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Wefare reform has already resulted in many suicides and Louses expericnce shows how those of us labelled BDP are treated. Imagine having a group of cancer sufferers where the professionals decided that half of them have a 'body disorder' and were denied treatment. All those involved inthis NHS apartied system should be sacked and lose their precious pensions.
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Everyone take note of what mindreader has said, his advice is golden.
United front.
Concentrate on legal action.
Counter negative media.
Hold the press to account.
Stop trusting ministers. -
Thanks to everyone for all your comments. To respond to some specific points:
-Hazel, we support Pat’s Petition and have promoted it a lot. Working with grassroots campaigners is exactly the direction we are taking our work in, providing any support and advice we can for campaigns such as Pat’s Petition and the Spartacus Report.
-Jan, you’re right that real life stories are vital and our Media team has been working hard to get as much coverage as possible of our concerns, including using case studies that we receive through our ‘Tell us your story’ page (http://bit.ly/LcS83V).
-Mindreader, your list of additional suggestions is really useful. We already are doing a number of the things you propose but I will have a think about some of the others.
-Paul, you’re right that monitoring is vital and there are some really useful specific suggestions in your comment. We’re pushing the DWP to do more monitoring but also thinking about how we can do it ourselves.
-Lynn, I understand your point of view. However, it is because we are listening to people’s experiences that we feel we have to work towards improvements to the current system as well as suggesting alternatives. I’d like to hear more about the work you’re doing.
-Dawn, I don’t feel we’ve signed up to the Government ethic that you describe and we have been very vocal in our criticisms of the system, but you raise some important points about balancing anti-stigma work with representing the most marginalised.
-Just Saying, we certainly didn’t mean to give the impression of shutting down debate – we want the exact opposite. You make some really interesting points about how online campaigning and peer support is working around these issues and we’re keen to work out how we can best support this.
Does anyone have any thoughts on how we can best work with and support individuals who want to campaign on these issues that they want to share?
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1) Your ten point plan isn't going to work. I, we, know this because whatever you guys do over in Mind HQ does not work.
2) Read these comments and start again.
The impact of these reforms and the details risk everything. From mental health discrimination to everything Mind claims they stand for.
(And why did I have to dig around the royal college of psychiatry web site to find your joint response to the PIP criteria consultation? There wasn't as much as a blog post to let us know that the deadline had passed.)
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"we’re keen to work out how we can best support this"
great! so read the following from mind's time to change partner rethink & imagine that the people behind the comments here & everyone else out there with mental health issues or caring for someone with them, or donating to or just interesting in mind's work want the same sort of openness ,accountability & clarity from mind & the other big mental health charities
there are certainly ways mind can use existing tech to open itself up & become more responsive to & representative of the views & lot of the people it claims to be led by & sure, right now i'm really concerned that people are being nudged towards abject poverty, breakdowns & suicide by malicious & discriminatory welfare reforms but mind also has to reflect other lived experiences of people who want help & support into therapy ,work,education or other activities but simply cant get it & unless the organisation democratises,openly acknowledges & addresses its often conflicting service provider & rights representation roles - including its blundering forays into workfare -& creates mechanisms to enable the real diversity of views & experiences out there to influence & shape policy it will continue to be dictated by & around money & dumbed down media messages presenting mental health issues as more glossy and less complex than they actually are.
By April 2013 Rethink is calling on local authorities to:
Have meaningful consultations with residents before budgets are finalised
Assess how cuts will impact on vulnerable people and take this into account when making spending decisions
Clearly spell out how much money they’re planning to spend on mental health, as soon as the budget is set in April
Present this information in a way which ordinary people can understand
Ensure this information easy to accessRethink invites ministers and other groups to work with the charity to come up with workable solutions to this information deficit.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/may/23/gps-work-capability-assessment-scrapped
GP's vote for WCA to be scrapped.
Pity they were so supportive of government about welfare reform. Now they are probably being overwhelmed with patients whose conditions have been made worse by welfare reform.
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I strongly agree that the negative impact of changes to housing benefit need to be included in Mind's campaign work.
People across the country are seeing their housing benefit slashed, whether it's because they are under 35 or their rent is above the local housing allowance, putting them at real risk of losing their settled home. Yes people can apply for discretionary housing payments, but it is unclear if these are payable longterm to keep vulnerable people in their homes, as they are relatively small pots of money?
Regarding the deeply flawed WCA, I would be interested to know Professor Harrington's reaction to Paul Farmer's resignation to the scrutiny panel?
I also very much agree that employment support should be offered on an unconditional voluntary basis. Engaging with any kind of programme with built in sanctions and a clearly financial, target led agenda, would certainly be too pressurized for me.
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I doubt Harrington was even bothered.
This is what you need to back Mind:
http://www.bhfederation.org.uk/federation-news/item/1662-%E2%80%98fitness-for-work%E2%80%99-test-under-fire-campaigners-seek-judicial-review.html -
I have seen many illnesses ,but it is a very difficult illness . It is a genuine illness which will replace Disability Living Allowance.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/social-care-network/2012/may/29/welfare-reforms-mental-health-advocacy
Mental health services under pressure from welfare reform. I wrote to the NHS a few years ago and told them what was going to happen with welfare reform
"Whats that got to do with us" was the reply from one PCT manager in a telephone call before I wrote the letter.
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Diabetics and people with COPD don’t have to be ‘clustered’ in order to get funding for physical healthcare yet in mental health we are supposed to get the funding for them based on how serious our symptoms are and what diagnosis we have
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Bringing about change is not so much about persuading policy makers but those who interpet policy when making decisions that affect individuals. Systems and rules are not tablets of stone, they would be unworkable if they were, these systems and rules always involve an element of discretion, and that discretion is in the hands of decision makers, and those sitting behind desks. Don't let them fool you with..'my hands are tied','it's more than my jobs worth' etc, because neither is true, as almost any decision maker can justify their decision in terms of using discretion,common sense etc. Employment law doesn't enable people to be fired because they happen to use their common sense. So lets put the responsibility where it lies, with the decision makers and those sitting across from you behind a desk.
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Have MIND asked the BMA and GMC about their registrants being against the current WCA in it's present form.. RCN ( nurses ) and GMC (doctors) professional bodies have officially slated the WCA.. The NMC also has links with Atos Via KPMG who are a consultancy firm that Atos bought in 2002.. Why can't any pressure group , advocacy service or main stream media group challenge these organisations in their abysmal failure to protect the public in this respect. KPMG also advise the Nursing Midwifery Council on fitness to Practice hearings..
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I find it really bizarre that you say that MIND has to work closer with grass roots organisations but you have yet to publish any of my comments. I apologise if my comment hasn't been published due to there being no moderators available but I have yet to get a comment published on the MIND website.
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You're right Bruce, the 'Nuremburg defence' is not acceptable and nursesagainst - I'm not aware of Mind having had any contact with the BMA, GMC, RCN, NMC about this.
I'm struggling to see a strategy here, and why charities and bodies are not legally challenging this -
http://scottishlaw.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/hundreds-of-scots-dead-as-foi-reveals.html
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My experience of charities connected to mental health, is that they are rather wishy washy, and not as tough as they could be. They are of no practical help at all. There is no system for dealing with mental health problems, welfare or otherwise. No one should have to prove anything, with regard to a welfare state. The government says jump, and Mind do it. Everyone thinks how they are told to think. My own experiences have been catastrophic, with regard to problems which I have had. In relation to certain conditions, I think that some people would benefit greatly from meditation and art, should they be struggling to find the right kind of help. It seems to be a combination of putting things together, when you have become out of balance, to bring you back to a balance.
Commenting is now closed.