Turning the wheel slightly and easing off from the accelerator are not signs that Andrew Lansley will steer the NHS away from the cliff edge of privatisation (Report, 23 May). His plan must be stopped before we lose our NHS to market management. Of course, the true driver for this sorry state of affairs is the prime minister, who has overall responsibility for the actions of his cabinet colleagues. If Cameron and Lansley are able to turn the NHS into a full-blown insurance scheme, it will be a car crash.
Stuart Jeffery
Green Party health spokesperson
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Saturday, 21 May 2011
Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group meeting 18/5/2011: Report by Alan Wheatley
Meeting summary and overall impressions
The meeting was held at street level in a room that had wheelchair accessible doors, as befitting an event that focused on eligibility for disability benefits.[1] The speakers' central message was, "Do not let the standard 'zero eligibility points with threshold of 15 points minimum" from Atos lead you to roll over as they want you to. Instead, get informed and share that information with others as you fight back at tribunal level and on street corner campaigning level."
The Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group banner displayed behind the speakers reinforced the message that here was a group that believes in taking to the streets if physically possible and getting noticed. We were also given the message from the chair that there was a table at the back for anyone attending to display any relevant leaflets or newspapers for sale, and the Secretary and Chair and others in the audience were mutually respectful, encouraging visitors to feel welcome and get involved.That extended into the group discussion that followed on from the inputs of two wheelchair using speakers from Islington Disabled People Against the Cuts and one from Islington Poverty Action Group.
KUWG is funded by Brent Trades Council, and there were clear indications that there is strong orientation toward the Right to Work campaign, and banner steward Clarence who I know from campaigning against mental health cuts in LB Camden was selling Socialist Worker. The group is about a year old.
Meeting focus on Atos' handling of 'Work Capability Assessment' for DWP, and how disabled people can and should respond/fight back
The first two speakers were from Islington Disabled People Against Cuts (IDPAC for short here) and were followed by David, an advice worker from IPAG — that's Islington Poverty Action Group. The IDPAC input focused on background to the introduction and development of Employment & Support Allowance, while David from IPAG emphasised listening to audience people's individual case experience and queries.
Andy Green from IDPAC started by outlining the development of 'welfare reform' and global private sector involvement to the time of the John Major government in 1992. He emphasised that there has been considerable croneyism between government officials and MPs throughout with the companies such as Atos and Unum, and that much of the information he was giving out as background can be found on the Web.[2] He also emphasised that the 'Hardest Hit' rally and march on Wednesday 11 May with about 5,000 people in attendance is just a start of the fightback.
Disabled people are being lied about through smear stories that give credence to market led 'welfare reforms' being the solution to a fairer economy, he noted. "First they come for disabled people" who are being identified as either liabilities to be left alone or potential assets to be worked to exhaustion. The costs to the UK of running the Work Capability Assessment outweigh the savings, especially as a great number of claimants are now winning their tribunals, he pointed out. And Atos do not like the publicity of demonstrations such as the one that took place outside their London HQ on Monday 9 May.[3]
Worryingly for the general population, he pointed out that Atos Healthcare is now the second largest employer of medical practitioners [sic] in the UK, behind the NHS and therefore highly likely to profit from Lansley's privatisation of the NHS.
Patrick, also from IDPAC, outlined his story of going through a zero eligibility points assessment from Atos even after a deadly serious spinal problem that had him hospitalised. He launched his talk by slamming a stapled 60-page paper mountain on the table in front of him. He reassured us that it was not the script for his speech, but what I know to be known as the 'submission' from DWP relating to the claimant's appeal against a dodgy Atos/DWP decision. He had realised upon leaving the 'Work Capability Assessment' with his care worker that the Atos 'doctor' was not properly qualified and showed true ignorance regarding the name of Patrick's medically diagnosed condition.
Atos twist the language so that if a claimant states that they cannot do something they are instructed/requested to do at the 'medical', it is regarded as a refusal to co-operate. After very detailed attention to his reply and getting his MP involved, Patrick won his appeal and got an apology from the DWP. He did not need to go to tribunal.
David from Islington Poverty Action Group reported that under the Work Capability Assessment, all claimants are treated like shit and Labour started it and made it even worse. He emphasised that there is excellent self-help information available to claimants on the website of Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty[4] but was keen to hear the experiences of claimants who were present.
One youngish single mother who has fibriomyalgia[5] reported that she had felt extremely intimidated by the tribunal panel of her first ESA tribunal that had included the presence of someone from the DWP. She lost her first tribunal. Then she developed a secondary condition that resulted from the first condition. With the support of Disabled in Camden[6] she eventually managed to get ESA for a worsened condition than that for which she originally applied. I noted that when I had my ESA tribunal in December 2009 there was no DWP representative on the tribunal panel, and my tribunal advocate had told me the DWP did not have the staff to send people to tribunals. My tribunal judge and doctor seemed more affable than hers, too.
While KUWG is sponsored by Brent Trades Council, its openness to people from outside LB Brent helped to highlight a postcode lottery regarding tribunal support. Another person had had support from Hillingdon CAB in launching his appeal from 2009, but for some mysterious reason was still waiting for his tribunal over a year later. (Note that in LB Camden, the CAB finds preparing for ESA tribunals so time consuming and stressful on the limited funding LB Camden give them, that Disabled in Camden are the only organisation giving such support in the borough.)
The IDPAC speakers left at about 8:15pm, but those remaining continued in discussion before some adjourned to the pub after 8:30pm. At that point, I left after having been made to feel welcome and especially appreciated for my knowledge and input regarding ESA matters.
NOTES
[1] Compare with accessibility of Atos Medical Examination Centres.
There is a page on the Atos website with link to details of their 'Medical Examination Centres'.
http://www.atoshealthcare.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=253
Check out the further information links at the bottom of that page.
For an analysis review of that spreadsheet data, go to Benefits and Work Publishing website -
http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/blogs/2011/04/26/scandal-of-atos-medical-assessment-centres/
[2] Andy Green referred to the Black Triangle or Disabled People Against Cuts website.
http://www.dpac.uk.net/2011/03/bob-williams-findlaylifting-the-lid-on-disabled-people-against-cuts/
[3] For reports of demonstrations directed at Atos, go to
http://www.dpac.uk.net/2011/05/national-week-of-action-against-atos-origin-some-reports/
[4] Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty website
http://edinburghagainstpoverty.org.uk/
[5] See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibromyalgia
[6] Disabled in Camden's quarterly newsletter uses the word 'disabled', whereas the website still uses the word 'disability' in its organisation name.
http://www.discnwl.org.uk/advice.html
The meeting was held at street level in a room that had wheelchair accessible doors, as befitting an event that focused on eligibility for disability benefits.[1] The speakers' central message was, "Do not let the standard 'zero eligibility points with threshold of 15 points minimum" from Atos lead you to roll over as they want you to. Instead, get informed and share that information with others as you fight back at tribunal level and on street corner campaigning level."
The Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group banner displayed behind the speakers reinforced the message that here was a group that believes in taking to the streets if physically possible and getting noticed. We were also given the message from the chair that there was a table at the back for anyone attending to display any relevant leaflets or newspapers for sale, and the Secretary and Chair and others in the audience were mutually respectful, encouraging visitors to feel welcome and get involved.That extended into the group discussion that followed on from the inputs of two wheelchair using speakers from Islington Disabled People Against the Cuts and one from Islington Poverty Action Group.
KUWG is funded by Brent Trades Council, and there were clear indications that there is strong orientation toward the Right to Work campaign, and banner steward Clarence who I know from campaigning against mental health cuts in LB Camden was selling Socialist Worker. The group is about a year old.
Meeting focus on Atos' handling of 'Work Capability Assessment' for DWP, and how disabled people can and should respond/fight back
The first two speakers were from Islington Disabled People Against Cuts (IDPAC for short here) and were followed by David, an advice worker from IPAG — that's Islington Poverty Action Group. The IDPAC input focused on background to the introduction and development of Employment & Support Allowance, while David from IPAG emphasised listening to audience people's individual case experience and queries.
Andy Green from IDPAC started by outlining the development of 'welfare reform' and global private sector involvement to the time of the John Major government in 1992. He emphasised that there has been considerable croneyism between government officials and MPs throughout with the companies such as Atos and Unum, and that much of the information he was giving out as background can be found on the Web.[2] He also emphasised that the 'Hardest Hit' rally and march on Wednesday 11 May with about 5,000 people in attendance is just a start of the fightback.
Disabled people are being lied about through smear stories that give credence to market led 'welfare reforms' being the solution to a fairer economy, he noted. "First they come for disabled people" who are being identified as either liabilities to be left alone or potential assets to be worked to exhaustion. The costs to the UK of running the Work Capability Assessment outweigh the savings, especially as a great number of claimants are now winning their tribunals, he pointed out. And Atos do not like the publicity of demonstrations such as the one that took place outside their London HQ on Monday 9 May.[3]
Worryingly for the general population, he pointed out that Atos Healthcare is now the second largest employer of medical practitioners [sic] in the UK, behind the NHS and therefore highly likely to profit from Lansley's privatisation of the NHS.
Patrick, also from IDPAC, outlined his story of going through a zero eligibility points assessment from Atos even after a deadly serious spinal problem that had him hospitalised. He launched his talk by slamming a stapled 60-page paper mountain on the table in front of him. He reassured us that it was not the script for his speech, but what I know to be known as the 'submission' from DWP relating to the claimant's appeal against a dodgy Atos/DWP decision. He had realised upon leaving the 'Work Capability Assessment' with his care worker that the Atos 'doctor' was not properly qualified and showed true ignorance regarding the name of Patrick's medically diagnosed condition.
Atos twist the language so that if a claimant states that they cannot do something they are instructed/requested to do at the 'medical', it is regarded as a refusal to co-operate. After very detailed attention to his reply and getting his MP involved, Patrick won his appeal and got an apology from the DWP. He did not need to go to tribunal.
David from Islington Poverty Action Group reported that under the Work Capability Assessment, all claimants are treated like shit and Labour started it and made it even worse. He emphasised that there is excellent self-help information available to claimants on the website of Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty[4] but was keen to hear the experiences of claimants who were present.
One youngish single mother who has fibriomyalgia[5] reported that she had felt extremely intimidated by the tribunal panel of her first ESA tribunal that had included the presence of someone from the DWP. She lost her first tribunal. Then she developed a secondary condition that resulted from the first condition. With the support of Disabled in Camden[6] she eventually managed to get ESA for a worsened condition than that for which she originally applied. I noted that when I had my ESA tribunal in December 2009 there was no DWP representative on the tribunal panel, and my tribunal advocate had told me the DWP did not have the staff to send people to tribunals. My tribunal judge and doctor seemed more affable than hers, too.
While KUWG is sponsored by Brent Trades Council, its openness to people from outside LB Brent helped to highlight a postcode lottery regarding tribunal support. Another person had had support from Hillingdon CAB in launching his appeal from 2009, but for some mysterious reason was still waiting for his tribunal over a year later. (Note that in LB Camden, the CAB finds preparing for ESA tribunals so time consuming and stressful on the limited funding LB Camden give them, that Disabled in Camden are the only organisation giving such support in the borough.)
The IDPAC speakers left at about 8:15pm, but those remaining continued in discussion before some adjourned to the pub after 8:30pm. At that point, I left after having been made to feel welcome and especially appreciated for my knowledge and input regarding ESA matters.
NOTES
[1] Compare with accessibility of Atos Medical Examination Centres.
There is a page on the Atos website with link to details of their 'Medical Examination Centres'.
http://www.atoshealthcare.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=253
Check out the further information links at the bottom of that page.
For an analysis review of that spreadsheet data, go to Benefits and Work Publishing website -
http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/blogs/2011/04/26/scandal-of-atos-medical-assessment-centres/
[2] Andy Green referred to the Black Triangle or Disabled People Against Cuts website.
http://www.dpac.uk.net/2011/03/bob-williams-findlaylifting-the-lid-on-disabled-people-against-cuts/
[3] For reports of demonstrations directed at Atos, go to
http://www.dpac.uk.net/2011/05/national-week-of-action-against-atos-origin-some-reports/
[4] Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty website
http://edinburghagainstpoverty.org.uk/
[5] See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibromyalgia
[6] Disabled in Camden's quarterly newsletter uses the word 'disabled', whereas the website still uses the word 'disability' in its organisation name.
http://www.discnwl.org.uk/advice.html
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Text of speech by Jenny Jones AM to PCS Met Police group conference
PCS Met Police group conference
Thank you for the invite to your conference. Brighton is my home town, so this is a particular pleasure.
I have been asked to talk to you about my involvement as a Metropolitan Police Authority member in the Met’s budget process this year. Specifically about the loss of traffic warden and PCSO posts.
I am also going to talk to you about the MPA more widely, and the big changes we are facing in London
First, the MPA powers and its job:
The MPA – role and how staff can engage
MPA role and remit:
- Policy, not operational decisions
- Cannot intervene in every internal matter, but must be consulted on major policy changes and the budget
- Scrutinise decisions / actions and holding the Met to account
What we can do:
- Questions – written questions for detailed answers or can raise in person at a meeting
- Members can request briefings on particular topics
How staff can get involved:
- Contact all MPA members about specific issues of concern – good to be kept in the loop – can be useful to provide briefings on your members views on particular issues
- Ask MPA members to ask questions on your behalf – to get factual information or views from Met management
- All meetings are open to the public and papers are put online – if there is an issue that concerns members, could attend the meeting and let MPA members know you are coming
The 2011-12 budget process
The MPA receives budget proposals from the Met and we then go through months of meetings and detailed scrutiny before we are asked to agree the budget.
This was a particularly difficult year due to not knowing government cuts until the last minute and lots of other information missing throughout the process.
In the budget papers there was a proposal to remove all 210 traffic wardens and 300 PCSOs from the Safer Transport Command. As well as other reductions in PCSO numbers from areas such as Safer Schools.
It seemed to include an assumption that removing PCSOs and traffic wardens to allow for fewer police officer posts was obviously a good thing – I completely disagreed that this was obvious and began to ask questions.
I was particularly concerned about what the losses would mean for roads policing and safety.
Transport is an important part of my work as an Assembly Member. I am passionate about encouraging people to use public transport, cycle and walk in London
I know how important the work of traffic wardens on the red routes is to keeping buses moving and helping keep cyclists and pedestrians safe.
Scrutiny work
Your representative Martin McKinnon contacted me to alert me to the proposals, which I’d already noticed, and then provided very useful information and questions, as did others who got in touch.
§ I asked detailed questions and circulated the responses to try to help keep you informed.
§ I also raised the issue with the Acting Commissioner at the MPA meetings to question the logic of the move and what it would mean for enforcement.
§ This meant that other MPA members also took an interest in the situation.
§ In answer to a question from me at an MPA meeting held in public, Tim Godwin described traffic wardens as the “unsung heroes of road safety” in London
As a result of my pestering, I was offered a briefing meeting with TfL and the Met. This was a great opportunity for me to put forward my concerns, and those you had shared with me.
I was reassured on some points about how the work would be done within the new structure.
But we did discuss how poor the communication with staff had been and I told them that traffic wardens and managers had been contacting me as they just didn’t know what was going on.
In the end -
§ I couldn’t change the decision, but hopefully helped to keep people better informed and to challenge the Met to account for their decisions publicly
§ I voted against the budget, along with some MPA colleagues, as I was not sure that decisions had been fully worked through in terms of value for money or the impact on the service provided, particularly for Safer Neighbourhood Teams and Safer Transport
§ My understanding is that negotiations are ongoing between PCS and Met management about the offer of traffic wardens becoming traffic PCSOs - very best of luck to those of you taking up this offer in your new role.
Job cuts and civilian staff
This was a difficult year for the Met to balance the books, with major cuts to funding and upcoming challenges to consider such as the 2012 Games.
The political imperative to keep police numbers up, along with the difficulty of managing budget cuts without being able to make officers redundant has meant a greater impact for police staff. I am worried that the Mayor’s delight that the Met, unlike other forces, have started officer recruitment again is short sighted.
The budgets for 2012-13 and 2013-14 include further significant cuts and if the Met get into a position where they have more officers than they can afford then staff will again bear the brunt.
The Met made statements about a “strategic ambition” to reduce reliance on PCSOs and traffic wardens – but I have not heard this before and I am worried about moving in this direction.
We are seeing a loss of other civilian roles. There are proposals to replace local authority park patrols with police officers in Redbridge and Wandsworth - as a result of the Mayor’s buy one get one officer free offer to boroughs.
I would have thought a buy one PCSO get one free offer would have made more sense for this type of function. But again we are told that having officers instead is obviously better, but I simply don’t agree in all cases.
The annual London
I am sad to see a move towards just having police officers and the public, removing other layers of uniformed presence that can be more focused on visibility, reassurance and interacting with the public or specific tasks such as red route enforcement.
These staff can be
§ less intimidating than police
§ often a more settled work force
§ focus on specific local tasks
§ build up local knowledge
§ get to know local people
We risk losing these benefits
HMIC report on Sustaining Value for Money in the Police Force – recommends greater mix of staff, using specialised staff and PCSOs where warranted officers are not needed, to “help police forces save money and improve performance”.
I am going to continue to challenge the Met on whether they have got the mix right and whether they could make better use of a range of staff positions in future.
The MPA – looking ahead
These are very uncertain times, the policing and social responsibility bill is aiming to get rid of police authorities and establish elected police and crime Commissioners. This could be as soon as October in London
In London
§ the end of the MPA
§ creation of the Mayor’s office for police and crime
§ creation of a scrutiny committee in the London Assembly – which I hope to be a part of. The committee would hold the Mayor to account for policing decisions and investigate particular issues of concern to Londoners.
Committee members will welcome information and contact from staff, but will be important for you to also be in touch with the Mayor’s office for policing and crime – as the decision making body.
Gov cuts agenda, most savage cuts since 1930’s, will damage society, not only job losses but through pay and pensions, and fewer services to everyone. More equal society benefits us all, rich and poor.
Thanks again for the invite
Communication and information from traffic wardens and managers was so helpful in my questions and holding the Met to account for their decisions during the budget process.
Encourage you to keep in touch to let me and other MPA and London Assembly members know about policy issues that members are concerned about.
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
**Chelmsford Public Meeting 26th May*** BRENDAN BARBER TO VISIT CHELMSFORD
BUILDING THE ALTERNATIVE Public meeting Thursday 26 May 2011, 7.30pm Trinity Methodist Church, Rainsford Road, Chelmsford CM1 2XB.
The coalition government totters from one ill-thought-out idea to another, devises new proposals to move money from the poor to the rich, and places the whole of the UK’s economy in jeopardy
Policies for growth, jobs and social justice are what’s needed Come to the meeting, hear more, and share your views
SPEAKERS: Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary. Glyn Hawker, Unison Eastern regional secretary. Anthony Sullivan, Chelmsford Against the Cuts
Meeting chaired by Andrew Coburn chair of Chelmsford TUC
The coalition government totters from one ill-thought-out idea to another, devises new proposals to move money from the poor to the rich, and places the whole of the UK’s economy in jeopardy
Policies for growth, jobs and social justice are what’s needed Come to the meeting, hear more, and share your views
SPEAKERS: Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary. Glyn Hawker, Unison Eastern regional secretary. Anthony Sullivan, Chelmsford Against the Cuts
Meeting chaired by Andrew Coburn chair of Chelmsford TUC
Monday, 9 May 2011
“Standing up for trade union rights: past, present & future.”
Len McCluskey & Sally Hunt 'In Conversation'
In Conversation
Len McCluskey, UNITE and Sally Hunt, General Secretary UCU
“Standing up for trade union rights: past, present & future.”
Thursday 26th May 2011, 6.30—8.30 pm
<http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=529954&y=181477&z=0&sv=wc1b+3ls&st=2&p
c=wc1b+3ls&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf> TUC Congress House Great Russell
St, London WC1B 3LS
Chaired by John Hendy QC
This second ‘In Conversation’ is a result of what we all hope will become an
annual collaboration between The Institute of Employment Rights, The Haldane
Society of Socialist Lawyers <http://www.haldane.org/> and the
<http://www.tuc.org.uk/> TUC
2011 is an important anniversary year for the trade union movement as it
marks 100 years since the 1911 Transport Workers strike
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1911_Liverpool_general_transport_strike;> 50
years since the Council of Europe
<http://www.coe.int/T/DGHL/Monitoring/SocialCharter/;> ’s Social Charter and
10 years since the Friction Dynamics Strike
<http://www.caernarfonherald.co.uk/caernarfon-county-news/local-caernarfon-n
ews/2011/03/24/caernarfon-re-union-a-decade-after-friction-dynamics-strike-s
tarted-88817-28391700/>
Set in this context, the topic of ‘Conversation’ for 2011 will be trade
union rights: where they are now, and where we want them to be in future.
Free Admission
£10 to legal practitioners requiring CPD points
To book email office@ier.org.uk
In Conversation
Len McCluskey, UNITE and Sally Hunt, General Secretary UCU
“Standing up for trade union rights: past, present & future.”
Thursday 26th May 2011, 6.30—8.30 pm
<http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=529954&y=181477&z=0&sv=wc1b+3ls&st=2&p
c=wc1b+3ls&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf> TUC Congress House Great Russell
St, London WC1B 3LS
Chaired by John Hendy QC
This second ‘In Conversation’ is a result of what we all hope will become an
annual collaboration between The Institute of Employment Rights, The Haldane
Society of Socialist Lawyers <http://www.haldane.org/> and the
<http://www.tuc.org.uk/> TUC
2011 is an important anniversary year for the trade union movement as it
marks 100 years since the 1911 Transport Workers strike
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1911_Liverpool_general_transport_strike;> 50
years since the Council of Europe
<http://www.coe.int/T/DGHL/Monitoring/SocialCharter/;> ’s Social Charter and
10 years since the Friction Dynamics Strike
<http://www.caernarfonherald.co.uk/caernarfon-county-news/local-caernarfon-n
ews/2011/03/24/caernarfon-re-union-a-decade-after-friction-dynamics-strike-s
tarted-88817-28391700/>
Set in this context, the topic of ‘Conversation’ for 2011 will be trade
union rights: where they are now, and where we want them to be in future.
Free Admission
£10 to legal practitioners requiring CPD points
To book email office@ier.org.uk
Saturday, 7 May 2011
Government creates 'climate of fear' as London Metropolitan University slashes 70% of courses
Government creates 'climate of fear' as London Metropolitan University slashes 70% of courses
18 April 2011
Responding to the news that London Metropolitan University is to cut 70% of its courses in a bid for financial sustainability, UCU warned that the government's higher education funding plans would see courses and departments closed and could even put the long-term viability of some universities at risk.
UCU said the government's new policy was in disarray and that cutting university teaching budgets by 80% and introducing a market in fees was a recipe for disaster. The union said that while London Met was acting disproportionately, the government had created a 'climate of fear' that was panicking institutions in to wielding the axe hastily.UCU also pointed to the example of Liverpool Hope University, which is looking to make cuts to its teaching training department in anticipation of funding changes to teacher education.
The union further warned that many of the institutions being put at financial risk by the government's plans were those who specialised in arts and humanities courses, which will no longer receive any state funding, and universities with a track record of widening participation in higher education.
London Metropolitan University, which is the capital's largest university, is to slash courses in history, performing arts, philosophy and modern languages.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'Here is concrete proof that ministers have succeeded in creating a climate of fear that is panicking institutions in to making hasty cuts. London Met's decision to axe hundreds of courses is completely disproportionate, but since these enormous funding cuts were announced, UCU has repeatedly warned that university courses and departments will close and in the worst case scenarios, the future of whole institutions will be put at risk.'
'What is happening at London Met and Liverpool Hope is a worrying portent for the future under the government's new funding system. Institutions with a track record of widening participation are particularly at risk. We have said from the start these plans are a recipe for disaster.'
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