‘Lived on field mushrooms & borrowed eggs’: the @Conservatives & @LibDems are #dismantling the #WelfareState The #coalition are moving toward a #Welfare #system that is surreal in its #cruelty Earlier this year, Nick Clegg accused Vincent Nichols, the Catholic archbishop of Westminster, of exaggerating when he said that the safety net for the #poorest in society had been “torn apart”. “I think to say that the safety net has been removed altogether is an exaggeration, is not right,” said Clegg. But he is right, Nick. In the last few years the coalition has slashed so violently at the net which is meant to protect against #illness and #unemployment that it is no longer fit for purpose. If you fall, there’s a real risk that you’ll go crashing through to near #destitution, as the rise in #FoodBanks demonstrates all too well. For the #unemployed, the arbitrary and unfair use of so-called #sanctions is a large part of the story. In the year to 30 September 2013, 874,850 sanctions were issued to job seekers, the most since #JSA was introduced in 1996. In October 2012, the minimum sanction was increased fourfold, from one to four weeks’ benefit. For many, that is four weeks with no income for something as minor as being late for a signing on appointment. Indeed, in many cases the person #sanctioned has broken no Department for Work and Pensions - DWPs rule, not even a minor one. There are myriad examples of how unfair these sanctions can be, a selection of which are set out within this article.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 15:09:36 +0000
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