Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Unofficially, the Conservative hierarchy are much more confident of success than they appear to be. The Libs are having discussions with the Conservatives about a future coalition and seem keen on the idea. They are also talking to Labour as we'll, but it seems that the discussions are more difficult as they were last time when Brown would not bend at all to get a coalition agreement.

You are a very naughty boy!

Labour have already said they would govern with a minority government if need be.

And Hays Id pick the Unions anyday to back me than have a few Hedge Funds calling the shots.

Labour wouldn't stand a chance of governing with a minority government. Within a couple months they would get voted down on a variety of topics.

There has only been one minority government as a result of a GE and it only lasted a few months before a new election. There have been two examples due to by elections and defections and they lasted an even shorter time.

Another cockup for Haze and Manuel to defend.

They are incompetent posers!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27927842


ESA disability benefit is 'failing', government document says
Man with disabilities at work
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The new disability benefit is helping fewer people get jobs, while its rising cost is a big financial risk for the UK, an internal government memo says.

The memo, obtained by the BBC, says the Department for Work and Pensions is struggling to deliver employment support allowance (ESA).

ESA was introduced in 2008 to replace incapacity benefit.

The government acknowledged there had been problems but said it was bringing in a new firm to do tests for ESA.

The document also says claimants face an average nine-month wait after assessments. The target is three months.

'Not delivering'
ESA is intended for people who are unable to work due to sickness or disability. Claimants undergo tests, called work capability assessments, before learning whether they are eligible.

The memo says that ESA "is not delivering more positive outcomes for claimants" than incapacity benefit did.

The payment's costs are expected to rise by £13bn by 2018/19, it says, warning the increase is "one of the largest fiscal risks currently facing the government".

Too many people find themselves as long-term recipients of the benefit, the document says, and more people than expected are becoming eligible for it.

This is thought to be partly due to restrictions on jobseeker's allowance leading to an increase in ESA claimants.

A key aim of the benefit is to get people off welfare and into work, but the document says this appears to be happening less than under incapacity benefit.

Earlier this month the government said more than 700,000 people were waiting for an assessment, blaming the delays on delays on Atos, the private contractor carrying out the tests.

What chance of delivering 'Universal Credit ' then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Was Captain Marvel playing for England?

ESA was introduced in 2008 to replace incapacity benefit.



Who was in charge then?

Who has been running the shop for the last 4 years?

Sorry collecting the wages?

I suppose they didn't know or understand!

They're all in it Fred, drip fed from somewhere else.

I thought Nigel was the new messiah!

umijmiiiii,mmmmmm

Forgot that is Cynic!

Gerry Goffin snuff's it http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-27934624

Captain Cameron has another role:

Danger Mouse returns:

PIP, ESA, PASSPORTS, INTERNAL SQUABLING, SCHOOLS BEING TAKEN OVER BY MILLITANTS, NO SPORTS FACILITIES for working class kids, what next Fred from this shambolic government.

The NHS to shut down over summer!!!!!!!!!!

Pathetic.

ps, and Hays was saying only 6 weeks ago just how well the screening of the sick was going, what a laugh the DSS are in complete chaos.

IDS must have something on Camoron otherwise the whole dept should have been closed down.

Today we find that they are going to even overspend on the CAP Gideon brought in on the full DSS budget just 2 months ago.

Theyl need those water cannon and more if this carries on.

Thursday, 19 June 2014

Government keep around £1 BILLION PER YEAR meant for disabled people
There has finally been national news coverage on the appalling failures of IDS welfare reforms.

We are now informed that a staggering 700,000 sick or disabled people are stuck in sickness benefit limbo waiting a year or more with no ESA decision.

With around 265,000 stuck with no PIP decision, leaving many without disability support they will qualify for and are entitled to.

Now, I could lay out very detailed figures for what those people are likely to be receiving while they wait, (if anything) what they will be likely to be awarded based on past performance and will do at the end of this post.

But the most conservative estimate, assuming all 965,000 people get the lowest awards possible is £15 Million per week. The highest is £26 Million per week.

That's between £780 Million and £1.35 BILLION per year.

So let's assume an even £1 Billion?

A BILLION POUNDS PER YEAR!!!

Money that people with cancer and Parkinsons and bowel disease and heart failure and cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy and any other condition you can barely imagine are entitled to. Money they desperately need to live in dignity. Money the public want them to have - no-one wants genuine people to suffer.

And every last penny is the result of the multiple failures of Iain Duncan-Smith, Lord Freud and their hopelessly out of touch teams.

Yet I'm sure you're barely aware of it. Whilst 30,000 people risk missing out on a nice holiday through passport delays blanket the front covers of our newspapers, a MILLION people denied support they need to live is barely even mentioned.

Remember, these are only estimates for claims that will end up with a POSITIVE decision. Forget the "scroungers and the skivers" politicians are so determined to convince you are the only ones affected.

These are the ordinary people living extremely challenging lives caught up in the monstrous failures of IDS welfare reforms.


Note :

At March 2014 712,000 ESA and 266,000 PIP claimants were awaiting assessments and decisions.

We can assume that more than half of the ESA claimants will get an award of ESA based on past figures. Even on the lowest WRAG award, that is 8.75m a week

Early PIP stats suggest that 45% of all PIP claimants get an award first time. This is only likely to increase with appeals as with DLA

So depending on final award PIP claimants are losing between £6.85 Million and £17.5 Million per week. (And they are getting NOTHING all the while they are stuck in assessment though positive awards will be backdated)

Some PIP claims will already receive an award as are transfers of existing claims and this bass been factored in.

*As the equally brilliant @Mr_ceebs pointed out, that is about £50 million in interest payments the DWP should not have received. Enough to keep 1,000 of those stuck in ESA limbo full ESA for a whole year.

**Huge thanks for the facts and figures behind this article to @Ephemerid213 and for the kind permission to reproduce them here. **
Posted by Sue Marsh at 13:40 10 comments:
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The state of the nation is going swimmingly. I am very pleased.

WHAT........ ho ho he he .

Bit early for the hard stuff old chap.

You do realise this massive overspend in the DSS budget is coming out of YOUR TAXES.

Just think Hays young scroungers living off your taxes swigging cheap cider and smoking fags and joints and multyplying all day.