Friday 25 March 2011
Monday 21 March 2011
IPCC condemns Manchester police over David Askew death | Politics | The Guardian
IPCC condemns Manchester police over David Askew death | Politics | The Guardian
The chief executive of the disability charity Mencap, Mark Goldring, said Askew had endured "terrible and prolonged abuse".
He said: "Mencap estimates that as many as nine out of 10 people with a learning disability are verbally harassed or exposed to violence due to their disability.
"It is hate crime and deserves to be taken as seriously as racial, religious and homophobic crime."
The IPCC report should be "a wake-up call", said Richard Hawkes, the chief executive of Scope.
He said: "Disabled people experience harassment and abuse on a daily basis, simply because they are different.
"Often it starts with persistent low-level incidents. But if left unchecked, antisocial behaviour can escalate into something more serious. The impact can be unspeakable.
"Victims find it hard to come forward. Many will ignore harassment – others will find the justice system literally inaccessible.
"As a result, disability hate crime is sorely under-reported and official figures mask the true scale of the problem. Where it is reported, conviction rates are much lower than other types of hate crime."
Friday 18 March 2011
I’m from the RIGHT and I think cuts are WRONG! | Report | False Economy
I’m from the RIGHT and I think cuts are WRONG! | Report | False Economy
By Black Triangle activist Be Hinderhund (Mel)
Thursday 17 March 2011
David Graeber – The new anarchists | Eagainst.com - Autonomy against Barbarism
David Graeber – The new anarchists | Eagainst.com - Autonomy against Barbarism
"The phrase ‘anti-globalization movement’ is a coinage of the US media and activists have never felt comfortable with it. Insofar as this is a movement against anything, it’s against neoliberalism, which can be defined as a kind of market fundamentalism—or, better, market Stalinism—that holds there is only one possible direction for human historical development. The map is held by an elite of economists and corporate flacks, to whom must be ceded all power once held by institutions with any shred of democratic accountability; from now on it will be wielded largely through unelected treaty organizations like the IMF, WTO or NAFTA. In Argentina, or Estonia, or Taiwan, it would be possible to say this straight out: ‘We are a movement against neoliberalism’. But in the US, language is always a problem. The corporate media here is probably the most politically monolithic on the planet: neoliberalism is all there is to see—the background reality; as a result, the word itself cannot be used. The issues involved can only be addressed using propaganda terms like ‘free trade’ or ‘the free market’. So American activists find themselves in a quandary: if one suggests putting ‘the N word’ (as it’s often called) in a pamphlet or press release, alarm bells immediately go off: one is being exclusionary, playing only to an educated elite. There have been all sorts of attempts to frame alternative expressions—we’re a ‘global justice movement’, we’re a movement ‘against corporate globalization’. None are especially elegant or quite satisfying and, as a result, it is common in meetings to hear the speakers using ‘globalization movement’ and ‘anti-globalization movement’ pretty much interchangeably."
Motion to Annul: 16 Mar 2011: House of Lords debates (TheyWorkForYou.com)
Motion to Annul: 16 Mar 2011: House of Lords debates (TheyWorkForYou.com):
Motion to Annul
Employment and Support Allowance (Limited Capability for Work and Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity) (Amendment) Regulations 2011
House of Lords debates, 16 March 2011, 7:30 pm
Madison, Wisconsin: IWW General Strike Pamphlet - Infoshop News
Madison, Wisconsin: IWW General Strike Pamphlet - Infoshop News
Who should participate and how
"A general strike against Walker would begin the process of rebuilding a strong labor movement in the United States. Since the U.S. plays such an important role in the global economy and world political system, this could also invigorate workers' struggles around the planet. To make it happen will require participation from many people across industries, across unions, and across the country."
Call to sue councils that are 'failing the vulnerable' | The Law Gazette
Call to sue councils that are 'failing the vulnerable' | The Law Gazette: "Susan Thompson, chair of the Law Society’s mental health and disability committee, said that she expected the problem of delayed discharges from mental health wards to get worse as council budgets are squeezed further."
antibenefitcutsglasgow
antibenefitcutsglasgow: "Prof. Luke Clements"
Welfare reform bill will punish disabled people and
the poor and other assorted articles
Wednesday 16 March 2011
Tuesday 15 March 2011
Monday 14 March 2011
Sunday 13 March 2011
Saturday 12 March 2011
Friday 11 March 2011
London tuition fee protest - The Big Picture - Boston.com
London tuition fee protest - The Big Picture - Boston.com
Amazing photography of the student protests in October 2011
Thursday 10 March 2011
Guidance on submitting evidence to a Public Bill Committee - UK Parliament
Guidance on submitting evidence to a Public Bill Committee - UK Parliament
What should written evidence cover?
How should written evidence be submitted?
Guidance on submitting evidence to a Public Bill Committee
What should written evidence cover?
Your submission should address matters contained within the Bill and concentrate on issues where you have a special interest or expertise, and factual information of which you would like the Committee to be aware. It is helpful if the submission includes a brief introduction about you or your organisation. The submission should not have been previously published or circulated elsewhere. If you have any concerns about your submission, please contact the House of Commons Scrutiny Unit.
How should written evidence be submitted?
Your submission should be emailed to scrutiny@parliament.uk
Second reading of Welfare Reform Bill, now have your say - UK Parliament
Second reading of Welfare Reform Bill, now have your say - UK Parliament: Have your say
The Bill has now been sent to a Public Bill Committee for scrutiny and there is a call for written evidence.
Do you have relevant expertise and experience or a special interest in the Welfare Reform Bill? If so, you can submit your views in writing to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee which is going to consider this Bill."
The Bill has now been sent to a Public Bill Committee for scrutiny and there is a call for written evidence.
Do you have relevant expertise and experience or a special interest in the Welfare Reform Bill? If so, you can submit your views in writing to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee which is going to consider this Bill."
Welfare Reform Bill Second Reading: the facts | Full Fact
Welfare Reform Bill Second Reading: the facts | Full Fact
The Claims
Iain Duncan Smith: The problem is that although from 1992 to 2008 this country saw some 63 consecutive quarters of growth, and 4 million more people were in employment by the end of that period, before the recession had even started we still had some 4 million-plus people on out-of-work benefits. The question is: where did all those jobs go? Under the previous Government, over half of the jobs created went to foreign nationals.
Full Fact found: For details about the economy between 1992 and 2008, see our report The Big Question. We've also tackled the issue of the proportion of jobs going to foreign workers (although when we looked at it, Mr Duncan Smith had claimed that the level was closer to 70 per cent.)
Iain Duncan Smith: I am pleased to say that those principles seem to have received support from a number of stakeholders, including Citizens Advice and the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The IFS said that by and large the measure was a progressive change.
Full Fact found: We're looking into this, and will update later.
Iain Duncan Smith: We anticipate that the universal credit will make some 2.7 million households better off. Over 1 million households will be better off by more than £25 a week-clearly, those will be down in the bottom deciles-and 85% of that increase will go to households in the bottom 40% of the income distribution.
Full Fact found: This is an accurate reflection of what the Department of Work and Pensions forecast in its Impact Assessment on the change to universal credit.
Mr Andy Slaughter: According to the right hon. Gentleman's Department, 70% of those affected by the benefit cap live in social housing.
Full Fact found: We're looking into this, and will update later.
Iain Duncan Smith: We want as many people as possible to get help to engage with the labour market, and we know that about 80% of all lone parents are working or would like to work.
Full Fact found: We're looking into this, and will update later.
Sheila Gilmore: It is not true that someone who receives contributory ESA will receive it for ever without assessment.
Iain Duncan Smith: I remind the hon. Lady that in the support group, the contributory element does not apply. It applies to people with finances that take them above the line. The income-based measure continues-that is not the issue.
Full Fact found: When we looked at assessments for DLA, we foundthat the Government's own guidance noted that evidence was often submitted as supporting information as part of the claimants original application. We're currently looking into how this impinges upon ESA, if indeed it does.
Iain Duncan Smith: Over the past 10 years, overall spending on housing benefit has almost doubled from £11 billion to £21 billion, which is a huge increase. I accept some of the arguments about the reasons for that-the fact, for example, that house building fell to a record low, and more and more people had to be moved into the social rented sector.
Full Fact found: In cash terms this is correct, however using real terms (which DWP itself does in its Budget Expenditure tables) the rise is slightly more modest: in 2010/11 prices the bill has climbed from £14.5 billion in 2000/2001 to £21.5 billion in 2010/11.
Iain Duncan Smith: It is time for fundamental reform of the social fund, which is poorly targeted and open to abuse. Some 17,000 people have received 10 or more crisis loans in the past 12 months, and we have already taken steps to limit the number of crisis loans for living expenses to three in a 12-month period.
Full Fact found: Some background to crisis loan payments can be find in our factcheck from last month, however we're still tracking down Mr Duncan Smith's source for the 17,000 claim.
Iain Duncan Smith: On the second question that she (Yasmin Qureshi) raises about crisis loans being down to the recession, the trend of upward claiming was on track and had started long before the recession.
Full Fact found: Again, we're looking into the details of Mr Duncan Smith's claim.
Iain Duncan Smith: About 50 per cent of those currently receiving DLA did not have to provide any additional evidence to support their original claim, and more than two thirds of current recipients have an indefinite award.
Full Fact found: When we looked at assessments for DLA, we found that the Government's own guidance noted that evidence was often submitted as supporting information as part of the claimants original application. Whether this counts as 'additional' evidence is a matter of interpretation. Similarly, whilst it is accurate to say that two-thirds of the case load are indefinite awards, it is worth noting that two thirds of all new claimants for Disability Living Allowance are given awards for a fixed period. The difference is accounted for by the cumulative effect of indefinite awards.
Iain Duncan Smith: I fully accept that with the complexity of the system, officials made mistakes and that we were often too ready to badge people as fraudsters when in fact they were not necessarily fraudsters but caught up in a system that left them confused and perhaps not making the right or necessary level of statements to the authorities. This process is about separating those people out. A recent trial of a changed reconsideration process at Jobcentre Plus led to a fall of some 15% in the number of appeals being heard.
Full Fact found: We're looking into this, and will update later.
Iain Duncan Smith: We are introducing measures to allow non-resident parents to pay through Maintenance Direct when the case is within a statutory scheme. That will provide further flexibility for parents. We need to keep the burden of the cost of collection under control. In 2009-10, the cost of collecting every pound was more than 40p.
Full Fact found: We're looking into this, and will update later.
House of Commons Hansard Debates for 09 Mar 2011 (pt 0001)
House of Commons Hansard Debates for 09 Mar 2011 (pt 0001)
Hywel Williams (Arfon) (PC): I am glad to have secured this timely debate on the reform of the mobility component of disability living allowance-the debate could scarcely be timelier. I am also grateful to the hon. Members who are here, as well as to those who have expressed their interest but cannot be here. Lastly, I am grateful to the many organisations that have provided briefings to me and others for this debate.
Monday 28 February 2011
A cut out and keep guide to judicial review « UK Human Rights Blog
A cut out and keep guide to judicial review « UK Human Rights Blog
The coalition government wants to reduce the national deficit by billions, but is facing regular court challenges against its decisions to cut budgets. Some have been successful, such as the challenge to the cancellation of a school building programme and to London Councils’ decision to cut the London boroughs’ grants scheme budget — and there are more to come.
Inquiry into the implementation of the right of disabled people to independent living - UK Parliament
Inquiry into the implementation of the right of disabled people to independent living - UK Parliament
"State Parties to this Convention recognise the equal right of persons with disabilities to live in the community with choices equal to others, and shall take effective and appropriate measures to facilitate full enjoyment by persons with disabilities of this right and their full inclusion and participation in the Community"
Saturday 26 February 2011
Friday 25 February 2011
Glasgow Media Group
Glasgow Media Group
Welcome to the Glasgow Media Group website.
Please feel free to have a look around. At the top you will find our Main Menu, where you can access a range of materials. Our most recent work on alternatives to the government cuts can be found in the News section and you can also download our free Media Kit to help get the anti-cuts message across.
You can also read and download our latest publications, selected Glasgow Media Group book chapters, contribute your own thoughts, find contact information and browse our links to other related sites and materials.
Please feel free to have a look around. At the top you will find our Main Menu, where you can access a range of materials. Our most recent work on alternatives to the government cuts can be found in the News section and you can also download our free Media Kit to help get the anti-cuts message across.
You can also read and download our latest publications, selected Glasgow Media Group book chapters, contribute your own thoughts, find contact information and browse our links to other related sites and materials.
Soundings: a journal of politics and culture
Soundings: a journal of politics and culture
"In November 2001 a conference assembled at Woodstock, near Oxford. Its subject was 'Malingering and Illness Deception'. The topic was a familiar one to the insurance industry, but it was now becoming a major political issue as New Labour committed itself to reducing the 2.6 million who were claiming Incapacity Benefit (IB). Amongst the 39 participants was Malcolm Wicks, then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Work, and Mansel Aylward, his Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). Fraud - which amounts to less than 0.4 per cent of IB claims - was not the issue. The experts and academics present were the theorists and ideologues of welfare to work. What linked many of them together, including Aylward, was their association with the giant US income protection company UnumProvident, represented at the conference by John LoCascio. The goal was the transformation of the welfare system. The cultural meaning of illness would be redefined; growing numbers of claimants would be declared capable of work and 'motivated' into jobs. A new work ethic would transform IB recipients into entrepreneurs helping themselves out of poverty and into self-reliance. Five years later these goals would take a tangible form in New Labour's 2006 Welfare Reform Bill."
Monday 21 February 2011
Wednesday 16 February 2011
Countering the cuts myths | Red Pepper
Countering the cuts myths | Red Pepper:
The government and the press say we are in the grip of a debt crisis caused by the 'bloated' public sector. Here, Red Pepper debunks the myths used to push cuts to jobs and public services.
'Countering the Cuts Myths'
The government and the press say we are in the grip of a debt crisis caused by the 'bloated' public sector. Here, Red Pepper debunks the myths used to push cuts to jobs and public services.
Tuesday 15 February 2011
Does getting tough on the unemployed work? | Society | The Guardian
Does getting tough on the unemployed work? | Society | The Guardian
“In my interviews with state officials [in the US] they did not blink about putting men in prison to enforce a work requirement,” says Lawrence M Mead, who was on Newsnight last night 15/02/11.
No country for poor people? | Politics | The Observer
No country for poor people? | Politics | The Observer
American academic Lawrence Mead, who provided the inspiration for a tough overhaul of US welfare under which unemployed people have to work for benefits, on how the UK benefits system must change has darkened our shores again this month and spoke on Newsnight tonight 15th February 2011
Shelter England - Save the housing safety net
Shelter England - Save the housing safety net
Every two minutes someone faces the prospect of losing their home. But until now there's been housing safety net that can stop a bad situation turning into a disaster.
Over the next six months, the government is planning to pass laws that reduce what protection you have if your home comes under threat:
- reducing the temporary housing support you would receive if you lost your job – so that you might be forced to move to a different town
- scrapping the rules that mean your council has to find you a stable and secure place to live if you lose your home
- restricting the free legal advice you would get if you couldn’t afford a lawyer.
This is not the way to create a country where everyone has a secure, affordable, decent home.
Sign Shelter's petition to oppose the worst of these changes and build the strong housing safety net we all need.
Thursday 10 February 2011
Are you missing some of your friends feeds? Here's how to fix it (2)
Are you missing some of your friends Facebook feeds? Here's how to fix it
Apparently when Facebook changed the new profile they changed a setting that shows your Newsfeeds to only the few people you were interacting with at the time of change. This means that you may have lost a lot of your friends' feeds. In extreme cases you will have lost everything in which case your profile page will be lacking many expected sections.
To change it back go to the bottom of your Newsfeed page and click 'edit options'...then click 'show newsfeed to all friends'
You should now get every friends feeds coming though OK again.
Support and WRAG group health conditions broken down into % • ABC of ESA
Support and WRAG group health conditions broken down into % • ABC of ESA
In most cases the reason for being placed in the Support Group is recorded at assessment. The following provides a more detailed description of the breakdowns in Table 1 and Table 2:
• Chemotherapy – people receiving certain types of chemotherapy automatically qualify for the support group;
• Physical or Mental Health Risk – the regulations (see link below) allow that in ‘exceptional circumstances’ a person may be entitled to ESA and put into the support group if there would be ‘serious risk to the mental or physical health of any person’ if the claimant were to be found ‘fit for work’;
• Pregnancy Risk – if a woman is pregnant and there is serious risk to her health or the health of her unborn child if she works;
• Severe functional disability – if the claimant meets the functional criteria, covering physical and mental capacity, laid out in the legislation (see link below);
• Terminally ill – someone diagnosed as terminally ill with a prognosis of 6 months or less.
• Chemotherapy – people receiving certain types of chemotherapy automatically qualify for the support group;
• Physical or Mental Health Risk – the regulations (see link below) allow that in ‘exceptional circumstances’ a person may be entitled to ESA and put into the support group if there would be ‘serious risk to the mental or physical health of any person’ if the claimant were to be found ‘fit for work’;
• Pregnancy Risk – if a woman is pregnant and there is serious risk to her health or the health of her unborn child if she works;
• Severe functional disability – if the claimant meets the functional criteria, covering physical and mental capacity, laid out in the legislation (see link below);
• Terminally ill – someone diagnosed as terminally ill with a prognosis of 6 months or less.
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