What's new? You and others have mocked my absolute hatred of local Authority Officers involved with the care and education of disabled kids because they lie and cheat and in their case flagrantly break the law of the land and often put kids at risk. It's just an extension of the same thing.

I suppose we need to re-engineer the welfare system so that funds are readily avaiable to help the disabled. The easiest way of doing that would be to put back the retirement and state pension age to say 83. The problem is that people campaign against increasing the retirement age, quite why I have no idea. The reason I use 83 is that would be today's equivalent of the 1945/6 male retirement age, when the system came into being.

No. People 'mock' you for being - on the basis of your own reports - a really rude and uncivilised oik. And generally they think that, on the basis of what we've seen here, anyone dealing with you, whether in the public or private sectors, would have to be an absolute saint.

An easier way would be to maximise the tax-take from those who are better positioned to afford it.

rlLooks like the benefit cuts are working thenrl

Errrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmm apart from the fact that we'll be spending £9bn more than predicted

This was predicted by disabled people well over a year ago when it became obvious just how many people were "failing" the Atos medical and appealing and then going to tribunerals and winning. But the government do not listen to us. Yes, test us by all means, but to really save the money, test us fairly and squarly without trying to "cheat" us to get us off the benefit, it also doesn't help when a private company (Atos) are getting a big enough kick back for every person found "fit for work", it all adds up. It would have been cheaper and less complicated for the DWP to be doing the testing.

As for Coddys other link, a really, really sad state of affairs, one which I read about every single day around the t'internet. I see more than most because I belong to groups that share experiences and I could spend a whole day just posting stories on here that you wouldn't believe.

Anyway, more money wasted for the government today....I am off to the hospital now as I have got much worse over the past 9 months (we think with all the stress of having my benefit removed this September) and I have to plead my case to the Rheumatologist to ask him nicely if he will kindly write me a report stating how much worse I am since I last saw him 8 months ago, so I can send it off to the very sympathetic (!) people at Atos! I shouldn't be doing this kind of work for them but there you are.

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... lower.html Interesting article from the other side of the desk at Atos Assesments. Only confirms what disabled people who are called in for appointments knew already; its nothing to do with genuinly assessing disabled people but more about keeping the Government happy.

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... lower.html Interesting article from the other side of the desk at Atos Assesments. Only confirms what disabled people who are called in for appointments knew already; its nothing to do with genuinly assessing disabled people but more about keeping the Government happy.

I must confess to being confused by that report. Till i read that, the picture I had was that Atos was telling everyone they were fit for work, and that was the raison d'etre. But this guy is saying precisely the opposite. What's going on?

Also how is it cheaper to pay him £200,000+ pa., ON TOP OF the huge amounts undoubtedly made by Atos (or else why are they doing it) than to employ in-house doctors to do the assessments?
(" If I worked hard, I could earn £4,500 a week."icon_wink.gif

An article that raises many questions.

If you read the article closely you will see he is refering to his time at ATOS in 2005 - 7 years ago!! The Work Capability Assesment has changed beyond recognition since the Tories came in. They have made the WCA virtually impossible to "pass" and a lot of people (75%) are "failing" and scoring 0-14 points (15 being needed to get the benefit). Doctor Branton is also referring to assesing people for Incapacity Benefit, a benefit which no longer exists and hasn't since 2008. New benefit and assesment rules have been brought in with the new ESA post 2008, so while I have no doubt what he is saying is true for 2005, it is not a true picture for the present. The ordinary man however, on the street will not have a clue between the difference in sickness benefits in 2005 and 2012!

I also question why the article is in the DM - a paper that has so vehmently tries to discredit ESA claimants on an almost daily basis. The more cynical part of me knows damn well why this article is in the DM.

It's all the Tories fault. If Labour were in office you would be entilted to £1M per week, live in a big mansion with a swimming pool and have 10 butlers to wait on your every need. This is a fact.

So, did you miss the point because you're stupid or because you're just thick?

No mate, if Labour were in power I wouldn't have my £94 a week and self worth taken away from me, and that is fact. 94 quid a week may not seem a lot and it isn't but to me its my independence, my contribution to the household, so I don't have to "ask" for pocket money. I didn't ask to have my disability nor did I give up my job in accounts to scrounge 94 quid a week and watch Jeremy Kyle all day.

Come back when you've something decent to contribute.

What is the point your Intellectual Eminence? Are you suggesting that the disabled were treated fairly and in accordance with the law under Labour? I can assure you that was not the case, at least for children, during that era.

Can't speak for children but as a disabled adult I was treated fairly under Labour. I got just enough IB & IS to keep me afloat and keep my mortgate payments up until I was able to return to work which I did. I then got progressivly worse and again in 2004 when I had no choice but to either spend 5 days a week in hospital or give up my job I was treated fairly. I had enough medical evidence to get DLA and IB. Now under the Tories I have been given one year to get better - to say they have no idea is an understatement! As from September I have to join the job centre queues (in my wheelchair because I can't stand for long periods) but actually I can't because I can't legally say I can work 40 hours a week.

If you believe we are being treated the same under the Tories as Labour then you are very much mistaken, or very naive.

Such was the blatancy of local authority's (and still is) a charity even produced tea-towelshttps://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz329/David_Lyons/Teatowel900.jpg" >