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campaign against welfare cuts and poverty

There does seem to be a lot of confusion over this.

What the SNP called for was removing the cap on the child element of UC. Those who have 3 or more children still get the regular child benefit, if their income is below the threshold.
 
The new Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall is supportive of a report that focuses on pushing disabled people into work and which recommends they be forced to engage with "work coaches" or lose benefits.

The report was chaired by former Health Minister Alan Milburn. The other day Smokeandsteam posted elsewhere that Milburn is saying that long-term sick people should be forced to seek work.

Liz Kendall has said she wants the DWP to move from “a department for welfare” to becoming “a genuine department for work”. Milburn's wording is almost identical, calling for "a department for work."

Among the commission’s other recommendations is for DWP to cut benefits for disabled people who are out-of-work – except for those with “severe disabilities” – to “close the financial gap between incapacity and unemployment benefits”.

Although Kendall did not call for cuts to out-of-work disability benefits, she did tell the launch that “spiralling economic inactivity” was “bad for our public finances”, and she pointed to steep rises in spending on “sickness and disability benefits”, adding: “Imagine what a fraction of that money could do instead.”

How they decide what can be classed as "severe disabilities" is not made clear, yet the words of doctors and specialist medical practitioners about their own patients are barely acknowledged under the current benefits system.

Despite its calls to force more disabled people into work – and to cut benefits – the report completely ignores the serious safeguarding issues within DWP, including those linked to the work capability assessment (WCA) process and universal credit and associated with efforts to pressure disabled people into work or work-related activity.

Kendall and her party have themselves repeatedly ignored the DWP safeguarding issue in the lead-up to the election, and since they won power.

Liz Kendall: “Under this government, there will be obligations to engage with support, look for work and take jobs when they are offered, as there always have been since the original Beveridge report, but there will be no more divisive, derogatory rhetoric or claiming that people just think that they are too bluesy to work.”

Fresh DWP fears after Kendall helps launch report that calls for ‘duty to engage’ and cuts to disability benefits
(content warning for suicide)
 
for anyone in Manchester, there's a demo this weekend about Spareroom allowing landlords to discriminate against claimaints:

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All out on Saturday, 28th of September! Meet at 1PM, on Colony One Silk Street, M4 6AG ! Banner and placards provided.

Let @spareroomuk know that we demand change in how landlords upload their listings to discriminate against benefit claimants!

The process of advertising on SpareRoom is limited to “Professionals, Students and No Preference”. This implies that there are only two types of renters that might be searching for housing: in a “professional” job or higher education. Renting costs are at an all time high, so further limitations make it even harder to find housing.

Please share anywhere else that seems relevant.
 
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