Ken Loache's film, I Daniel Blake, (Film about uk benefit regime) wins Palme d'Or.

[William of Walworth]

Well the first thought is make the cunts watch it and reply to its messages. A very authentic film. How many are in these circumstances?

Its really a good film.

All I know is I've signed on for JSA and it was as bad as this film portrays. Bollocks courses, jump through demeaning hoops The whole system is designed to be cruel and demeaning, Daniel Blake says: 'If I lose my self respect I've got nothing'.

And what Humberto said, especially the bolded bits.

 

[neonwilderness]

We've just watched it now. We were both completely taken aback by the ending, not because it wasn't realistic, but because neither of us had expected it .....

After watching the extras I think the ending was a surprise to the actors too, I don't think they found out until just before filming it.

OK, one exception, the enormous queue outside the foodbank was a tad exaggerated she thought -- but maybe things really are that much more extreme in the NE than in far from prosperous Neath/Port Talbot?

I'm not sure how realistic the queues are, but it's Britain's busiest foodbank apparently - Christmas at a food bank: 'We're trying to change people's lives'

 

[William of Walworth]

OK, perhaps we were a touch more sceptical than necessary ...

 

[crossthebreeze]

We've just watched it now. We were both completely taken aback by the ending, not because it wasn't realistic, but because neither of us had expected it .....

But we were both hugely impressed. Well worth the wait.

Deb's got a lot of experience of benefit advice work, appeals against DWP decisions, etc., most of it rang really true she thought.

OK, one exception, the enormous queue outside the foodbank was a tad exaggerated she thought -- but maybe things really are that much more extreme in the NE than in far from prosperous Neath/Port Talbot?

I live near that food bank. There are queues of similar length for the CAB in the city centre most mornings and for another weekly benefits advice session i know of, and i've seen queues for a local soup kitchen. The actual food bank i think uses referrals with time slots and does a few sessions at other centres in the local area to stop everyone turning up on a monday morning and queuing and so the volunteers get time to chat with people.

 

[William of Walworth]

crossthebreeze -- Thanks for that, interesting. And on reflection, not hard to believe at all. I think the reason Deb was sceptical initially about the foodbank queues in the film, is that she knew our local foodbanks here also operate a staggered appointment system.

CAB queues I can certainly believe -- Deb works for them here in Swansea now!
She used to work for the Welfare Rights Unit at the neighbouring Council, and they're were overwhelmed with demand for information, help, etc. Even more so now, after the Council made her and several others redundant in 2015

 

[Artaxerxes]

Not sure where to put this so putting it here.

Turns out they don't work, who'd have thought it? (apart from literally fucking everybody with any sense)

Benefit sanctions found to be ineffective and damaging

Benefit sanctions are ineffective at getting jobless people into work and are more likely to reduce those affected to poverty, ill-health or even survival crime, the UK’s most extensive study of welfare conditionality has found.

The five-year exercise tracking hundreds of claimants concludes that the controversial policy of docking benefits as punishment for alleged failures to comply with jobcentre rules has been little short of disastrous.

“Benefit sanctions do little to enhance people’s motivation to prepare for, seek or enter paid work. They routinely trigger profoundly negative personal, financial, health and behavioural outcomes,” the study concludes.

Despite claims by ministers in recent years that rigorously enforced conditionality – including mandatory 35-hour job searches – incentivised claimants to move off benefits into work, the study found the positive impact was negligible.

It calls for a review of the use of sanctions, including an immediate moratorium on benefit sanctions for disabled people who are disproportionately affected, together with an urgent “rebalancing” of the social security system to focus less on compliance and more on helping claimants into work.

In the “rare” cases where claimants did move off benefits into sustained work, researchers found that personalised job support, not sanctions, was the key factor. With few exceptions, however, jobcentres were more focused on enforcing benefit rules rather than helping people get jobs, the study found.

 

[Treacle Toes]

I put it here:

campaign against welfare cuts and poverty

 

[Badgers]

On BBC2 tonight

 

[Argonia]

On BBC2 tonight

What time is it on? Hope it doesn't clash with Blake Lake at 9 on BBC Four

 

[Badgers]

What time is it on? Hope it doesn't clash with Blake Lake at 9 on BBC Four

9.45pm I think

 

[Argonia]

Damn it clashes with Black Lake, the Scandi chiller that started last week. Bloody scheduling, you wait a month for something worth watching and then two things come along at once.

 

[Libertad]

On BBC2 tonight

Good spot Badgkin.

 

[Argonia]

Is it gonna be on I player do we know?

 

[Badgers]

Is it gonna be on I player do we know?

Dunno my Pa asked me that earlier.

Would be a shame if not. The licence payer funded BBC should have this available on the iplayer year round.

 

[Treacle Toes]

Is it gonna be on I player do we know?

Probably. Most things are for an amount of time after airing.

 

[ska invita]

up for a month starting now
BBC iPlayer - I, Daniel Blake

 

[Artaxerxes]

 

[Argonia]

Finally got round to watching it at iPlayer. What a beautiful film it is.

 

[Poot]

Also, how is he counting the number of people who are 'in work'? Is he, by any chance counting the number of people who AREN'T claiming benefits? And might there be a reason why they AREN'T claiming benefits? Like in the film?

 

[Sasaferrato]

Also, how is he counting the number of people who are 'in work'? Is he, by any chance counting the number of people who AREN'T claiming benefits? And might there be a reason why they AREN'T claiming benefits? Like in the film?

About 20 million claiming. That figure includes 11m wrinklies though.

https://assets.publishing.service.g...wp-quarterly-benefits-summary-august-2018.pdf

About 60% not claiming benefits.

 

[Poot]

About 20 million claiming. That figure includes 11m wrinklies though.

https://assets.publishing.service.g...wp-quarterly-benefits-summary-august-2018.pdf

About 60% not claiming benefits.

Yes. But my point was that ironically Daniel Blake, despite losing his job, was unable to claim benefits in the film (sorry everyone if that's a spoiler) and would therefore NOT have been counted as unemployed. Presumably like a large chunk of 'employed' people in the statistics.

 

[Sasaferrato]

Yes. But my point was that ironically Daniel Blake, despite losing his job, was unable to claim benefits in the film (sorry everyone if that's a spoiler) and would therefore NOT have been counted as unemployed. Presumably like a large chunk of 'employed' people in the statistics.

I appreciate that.

The employment figures are the biggest load of bollocks in history.

The NAO should force the DWP to express employment in FTE. The figures would be vastly different, as a zero hours contract would then rate as unemployed.