Webchat with James Purnell MP Secretary of State, on the 22nd July 2008. See this link on the Department for Work & Pensions website. 

Given the launch of the Green Paper on Welfare Reform today.  There is much in the news.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7516551.stm - "Benefit shake-up 'revolutionary'".

or the interview with the Secretary of State on the BBC Today program  - click here. 

The debate is on and the Consultation document can be found on the DWP consultations pages by clicking here - "No one written off: reforming welfare to reward responsibility".

This is one way you can empower yourself in the decisions made about the benefits you receive now or may need in the future.  It is a public consultation so your response is welcome.

I note many questions were asked about Mental Health & Multiple Barriers to Employment.  I note one question about the need for suitably qualified and trained personnel dealing with claims.  The Secretary of State mentioned stigma many times especially in relation to mental health.  When the debate is published on Hansard I will link to it.

 Some of us with HIV also suffer with various mental issues.  Re-think have undertaken a study of the stigma of living with mental health which is relevant, in my view, as it explains another barrier to us as a community.

The survey can be found by clicking here.

Attended a meeting of the APPG HIV/AID's this week. Not related to this cause but very informative all the same.

One of the key issues that has cropped up throughout this process has been the ability of General Practitioner's to fully understand and comment on a HIV+ persons health in relation to their claim.  That is not to undermine the role of the GP merely they lack the specialist knowledge of a HIV consultant.  There is also an argument that medical practitioners employed by the DWP are also not specialist enough to comment or understand HIV fully. Given that a "medical practitioner" can be a nurse for example.

On the BBC News website there is a story about GP's & HIV which further supports the case that they are not best placed to comment on HIV when they fail to recognise it in surgery.

Here is the story.

 From the Guardian online - "Department told to 'get a grip' as it spends £11million on handling complaints"

 "I've put in for a revision, along with numerous supporting letters from the consultant, G.P etc and the Citizen's Advice legal people have also written in detail to DWP supporting my request. It is just a case of waiting on that now.

Meanwhile in consequence of being no longer disabled!!! (Have DWP found a miracle cure for HIV?) and losing my entire income support; although I am now entitled to Council Tax benefit, the local authority want £770 from me that Income Support were going to pay upto next April.

And.......

....the DWP fraud department has now written to me saying I was overpaid income support between 2002 - 2007 because my circumstances changed. (They haven't from 1994 until now when DLA was removed), and want me to pay this money back. Just a mere £20294.44, they reckon!
It's going to take them a mighty long time to extract all that from the £62.50 Severe Disablement Allowance I'm now left with. It is so ludicrous it is laughable.

All this as a result of losing DLA.

CAB have come across situations like this before apparently.

As you can imagine it is not too beneficial to my stress levels, especially as my health isn't particularly brilliant at the moment."

As is the nature of the Summer. Many people take vacation leave but MP's although they go on Holiday are working in their constituency until Parliament goes back in October.

We are taking this oppourtunity to work on the web site & have a few days here and there as a break.

We will continue to lobby. Drafting new letters for your MP's and preparing a response to the Welfare Reform Green Paper.

John.

 Last week was an important week politically and for anyone who has an illness and is currently on benefits or may need them in the future should the progression of their illness make them unfit for work.

Reflecting on last week. A member of the team forwarded me an article by Polly Toynbee from the Guardian. The article can be found by clicking here.

Some points I found interesting.

"Purnell could have reminded Mail readers of that strong work ethic among the battalions of cleaners and carers, while scroungers are surprisingly few. Instead he inflamed prejudices drawn from eye-popping cases in shockumentaries about Shameless estates. It was Bill Clinton who said you can never ever be too tough on welfare, they will always cry for more. So do you go on turning the screw for ever? That becomes self-defeating, feeding the appetite for more loathing and less understanding of the poor."

 In Useful Documents you will find a copy of the Welfare Reform Green Paper and the Impact Assessment.

We urge you to respond to this as per details.

Picked up from the www.benefitsandwork.co.uk website and worthy of note here in case you missed it (as I did) initially. From the Daily Mail on 8th July 2008, by Michael Lea.

The welfare fraud farce: How ministers spent £154 million to get £22 million back from benefit cheats.

"Investigating welfare fraud last year cost taxpayers seven times the amount actually clawed back from benefits cheats. 

You may be interested in this research from the Office for Disability Issues (ODI). The Office for Disability issues works across government to ensure equality becomes a reality for disabled people.

The Experiences and Expectations of Disabled People.

"A new research report commissioned by the Government shows that whilst progress is being made, disabled people in Britain are still more likely than non-disabled people to experience disadvantage in a variety of areas.

Experiences and Expectations of Disabled People, the first comprehensive study of disability issues in six years, looked at key policy areas including employment, education, transport, health and discrimination across Great Britain in 2007.

Clicking on he link below should/will download the appropriate document to you computer, thus enabling you to view at your own leisure. Note we also hold a PSI license for documentation from Government.

This page was becoming a large list so I have added more menu options here. I have tried to gather relevant information into categories to make it easier to find.

I deal with people via email quiet often and over many months. I am grateful to them for sharing their experience with me as it builds the picture.

I would like to relate to you the following, the person has allowed me to add this to the blog. 

It demonstrates how with determination you can succeed.  This is about a completely new claim and not one subject to review.

A friend of mine related to me that they had submitted a first application for DLA. Knowing the medical issues even an objective comparison to the DWP's guidelines would have given this person an entitlement. But no. They declined his application. This is a trend. The DWP seem to do this on new applications. I also have noticed these are usually successful on an appeal.

So he submitted an appeal. He asked for written. He kept every document, letter & fax he had sent. It was during the time he was waiting for the decision that he shared his experience with me. From the advice gleaned from others I was able to suggest an Oral appeal would have been a better route and to bear it in mind moving forward.

The appeal decision upheld the original decision.  Going through it. It was clear this was flawed. On the basis of no full medical evidence requested by the DWP. But also they had looked at each condition in isolation and not the full impact of ALL the conditions daily.  

Clicking on he link below should/will download the appropriate document to you computer, thus enabling you to view at your own leisure. Note we also hold a PSI license for documentation from Government.

• Sample letter instruction to doctor about consent to report on your health to 3rd parties. You would need to send one copy to every doctor or  clinic/hospital you regularly attend.

• Tribunal Service - Presidents Report 2007/8 - critical of ATOS, the rising level of appeal, Failure to collect proper medical evidence etc.

• Response from General Medical Council (GMC) on issues raised about GP's & Consultants received - 13th May 2008 ( Good Medical Practice mentioned - click here : Confidentiality - click here )

Clicking on he link below should/will download the appropriate document to you computer, thus enabling you to view at your own leisure. Note we also hold a PSI license for documentation from Government.

• First Tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) - How to appeal leaflet - 3rd November 2008 comes into practice.
• DLA Process overview charts - Have tried to put together as simply as I can charts showing the general process with regard to a DLA Claim through to Appeal - July 2008
• DLA556 Application Pack (10 MByte PDF Document - May take about 3-5 minutes to download, depending on internet connection.)
• DWP Form GL24 "If you think our decision is wrong" see JobCentre Web Site
• DWP Disability Handbook Feb 2008 HIV/AIDS Entry
• DWP Decision Makers Guide as at 27th Feb 2008 - Medical Evidence
• Benefit Dependencies Flow Chart
• Known DLA Personal Capability Assesment Points
• Copy of the medical report HFR (T1) the DWP send to your Doctor when they receive your initial DBD551 enquiry form. Thanks to the person who emailed me a blank copy. - 19 June 2008
• For information purposes, found by a member of T_hCell. Click here for the DWP "Guidance for Examining Medical Practitioners". Atos Origin is the company that undertake these medical's
• For information purposes, found by a member of T_hCell. Click here for the DWP "Disability Living Allowance EMP report". This is what is completed if you have a visit by a DWP Doctor or Member of Medical Services.
• Employment and Support Allowance Application form ESA50.  This replaces the IB50 form from October. If you want to read more on the Employment and Support Allowance see the Disability Alliance website.  
• Incapacity Benefit - IB50 document added - this is just the questions without the guidance. It allows you to see what Questions are asked. Note:If you receive the Higher Rate Care Component of Disability Living Allowance you are exempt from completing this form. 
• The Welfare Reform Green Paper "No one written off:reforming welfare to reward responsibility" - Click here for the DWP Consultation, Click here for the accompanying "Impact Assessment" and Click here for the leaked document. These are large PDF files. July 2008.
• Tribunal Service - Presidents Report 2007/8 - critical of ATOS, the rising level of appeal, Failure to collect proper medical evidence etc.

• Response from Anne McGuire, Minster for the Disabled received 4th March 2008
  
  
• Work and Pensions Committee Letter
• Letter sent to Emily Thornberry MP for Islington South & Finsbury from Terry Moran CEO of the Pension, Disability & Carers Service 22 May 2008.
• Letter sent to Emily Thornberry MP for Islington South & Finsbury from the Stephen Timms, MP, Minster for Welfare Reform at the Department for Work & Pensions -  22 May 2008. 

Clicking on he link below should/will download the appropriate document to you computer, thus enabling you to view at your own leisure. Note we also hold a PSI license for documentation from Government.

• The Welfare Reform Green Paper "No one written off:reforming welfare to reward responsibility" - Click here for the DWP Consultation, Click here for the accompanying "Impact Assessment" and Click here for the leaked document. These are large PDF files. July 2008. Please respond to this.

Everyone's experience is different. There are no "hard & fast" rules here. Someone you know may have had an adverse decision/ experience but yours will be different and maybe have a more positive outcome. The information on this site and externally linked sites & information does not constitute legal advice. You should always, if you have difficulty with any BENEFIT and require PROPER LEGAL ADVICE. Engage a suitably Qualified Solicitor / Social Worker / Welfare Rights Worker or the Citizens Advice Bureau.

• Sample Letter to your MP (click here if you need it in Rich Text Format .rtf). This letter added 2nd August 2008 covers the DLA Special Rules review and the new Welfare Reform Green Paper. If you have sent previous letters please also send one on these theme's. It is important to keep the momentum going. Thank you.  To find your MP click here.

• Sample letter instruction to doctor about consent to report on your health to 3rd parties. You would need to send one copy to every doctor or  clinic/hospital you regularly attend. Updated 29th August 2008.

• From the post in the Forum DLA Stopped. "C" the contributor, wrote to their Dr's to seek clarification on their health position to submit to the DWP. The cover letter is here, the questionaire is here .  If you would like to read the whole document in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format click here. Added for information purposes only - 20 June 2008

 Here documents and information that doesn't fit anywhere else is listed.

I have re-arranged the Useful Documents Section in to relevant categories. You should notice a drop down menu now. It was just becoming a long list and difficult to navigate. Any comments feel free to email me.

Over the coming weeks we will be adding information into this section on the Welfare Reform 2008 Green Paper & updating the letter you can write to your MP on our issues to reflect this.

 You can subscribe to the email news letter from the www.benefitsandwork.co.uk website. You will get information for general consumption (non-members) and for (members only).

See the story on "Appeals president slams DWP and ATOS" - you will find the full report in Useful Documents \ DWP or click here . 

We have added a new Sample Letter for you to send to your MP.

This letter picks up on the previous issues of the DLA, the Right Payment Programme & Special Rules Review. What is new is that is mentioned the current Welfare Reform Green Paper. This will also have an impact on us all especially if you are currently in receipt of Incapacity Benefit.

We would urge you to submit a response to the Welfare Reform Green Paper but if at the very least you would send a letter to your MP we would be grateful.

Thank you.

Found on the BBC News Website. This story, below, very much touches on the issues people with HIV face in the work place.

The original story can be found here. 

Press release from the Fire Brigade Union (FBU) can be found by clicking here.  This highlights the need for anyone with HIV and able to work to have the protection of a trade union or other such body to protect their rights in the work place. Not often successful most cases of this type typically, result in those with HIV leaving there job having struck a deal with their employer. Bound to silence by a "Compromise Agreement". Of course this makes it extremely difficult for those to get another job for the reasons highlighted also in this case.

Information on the Employment Tribunal System can be found at www.employmenttribunals.gov.uk . 

I have an outstanding complaint with the DWP on a few issues related to my claim. Though submitted a month ago and due a response within 7 days. I have requested that my local MP, Greg Hands . Now pursues this through the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

It will be interesting if my MP will follow through with this as so far to date I have not even received a courteous acknowledgment of correspondence sent to him thus far on my and our issues.

This relates to common issues with respect to not just my claim but I feel, from your feedback, other claims as well.

I will let you know how this progresses and more detail when I get it.

In an effort to gain more understanding of how the DWP understand us with HIV.  Some Freedom of Information requests have been submitted.

Two contributors from Brighton have submitted a request to find out who the medical board are.

I have submitted two requests. One to find out about the training staff get, who provides it etc..

Secondly, the Disability Carers Service Advisory Forum and the minutes of their meetings. This being different than the newsletters they put out. 

Moving forward it is important for us to understand how our issues are dealt with by government.

I will post more information when I get it.

This was an anonymous comment posted to the bottom of the Sample Letters Page. I have moved it here as it seems a better place for it.

The comment was left on Monday 4th August 2008 @ 8.03pm.

"Is this letter a joke?

LOL

You can't really expect an MP to take that letter seriously. Not only is it illiterate drivel; but it passes unsubstantiated – and largely uninformed - opinion off as fact. GET A GRIP (if you want to be more than the obvious laughing stock that you currently are)."

Clearly someone has been upset by this (DWP maybe?) and the criticism doesn't stand up to any scrutiny.

Picked up from a comment on a recent post. I note that Mrs. Christine Whitehead , HIV Nurse Consultant & member of the Appeals Service. Is also a member of the Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board. 

Her special interest is the management of HIV as a chronic condition.

As part of the research into what training on HIV is undertaken by the DWP for it's Decision Makers.  I note in section 9.2 of the Full Board Meeting Notes 12th February 2008. That Mrs. Whitehead has provided training for Decision Makers relating to AIDS highlighting that the best evidence relating to AIDS came from Hospitals. 

I will be writing to the board to establish the form and more specific detail on this training. I think there is also merit in establishing how many enquires? and what advice was given to Medical Services doctors? by the board in relation to HIV/AIDS under the current climate of DLA review.

As you may be aware all this week in Mexico the World Aids Conference 2008 is taking place.

Terrence Higgins Trust are taking part as you would expect.  You can find out how THT are participating by clicking here.

One of the topics being raised is

"Benefits for Life? The dilemma of reviewing and reducing state benefits for those living longer than predicted on antiretrovirals and the impact on people with HIV"

We thank THT for the mention of this site and for raising this issue as clearly this impacts many countries and their respective HIV communities.  

Also this raises the profile of the issues within the UK which we can only welcome.

 It's been a busy week with the World Aids Conference and no doubt we will have much to read about, in our various journals, on advances and initiatives.  

If you wanted to watch some of the webcast's etc. from the conference you can find them at www.aids2008.org or www.kaisernetwork.org .

Of particular interest to me was the webcast on the use of IT and mobile phones.

Thanks to K for emailing me this.

Note : If you want to attend this event please email your name to mya.stevens@radar.org.uk to register your attendance. Places are limited to 80.

RADAR is organising a series of debates in different parts of the country to promote discussion of the relevance of disability equality to solving some of today's biggest policy challenges.  

You are invited to the inaugural debate on Monday September 1^st from 4.00 – 6.30pm where the motion to be debated is:

“This House believes that the majority of disabled people can and should work.”

 I am happy to disclosed, information that was provided from the DWP website today, which confirms in Feb 2008 the total number of people affected with HIV/AIDS who claimed and Entiitled to was:

I have received some information from Mr. Core & his colleague, a regular contributor to our cause. This is information on a Freedom of Information Request about the Doctors used by the DWP.

I have also received the membership and Agenda & Minutes from the DCS Advisory Forum under one of my requests.

Please bear with me as I am under the weather at the moment and will post all this information tomorrow.

Further to my request under the Freedom of Information Act for the Agenda's and Minutes of the meetings, from January 2006 to present date, of the Disability Carers Advisory Forum part of the Department for Work & Pensions.

I am posting the data received so you can see what has happened in this forum, what was discussed etc.. 

Click here for the list of members and the date of joining the forum.  THT have been a member since 2005.

Mr Core submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act to find out exactly who the Doctors were on the DWP Medical Panel.  There were several issues raised - HIV experience, If medic's visited a person at home what identification was presented, How could it be verified? etc. .  This information is also necessary to know should any claimant want to challenge a medical opinion of one of the doctors commenting on a case, in a court of law.

This of course raised issues where a DWP Medical Praticioner, who could be a nurse ,reaches a medical judgement that might be contrary to that of a claiments consultant who is likely to be more learned in HIV matters. 

Mr Core kindly sent me all the information regarding this request. As you can imagine the DWP were not happy to release this information, it took many months and Mr Core was left with no choice but to take the matter through to the Information Commissioner's Office. This office told the DWP to release the information otherwise it would formally order it to do so.

Mr Core asked if any of the Doctors were of or over retirement age as specified in UK law.  This matter remains outstanding as the DWP have said they cannot reveal the "dates of birth" of these Doctors. Though that was not what was asked. You must draw you own conclusions as to why this general point has been unanswered.

Below you will see the response, with names of DWP employee's not subject to the Freedom of Information Request edited out.

Here are the documents received as a result of Freedom of information Requests.

• Medical Doctors Panel request by Mr Core. This is a .pdf document.
• DWP Training in HIV/AIDS for Staff. (40mb file)
• DWP response to training given by Christine Whitehead of the Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board (DLAAB) on HIV/AIDS.
• The medical report requests sent to your doctors for completion can be found by clicking here for the HFR (TI) report usually sent when a claim is reviewed or by clicking here for the DBD365.
• Response on Data Handling by the DWP.  From the efforts of one of our contributors a response on how data is handled, stored and who has access. This is an ongoing enquiry.
• Number of cases from DWP. From the efforts of one of our contributors the number of cases being reviewed. Of interest is that the DWP don't know how many DLA556 forms they have sent out. (13 November 2008).

DCS Advisory Panel.

• Member information in .doc format.
• Agenda's from January 2006 to August 2008 in .zip format.
  
  
• Meeting Minutes 2008 in .zip format (to August 2008).
• Meeting Minutes 2007 in .zip format.
  
  
• Meeting Minutes 2006 in .zip format.

I would draw your attention to this post in the Forums on the Fear of Prosecution.

Very relevant. Legally I would draw attention to the requirement in law to notify the DWP of changes to circumstances.

Further to the previous entry "HIV/AIDs current DWP figures posted as a comment by Kevin".

He is provided me with the full DWP figures across all disabilities up to February 2008.

If you want to see the number of cases by disability for the Care Component click here, for the Mobility Component click here.

Of interest as is demonstrates the extremely low percentage of claims in relation to all other disability claims. Also it is fair to note that it is likely that where HIV/AIDS in not listed by the claimant as their primary illness for the claim this will not appear as a AIDS statistic rather under the primary illness.

Hello all.

Not been ignoring the blog its just one of the spells where we are waiting for responses to correspondence etc.