Draft letter to MPs - Option 2

Dear …..

I am writing as your constituent to ask you to represent my views in Parliament.

I signed and supported a government e-petition, the WOW petition, which passed the 100,000 signature mark, and on the 10th December 2013 was granted a full chamber debate by the Back Bench Business Committee in the New Year. This in itself is a historic event as it is the first time in the history of this country that disabled people have secured a Main Chamber debate.

The petition calls for a cumulative impact assessment of welfare reform as it affects sick and disabled people and carers, and an end to the Work Capability Assessment, as demanded by the British Medical Association.

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Please add a personal message here to illustrate how this Government's Policies are either directly affecting you, your family, people you know or society and why you believe the Government should properly debate their policies, the effect they are having and the hardship they are causing to specifically targeted groups with UK society. 

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I know you are very busy, but please allow me to present some evidence to support the need for these measures.

The Welfare Reform Act 2012 was promoted as the biggest shake up in welfare for 60 years, so it was extraordinary that no assessment was carried out on how it would affect the most vulnerable people in society. I believe the government now needs to take stock, and face the fact that sick and disabled people have been caused great distress and hardship by measure such as the bedroom tax, the twenty per cent cut in the budget for Disability Living Allowance, the closure of the Independent Living Fund to new applicants, and many more measures. The think tank Demos has calculated that disabled people, already more likely to be living in poverty, will lose around £28 billion over five years. This hardly seems to be sharing the burden of austerity fairly.

As for the Work Capability Assessments, these have been a disaster. The British Medical Association last year called for them to be scrapped with immediate effect. Parkinson’s UK’s research found that almost half of people with a progressive illness, when assessed, are told they will get better and placed in the Work Related Activity Group. This means they are required to prepare for work, and if they are unable to do what is required of them can be sanctioned leaving them with no income. Please remember these are people with Parkinsons Disease and other progressive illnesses.

As my representative in Parliament I am requesting that you attend and speak at this debate so that your constituents and I can understand your views on Government Policy towards sick and disabled people.

Analysis of the WOWpetition for MP's prior to WOWdebate2014

Dear _____________

As a constituent of yours I noted that at the Backbench Business Committee meeting of the 10th December 2013 e-petition 43154, The WOWpetition, was granted a Chamber debate in the House of Commons in the New Year 2014. This was in fact a historic decision, as it is the first time in the history of this country that disabled people have secured a Chamber debate.

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Please add a personal message here to illustrate how this Government's Policies are either directly affecting you, your family, people you know or society and why you believe the Government should properly debate their policies, the effect they are having and the hardship they are causing to specifically targeted groups with UK society. 

==================

As your constituent I ask you to attend this debate in the House of Commons in 2014 so that your constituents and I can understand your views as to whether austerity is being fairly imposed on all elements of society, as we have been told that "we are all in this together". Please confirm with me that you will be attending this debate, when its timing is announced, in the New Year.

The Leader of the House, Andrew Lansley MP is aware of the WOWpetition referring to it as "That Petition" in the House on the 5th December in response to a question. If you are not yet aware of this petition it is outlined in depth, to give you the information you need to consider the issues, by the following sections and is still available to read on the e-petitions website (e-petition 43154). 

The WOWpetition calls for

1.     A Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) of all cuts and changes affecting sick & disabled people, their families and carers, and a free vote on repeal of the Welfare Reform Act.

The response received from the DWP upon the WOWpetition reaching 10,000 signatures, stated that the Government had not done a Cumulative Impact Assessment of the effects of the Welfare Reform Bill 2012 because “it is very difficult to do accurately and external organisations have not produced this either.” However, since posting this response, 2 external agencies, “DEMOS” and the “Centre for Welfare Reform” have separately produced relevant CIA’s.

DEMOS’s analysis showed a cumulative loss of income for disabled people of £28.3 billion over the 5 years to 2018. Referring to this analysis, Richard Hawkes, Chief Executive of disability charity Scope said: “At the moment there’s no place for disabled people in the Chancellor’s aspiration nation. In 2013 disabled people are already struggling to pay the bills. Living costs are spiralling. Income is flat-lining. We know many are getting in debt, just to pay for essentials. What’s the Government’s response?  The same group of disabled people face not just one or two cuts to their support, but in some cases three, four, five or even six cuts. It paints a frightening picture of the financial struggles affecting disabled people in 2013. On top of this the Government is suggesting capping the welfare bill in the June spending review – having already slashed billions.”

Dr Simon Duffy of the Centre for Welfare Reform, on behalf of the Campaign for a Fair Society, produced analysis that suggested the cuts to benefits and services fell disproportionately on minority groups. The extreme unfairness of this policy is demonstrated if we compare the burden of cuts born annually by most citizens (£467 per person) to the burden on people in poverty (£2,195: 5 x rest of population), the burden on disabled people (£4,410: 9 x rest of population) and the Burden on people with severest disabilities (£8,832: 19 x rest of population).

We believe that the Government either needs to demonstrate that the CIA’s produced are not accurate and produce its own CIA or explain why the austerity measures have been targeted at people, who WOWpetition believe, the Government thought would not fight back.

2.     An immediate end to the Work Capability Assessment, as voted for by the British Medical Association. Consultation between the Depts of Health & Education to improve support into work for sick & disabled people, and an end to forced work under threat of sanctions for people on disability benefits.

The Work Capability Assessment judges the Capability for work or work related activity of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants. We believe the current test is totally discredited, with the Prime Minister saying in October 2013 that its provider, Atos, had "to improve the quality of decision-making" in the face of sustained criticism of both the efficacy and effectiveness of what, WOWpetition believe, is not a tool meant to enable disabled people and help them to achieve what they feel capable of but instead a blunt instrument to reduce the social security bill. We do not believe it is right that in the 21st Century an experimental process has been imposed on sick and disabled people with in some cases fatal consequences. Over 10,000 people have died within 6 weeks of being compelled to submit to what has been described as a “dehumanizing, brutal and aggressive quasi-medical assessment”.

WOWpetition believes that any method for assessing the financial support given, and the life opportunities presented to sick and disabled people needs to be based upon 3 questions: “What do you want to do?” “What stops you from doing that?” “What adjustments can be made to enable you?” Any process that seeks to enable disabled people and give them equality of opportunity, needs to address not just the “supply side” issues of “what can you do” but also needs to address “demand side” prejudices and ensure society provides the opportunities to people facing significant barriers to mainstream employment opportunities, in a fair way that gives people with impairments equality of opportunity. Additionally, any individual trying to enhance their experience should not be penalised/ restricted, as they already face difficulty with employment.

More than anything, WOWpetition wants a system based upon trust. The evidence clearly shows that at approximately 0.7%, Benefit fraud is non-systemic and the overwhelming feeling of grassroots Disabled Peoples Organisation’s, expressed at a summit organised by WOWpetition in London on the 25th October 2013, was that sick and disabled people are sick of being treated as guilty until proven innocent and that the system needs to embody trust, not persecution.

Irrespective of their ability to work, sick & disabled people should be able to rely upon financial support from society that would allow them to experience a good standard of living.

3.     An Independent, Committee-Based Inquiry into Welfare Reform, covering but not limited to: (1) Care home admission rises, Daycare Centre’s, access to education for people with learning difficulties, universal mental health treatments, Remploy closures; (2) DWP media links, the ATOS contract, IT implementation of Universal Credit; (3) Human rights abuses against disabled people, excess claimant deaths & the disregard of medical evidence in decision making by ATOS, DWP & the Tribunal Service.

WOWpetition cannot understand how in the Worlds 6th richest country (by GDP – IMF 2012) the situation can have been allowed to occur where, despite the UK ratifying the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009, what is arguably “retrogressive legislation” has been introduced, without being effectively challenged pre-implementation.

At its AGM on April 14 2013, Amnesty International UK passed a resolution on the Human Rights of sick and disabled people in the UK. The resolution (A5) read:

“This AGM calls for urgent action to halt the abrogation of the human rights of sick and disabled people by the ruling Coalition government and its associated corporate contractors.”

It is WOWpetition’s belief that The WRA 2012 was “rushed” through Parliament with the House of Commons using the procedural tool of “financial privilege” to curtail debate and over-turn the amendments tabled by the House of Lords. We believe The House of Lords had taken very relevant advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, with the effect that the Human Rights and Equality issues pertinent to the WRA 2012 have been largely ignored. Some overlooked amendments have since been the subject of successful legal challenges, and the Minister for Disabled People has been criticized in open court for failing to consider the effect her policies have on equality of opportunity.

WOWpetition call for the UK to comply with the spirit of its Treaty Obligations and, in line with “Article 4 – General Obligations” of the UNCRPD, strive to achieve full realization of the rights so included in that document without prejudice. As an example of what we would argue is the non-compliance of the UK with this Treaty, we are dismayed that an apparent working definition of “Equality of Opportunity” appears to be, that employers may choose to favour a disabled candidate over a non-disabled candidate. This, we believe, is not what was intended by “Article 3 – General Principles” of the UNCRPD.

In order for lessons to be learnt and safeguards put in place to ensure persons with disabilities are never again to face what we believe is a coordinated onslaught on our human rights and right to life, we call for an independent Committee based enquiry into Welfare Reform.

Most worrying are the comments attributed to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson on Nov 28th 2013, in which he says “It is surely relevant to a conversation about equality that as many as 16% of our species have an IQ below 85, while about 2% have an IQ above 130.”

Is a person’s worth or right of equality to be linked to his measured IQ? Is economic potential the accepted measure of somebody’s value and equality? This comment is not acceptable.

Conclusion

WOWpetition suggests that sick and disabled people are the target of a sustained attack on their human rights and standard of living as it is believed they will not fight back. We agree with Richard Hawkes of Scope who said “At the moment there’s no place for disabled people in the Chancellor’s aspiration nation.” WOWpetition seeks a society where disabled people (through birth, trauma or illness) are given true equality of opportunity and valued appropriately, based upon their intrinsic humanity.

On the 10th July 2013 an Opposition Day Debate on “Disabled people” called for a Cumulative Impact Assessment of the changes made by Government that affect disabled people. We argue that the debate called for by the WOWpetition is significantly different to this debate, based on:

·         Following this debate, The Centre for Welfare Reform has also done what is “very difficult to do accurately” and produced a Cumulative Impact Assessments.  This, and the Demos one previously done, demonstrate how this government’s austerity measures have been unfairly targeted at sick and disabled people. The House needs to debate why disabled people are seen as easy targets by this government or the DWP needs to challenge the findings.

·         It is widely reported that both the new Universal Credit Payment (UC) and the Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are in trouble. WOWpetition believe the UK government should take the time to carefully consider the effect the transition to these potentially flawed procedures would have on sick and disabled people and if it is prepared to inflict more excess deaths on these communities.

·         The DWP publication “Fulfilling Potential – The Next Steps” is put forward by Esther McVey MP as a remedy for the exclusion and barriers to society facing disabled people. WOWPetition believes this document is flawed and based upon Esther McVey’s inability to distinguish between the Social Model of Disability and the Bio-psychosocial Model of Disability which, we believe, she seems to think are the same thing. How to enable disabled people to fulfill their potential should be debated in conjunction with relevant meaningful published statistics to identify how best to deliver meaningful Equality of Opportunity to sick and disabled people. How long do we have to wait until sick and disabled are given meaningful Equality of Opportunity, which is a requirement under “Article 3 – The General Principles” of the “UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities“.

WOWpetition therefore asks all MP's that no matter their political position they demonstrate that they are prepared to engage and debate the issue affecting Sick and Disabled People by attending the Main Chamber debate of the WOWpetition in the New Year.

Backbench Business Committee 10Dec2013

#WOWDebate2014 moves a step closer

https://twitter.com/CommonsBBCom/status/410449133171134464

Stand up and fight for the society we want to live in

Stand up and fight for the society we want to live in- WOW Petition by Just Bring The Choc  @RenataBplus3 

An excerpt:

You see, despite the government’s reassurances that they are protecting the most vulnerable in society with the current welfare cuts, it’s simply not the case.

No one is immune to illness or accidents. At some point our body is going to stop working as efficiently, or we’ll accidentally break ourselves. As things stand the government are planning to make cuts to services that disabled people rely on to maintain independent lives, without ever having assessed the cumulative impact of these cuts to the people concerned. One example of this is a fund called the Independent Living Fund (ILF) that ensures that severely disabled people can live independent lives in the community rather than being forced to be moved into residential care. The government tried to take this away fund completely. 5 disabled people challenged the decision in the Court of Appeals and the decision was over-turned on the basis that the government had not taken into consideration duties outlined in the Equality Act. This victory meant that those who are currently receiving ILF will continue to receive it, but as the government has slammed the doors shut on anyone else being able to apply for it, it leaves severely disabled adults vulnerable to local council’s decisions about how best to allocate their resources, and to resulting cuts.

These are not benefit fraudsters, they’re not work shy, they’re just human and disability happened to them, in the same way it could happen to you, or your parents, or your siblings or your children. This is something that the whole of Britain should be up in arms about, but most people don’t even know it’s going on as they are being told so many times that it’s the benefit fraudsters who are being punished by the cuts and people genuinely in need are being protected. That’s about as honest as an MP’s expenses claim form I’m afraid, but it’s a rhetoric that means people can sleep comfortably at night so most people choose to accept it.

- See more at: http://www.justbringthechocolate.com/advocacy/stand-and-fight-wow-petition/

We Need to Get Cross Party Support - but its a steep learning curve!!!

Rather than bask in the glow of getting 100,000 signatures the workload seems to have trebled!!

All WOW hands are on deck at the moment trying to find ways to encourage cross-party support for a debate of the WOWpetition in the Main Chamber of the House of Commons. The reason this is important is that a debate in the Main Chamber has more status than the alternative of a debate at Westminster Hall and importantly if there is to be a vote on the WOWpetition that can only happen if the debate is in the Main Chamber.

We are trying to use the Change website to encourage people to approach their MP's directly and this is the message put out to the people that have signed the Change Petition so far:

House of Commons Back Bench Business Committee: Allocate a Full Main Chamber Debate to the WOWpetition (e-petition 43154)' on Change.org

Firstly, Thank You for signing this petition and calling for the WOWpetition to be granted a full debate in the Main Chamber of the House of Commons. As I am sure you have also publicised this petition and asked friends and family to sign it as well, I would also like to Thank You for that! I hope that you have also already signed the 

www.WOWpetition.com

but if you haven't please do so now, or at any time right up to it closing on the 12th December 2013. 

Having already done this for us, I would now be grateful if you would consider contacting your own MP directly and asking them to support John McDonnell MP/ Ian Mearns MP/ Ian Lavery MP/ Caroline Lucas MP and many more in their efforts to secure a full debate in the Main Chamber at the House of Commons of the very important issues highlighted by the WOWpetition.com, which WOW, and many others, believe deserve to be properly debated and voted upon. You can do this quickly and easily either: by e-mail using 

https://www.writetothem.com/ 

which allows you to send them a personal message by e-mail; 

or a more personal approach facilitated by 

http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/ 

where you can often find information of your MP's office addresses, phone numbers and Constituency Surgeries (via their websites) enabling you to: ring their office and talk to the MP's staff about this; arrange to attend a constituency surgery (if time permits) to present your request in person; or write down the address so that you can send a letter to your MP. Whilst it is very desirable and some "SPAM" filters have even made it compulsory to write using your own words, WOWpetition have produced a Template which you could use to base your own personal letters upon (but please personalise it as much as you are able to): 

http://wowpetition.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/example-letter-to-mp-for-main-chamber.html. 

However, due to the British Postal System it is imperative that any letter is in the post by first thing tomorrow (Friday 6th December 2013). There is also very helpful information on this website on how you can contact your MP and make your voice heard. 

http://philiplewis.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/if-you-have-signed-the-wowpetition-contact-your-mp-now/

Remember, you are not necessarily asking your MP to support the WOWpetition but instead requesting that they support a full main chamber debate of the important issues raised by the WOWpetition, as WOWpetition deserves that!

Thank you again, 

Onwards and Upwards, 

The WOWpetition

Example Letter To MP For Main Chamber WOW Debate

Please write a paper letter and send to your MP, only email if you already have a good relationship with them and they habitually read and reply to your emails.

Best of all use this and the briefing note of the previous post and visit your MP in person and ask that they support a DEBATE in the MAIN CHAMBER.

They do not have to agree with WOW, what you are asking them is to agree to a democratic debate, on the record, of mortally serious issues of government policy that directly affect YOU, which is a basic democratic right.

Please do so as soon as you are able, this is TIME CRITICAL.

Dear …..

I am writing as a constituent to ask you to represent my views in Parliament.

I signed and supported a government e-petition, the WOW petition, which recently passed the 100,000 signature mark, meaning that it can be considered for a debate in Parliament. I would like you in the interests of democracy to do whatever you can to make this debate happen in the Main Chamber, and allow the voices of sick and disabled people and carers to be heard.

The petition calls for a cumulative impact assessment of welfare reform as it affects sick and disabled people and carers, and an end to the Work Capability Assessment, as demanded by the British Medical Association.

I know you are very busy, but please allow me to present some evidence to support the need for these measures.

The Welfare Reform Act 2012 was promoted as the biggest shake up in welfare for 60 years, so it was extraordinary that no assessment was carried out on how it would affect the most vulnerable people in society. I believe the government now needs to take stock, and face the fact that sick and disabled people have been caused great distress and hardship by measure such as the bedroom tax, the twenty per cent cut in the budget for Disability Living Allowance, the closure of the Independent Living Fund to new applicants, and many more measures. The think tank Demos has calculated that disabled people, already more likely to be living in poverty, will lose around £28 billion over five years. This hardly seems to be sharing the burden of austerity fairly.

As for the Work Capability Assessments, these have been a disaster. The British Medical Association last year called for them to be scrapped with immediate effect. Parkinson’s UK’s research found that almost half of people with a progressive illness, when assessed, are told they will get better and placed in the Work Related Activity Group. This means they are required to prepare for work, and if they are unable to do what is required of them can be sanctioned leaving them with no income. Please remember these are people with Parkinsons Disease and other progressive illnesses.

I believe that the least Parliament can do is to debate these issues in the Main Chamber, and would be very grateful if you, as my MP would ensure that this debate takes place. Please notify John McDonnell MP's office of your support as soon as possible so he may inform the Backbench Business Committee that the debate has wide cross party support.

With best wishes for Christmas and the New Year,

  

WOWpetition - Contact your MP - We need your help.

Tuesday, 3 December 2013

Today at the House of Commons Backbench Business Committee John McDonnell MP, Ian Mearns MP and Ian Lavery MP secured a backbench business committee debate of the WOWpetition.

Huzzah

The issue is that the debate may either be held in Westminster Hall or the Main Chamber of Parliament and the key factor in this decision is the amount of cross party support that the WOWpetition receives.

Therefore, WOW needs you. (if you need to identify who your MP is and how to contact him use http://www.theyworkforyou.com/ ?)

Please contact your MP by e-mail, letter or phone before next Tuesday and ask him to support a Main Chamber debate on the important issues contained in the WOWpetition (e-petition 43154).

You are not asking your MP to support the WOWpetition but instead asking him to recognise that the important issues it addresses are deserving of a full debate in the Main Chamber.

We have secured a Backbench Business Committee debate of the WOWpetition. Lets make sure it is a full debate in the Main Chamber.

If you wish to contact your MP and discuss the WOWpetition in his surgery we have prepared a briefing document you can base your discussion around. Please do not copy and paste this in it's entirety into an e-mail to your MP as it is likely to be intercepted by the spam filters and disappear into the Ethernet. It is best to either print it off and use it as the basis for a face to face discussion with him or use it to harvest ideas for your own individual message to your MP.

======================================================================

WOWpetition Briefing on the Need for a Backbench Business Committee Debate of e-petition 43154.

On Saturday 30th November 2013 Government e-petition 43154, also known as the WOWpetition, was signed for the 100,000 time and qualifies to be considered for a debate by the Back Bench Business Committee. John McDonnell MP has agreed to make representations to the Backbench Business Committee in support of a debate of the WOWpetition.

The WOWpetition calls for

1.     A Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) of all cuts and changes affecting sick & disabled people, their families and carers, and a free vote on repeal of the Welfare Reform Act.

The response received from the DWP upon the WOWpetition reaching 10,000 signatures, stated that the Government had not done a Cumulative Impact Assessment of the effects of the Welfare Reform Bill 2012 because “it is very difficult to do accurately and external organisations have not produced this either.” However, since posting this response, 2 external agencies, “DEMOS” and the “Centre for Welfare Reform” have separately produced relevant CIA’s.

DEMOS’s analysis showed a cumulative loss of income for disabled people of £28.3 billion over the 5 years to 2018. Referring to this analysis, Richard Hawkes, Chief Executive of disability charity Scope said: “At the moment there’s no place for disabled people in the Chancellor’s aspiration nation. In 2013 disabled people are already struggling to pay the bills. Living costs are spiralling. Income is flat-lining. We know many are getting in debt, just to pay for essentials. What’s the Government’s response?  The same group of disabled people face not just one or two cuts to their support, but in some cases three, four, five or even six cuts. It paints a frightening picture of the financial struggles affecting disabled people in 2013. On top of this the Government is suggesting capping the welfare bill in the June spending review – having already slashed billions.”

Dr Simon Duffy of the Centre for Welfare Reform, on behalf of the Campaign for a Fair Society, produced analysis that suggested the cuts to benefits and services fell disproportionately on minority groups. The extreme unfairness of this policy is demonstrated if we compare the burden of cuts born annually by most citizens (£467 per person) to the burden on people in poverty (£2,195: 5 x rest of population), the burden on disabled people (£4,410: 9 x rest of population) and the Burden on people with severest disabilities (£8,832: 19 x rest of population).

We believe that the Government either needs to demonstrate that the CIA’s produced are not accurate and produce its own CIA or explain why the austerity measures have been targeted at people, who WOWpetition believe, the Government thought would not fight back.

2.     An immediate end to the Work Capability Assessment, as voted for by the British Medical Association. Consultation between the Depts of Health & Education to improve support into work for sick & disabled people, and an end to forced work under threat of sanctions for people on disability benefits.

The Work Capability Assessment judges the Capability for work or work related activity of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants. We believe the current test is totally discredited, with the Prime Minister saying in October 2013 that its provider, Atos, had "to improve the quality of decision-making" in the face of sustained criticism of both the efficacy and effectiveness of what, WOWpetition believe, is not a tool meant to enable disabled people and help them to achieve what they feel capable of but instead a blunt instrument to reduce the social security bill. We do not believe it is right that in the 21st Century an experimental process has been imposed on sick and disabled people with in some cases fatal consequences. Over 10,000 people have died within 6 weeks of being compelled to submit to what has been described as a “dehumanizing, brutal and aggressive quasi-medical assessment”.

WOWpetition believes that any method for assessing the financial support given, and the life opportunities presented to sick and disabled people needs to be based upon 3 questions: “What do you want to do?” “What stops you from doing that?” “What adjustments can be made to enable you?” Any process that seeks to enable disabled people and give them equality of opportunity, needs to address not just the “supply side” issues of “what can you do” but also needs to address “demand side” prejudices and ensure society provides the opportunities to people facing significant barriers to mainstream employment opportunities, in a fair way that gives people with impairments equality of opportunity. Additionally, any individual trying to enhance their experience should not be penalised/ restricted, as they already face difficulty with employment.

More than anything, WOWpetition wants a system based upon trust. The evidence clearly shows that at approximately 0.7%, Benefit fraud is non-systemic and the overwhelming feeling of grassroots Disabled Peoples Organisation’s, expressed at a summit organised by WOWpetition in London on the 25th October 2013, was that sick and disabled people are sick of being treated as guilty until proven innocent and that the system needs to embody trust, not persecution.

Irrespective of their ability to work, sick & disabled people should be able to rely upon financial support from society that would allow them to experience a good standard of living.

3.     An Independent, Committee-Based Inquiry into Welfare Reform, covering but not limited to: (1) Care home admission rises, Daycare Centre’s, access to education for people with learning difficulties, universal mental health treatments, Remploy closures; (2) DWP media links, the ATOS contract, IT implementation of Universal Credit; (3) Human rights abuses against disabled people, excess claimant deaths & the disregard of medical evidence in decision making by ATOS, DWP & the Tribunal Service.

WOWpetition cannot understand how in the Worlds 6th richest country (by GDP – IMF 2012) the situation can have been allowed to occur where, despite the UK ratifying the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009, what is arguably “retrogressive legislation” has been introduced, without being effectively challenged pre-implementation.

At its AGM on April 14 2013, Amnesty International UK passed a resolution on the Human Rights of sick and disabled people in the UK. The resolution (A5) read:

“This AGM calls for urgent action to halt the abrogation of the human rights of sick and disabled people by the ruling Coalition government and its associated corporate contractors.”

It is WOWpetition’s belief that The WRA 2012 was “rushed” through Parliament with the House of Commons using the procedural tool of “financial privilege” to curtail debate and over-turn the amendments tabled by the House of Lords. We believe The House of Lords had taken very relevant advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, with the effect that the Human Rights and Equality issues pertinent to the WRA 2012 have been largely ignored. Some overlooked amendments have since been the subject of successful legal challenges, and the Minister for Disabled People has been criticized in open court for failing to consider the effect her policies have on equality of opportunity.

WOWpetition call for the UK to comply with the spirit of its Treaty Obligations and, in line with “Article 4 – General Obligations” of the UNCRPD, strive to achieve full realization of the rights so included in that document without prejudice. As an example of what we would argue is the non-compliance of the UK with this Treaty, we are dismayed that an apparent working definition of “Equality of Opportunity” appears to be, that employers may choose to favour a disabled candidate over a non-disabled candidate. This, we believe, is not what was intended by “Article 3 – General Principles” of the UNCRPD.

 In order for lessons to be learnt and safeguards put in place to ensure persons with disabilities are never again to face what we believe is a coordinated onslaught on our human rights and right to life, we call for an independent Committee based enquiry into Welfare Reform.

Most worrying are the comments attributed to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson on Nov 28th 2013, in which he says “It is surely relevant to a conversation about equality that as many as 16% of our species have an IQ below 85, while about 2% have an IQ above 130.”

Is a person’s worth or right of equality to be linked to his measured IQ? Is economic potential the accepted measure of somebody’s value and equality? This comment is not acceptable.

Conclusion

WOWpetition suggests that sick and disabled people are the target of a sustained attack on their human rights and standard of living as it is believed they will not fight back. We agree with Richard Hawkes of Scope who said “At the moment there’s no place for disabled people in the Chancellor’s aspiration nation.” WOWpetition seeks a society where disabled people (through birth, trauma or illness) are given true equality of opportunity and valued appropriately, based upon their intrinsic humanity.

On the 10th July 2013 an Opposition Day Debate on “Disabled people” called for a Cumulative Impact Assessment of the changes made by Government that affect disabled people. We argue that the debate called for by the WOWpetition is significantly different to this debate, based on:

·         Following this debate, two independent organisations have done what is “very difficult to do accurately” and produced Cumulative Impact Assessments.  These demonstrate how this government’s austerity measures have unfairly targeted sick and disabled people. The House needs to debate why disabled people are seen as easy targets by this government or the DWP needs to challenge the findings.

·         It is widely reported that both the new Universal Credit Payment (UC) and the Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are in trouble. WOWpetition believe the UK government should take the time to carefully consider the effect the transition to these potentially flawed procedures would have on sick and disabled people and if it is prepared to inflict more excess deaths on these communities.

·         Paul Maynard MP, who referred to WOWpetition as “extremists” using the protection of Parliamentary Privilege, made reference in this Opposition Day Debate to the DWP publication “Fulfilling Potential – The Next Steps” and implied it was a remedy for the exclusion and barriers to society facing disabled people. WOWPetition believes this document is flawed and based upon Esther McVey’s inability to distinguish between the Social Model of Disability and the Bio-psychosocial Model of Disability which, we believe, she seems to think are the same thing. This document should be debated in conjunction with relevant meaningful published statistics to identify whether it really is a tool in leading to meaningful Equality of Opportunity for sick and disabled people and how long it is to be before sick and disabled are given this meaningful Equality of Opportunity, defined appropriately. This is a requirement under “Article 3 – The General Principles” of the “UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities“.

As outlined earlier, WOWpetition calls for much more than a Cumulative Impact Assessment and to refuse a debate dismisses and trivializes the other very real concerns of the Sick and Disabled Community.

WOWpetition therefore ask you to support a Main Hall Backbench Business Committee debate of the important issues contained in their e-petition 43154 and engage with our plea for a New Deal for Sick and Disabled People based upon their needs, abilities and ambitions.

The WoW Petition Reaches 100,000 Signatures

SICK AND DISABLED PEOPLE HOLD IAIN DUNCAN SMITH TO ACCOUNT
DISABLED PEOPLE’S PETITION GAINS 100,000 SIGNATURES.

A government e-petition, http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43154 written by sick and disabled people and carers today gained over 100,000 signatures, meaning it can trigger a Parliamentary debate.

Francesca Martinez, who has been championing the petition, says:
“This is a hugely important issue because many disabled and sick people cannot go out and protest against these devastating policies. It is vital that those of us who can, join together to ensure these basic rights aren’t eroded away. With 83% of disabilities acquired, anyone can find themselves with an impairment, or as a carer, and we must make sure that people are adequately supported when in challenging times. This is what a civilised society does. Instead of demonising those on welfare, we should be proud to create a society that provides for everyone regardless of health or ability. We will never forget the many tragic deaths already caused by this government and we will continue to fight in the hope that we can protect those in need from despair, poverty and death. We’d like to thank everyone who signed and shared the petition, and we look forward to the next phase of Parliamentary debate.”

Rick B one of the originators of the petition says:
“In July 2012 I almost died because of how the government treated me, many have not been as fortunate. Another founder of the campaign, John Dyer, sadly passed away in November before we reached 100,000 signatures. So we are resolute to take this democratic mandate and pursue the cause of making justice for sick and disabled people and carers a reality.”

Michelle Maher another WOW originator says:
“I became involved because of my cousin who had been living with Parkinson's for five years, with osteoarthritis and diabetes. Her claim for DLA took eighteen months to settle and she was in sheltered accommodation when she had to attend a tribunal. She was frightened, stressed and confused by the process. Inhumane.”

The petition was promoted through social media by people directly affected by welfare reform, many housebound or bedbound. Getting signatures was difficult at first, with the public unaware of a growing national scandal.

Recently however, public awareness has grown due to stories like this;

A dying grandmother faced the stress of moving home due to the bedroom tax, http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/bedroom-tax-charges-means-sick-2789221

Macmillan Cancer Care revealed that due to benefit problems, a terminally ill cancer patient was offered a foodbank voucher, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24785115

Parkinson’s UK revealed that almost half of people with a progressive incurable illness are told they’ll recover, saying ‘A system which tells people who have had to give up work because of a debilitating progressive condition that they'll recover, is farcical and simply defies belief’
‘On top of this, many have their benefit removed after a year as an added 'incentive' to find employment. http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/news/27-august-2013/fit-work-test-tells-people-parkinsons%C2%A0theyll-recover

It is time for the Secretary of State to be held to account.

The petition, (dubbed the WOW petition as it was set up to resist the War On Welfare) calls for

‘A Cumulative Impact Assessment of all cuts and changes affecting sick & disabled people, their families and carers, and a free vote on repeal of the Welfare Reform Act.

An immediate end to the Work Capability Assessment, as voted for by the British Medical Association.’

The Welfare Reform Act 2012   http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-1/welfarereform.html
was proclaimed as ‘the biggest shake up in welfare for sixty years’ and Iain Duncan Smith personally described the changes as ‘aggressive’.

So it came as a shock to learn that for the people most affected by these changes, sick and disabled people and carers, no cumulative impact assessment had been carried out. The Secretary of State had no knowledge or understanding of, and apparently no interest in, how their lives were about to be turned upside down.

In a similar show of disregard for the welfare of sick and disabled people, the government has ignored calls from the medical profession to scrap the Work Capability Assessments (WCA) used to decide whether someone can receive Employment Support Allowance (ESA).

At their British Medical Association conference in June 2012, GPs called for the WCA to be scrapped ‘with immediate effect and be replaced with a rigorous and safe system that does not cause unavoidable harm to some of the weakest and vulnerable in society’. http://bma.org.uk/news-views-analysis/news/2012/june/scrap-work-capability-assessment-doctors-demand

The WCA process has been blamed for the deaths and suicides of people caught up in it, many of whom are denied the support they desperately need. According to the DWP’s own figures,

‘between January 2011 and November 2011, some 10,600 claims ended and a date of death was recorded within six weeks of the claim end.’ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223050/incap_decd_recips_0712.pdf

More recent figures on the deaths of claimants denied ESA cannot be obtained. The DWP decided to stop publishing them, and a Freedom of Information request was denied. Following this denial a number of people made similar requests, which were then described as ‘vexatious’.

Misinformation has abounded on these issues. The government, indeed the Prime Minister himself, has frequently and wrongly claimed that disabled people are exempt from the bedroom tax. http://blogs.channel4.com/factcheck/factcheck-cameron-wrong-again-on-bedroom-tax-detail

Grant Shapps claimed that ‘nearly a million people’ dropped their claims before facing a WCA, the implication being that their claims were not legitimate. This was completely untrue and he was rebuked by the UK Statistics Authority. http://disabilitynewsservice.com/2013/05/tory-boss-rebuked-over-partys-latest-misuse-of-benefit-figures/

In its own analysis of welfare reform, think tank Demos calculated that sick and disabled people will lose £28 billion in five years. http://www.demos.co.uk/press_releases/destinationunknownapril2013
This contradicts David Cameron’s promise to disabled people, ‘we will always help you,we will always stand by you’

In April 2013 Amnesty International condemned the government’s attack on the human rights of sick and disabled people. This went largely unreported.  http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18320

In September 2013 the Dean of St Paul’s Rev David Ison presided over a ceremony in Parliament Square to remember the thousands of people who have died due to welfare reform. You can watch a brief video of the event here.
http://vimeo.com/75673397


The petition is still open until the 12th December 2013. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43154


Thank you to everyone for signing, supporting and sharing. 

Open Letter From WOW Campaign Calling For Iain Duncan Smith's Resignation

The WOW Petition have become increasingly concerned with the rhetoric coming from Iain Duncan Smith and that concern has given way to no small amount of fear for the future of ill and disabled people. In light of the proposals attributed to Iain Duncan Smith in The Guardian today http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/23/iain-duncan-smith-wrag-benefit-cuts we have written to Rachel Reeves, Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions, and Kate Green, Shadow Minister for Disabled People, to express our deep concerns. This is the content of that letter: 

As you will be well aware, Social Security claimants have faced a torrent of changes since this Coalition took office in May 2010, and no group more so than ill and disabled people who have borne the brunt of this concerted attack on benefits. The limiting of contributory based Employment Support Allowance (ESA) to one year, the change from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Personal Independence Payments (PIP), the Bedroom Tax, changes to Council Tax support, the benefits uprating being limited to 1% (which, contrary to government promises, does in fact affect disabled people) and more have had a cumulative effect on the lives of ill and disabled claimants.

We now read that Iain Duncan Smith is planning another “radical” change to ESA by disbanding the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) which covers over half a million people. These are clamaints who are currently deemed unable to work due to illness or disability but may be able to sometime in the future. The article does not make clear what Mr. Smith would intend to happen to these claimants, and we are hugely concerned that they would be expected to claim Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) whilst not being ready to reenter the workplace due to their illnesses. 

This proposal would leave many vulnerable people “in limbo” as they are caught between out of work benefits and their illnesses and leave them without the support they so desperately need at that time. It would also mean that people who should be concentrating on their health will have the added stress and anxiety of dealing with a system that is stacked heavily against them. 

We are also extremely worried that this is coming across more and more as a targeted attack on the most vulnerable in our society and that this government is going too far in its’ perceived persecution of ill and disabled people. Iain Duncan Smith, in particular, has become a figure of genuine and heartfelt concern and we are concerned as a community over the rhetoric being used by him and his department. 

We would point you to searching “IDS” on Twitter and read some of the comments, especially after this article. Many of them are fuelled by fear of what Mr. Duncan Smith has shown himself to be capable of and we are frightened of what he will do next. Many people have questioned his motives and I would concur with their concerns. I would perhaps go further and question if he should be in such a position of power given his track record. 

As you will know, the WOW Petition is calling for, amongst other things, a Cumulative Impact Assessment of all the cuts and changes affecting sick and disabled people, and we believe strongly that this is even more important given that Mr. Duncan Smith proposed further dangerous changes. We believe that questions must be asked of Iain Duncan Smith. 

We believe his proposal is dangerous and will cause misery and hardship for thousands of ill and disabled people, at a time when we are already struggling. We believe that questions need to be asked of the Department for Work and Pensions. We believe strongly that Iain Duncan Smith does not command any respect of those he should be representing, not persecuting, and we believe that Labour should call for his immediate resignation. 

I truly hope that you can look to protect ill and disabled people and join the WOW Petition in our calls.

Paul Rutherford Reports On His Day In Westminster for the Bedroom Tax Debate

Is Democracy Dead And Gone?

It was cold and dark as I stood on the misty platform of our request stop train station here in Clunderwen, west Wales early on the morning of November 12, 2013.

I wondered if I was doing the right thing. Was I wasting my time going up to London to take part in a Lobby and demonstration in Westminster?

What would the day achieve anyway? I'd already done the maths: it was unlikely that this Opposition Day Debate and vote on repealing the Bedroom Tax could be won by the Labour Party who had called it.

So why was I going?

Well, first, I had known about this debate for around two weeks before it was formally announced, and had been [probably], the first person to tweet about it – to an often disbelieving world! [Yes, I hear a trumpet blowing too!]

Second, thanks to Ros Wynne-Jones of the Daily Mirror, my family situation had, during the previous week, been featured in the paper to help highlight this invidious and loathsome piece of legislation. And the Mirror had offered to pay for my ticket, for which I was very grateful, because there was no way I could have afforded it otherwise.

Third, I wanted to meet other anti-Bedroom Tax campaigners, many of whom, like myself, are disabled and, or, carers. They do a fantastic job in highlighting the unfairness of this legislation at every opportunity. [You know who you are]

My final reason for going was to watch the debate in Parliament and see for myself how well and reasoned the arguments on both sides would be made. At the end of the day, I do enjoy a good debate!

I was met at Paddington by our solicitor, Mike Spencer from the Child Poverty Action Group [CPAG], who was coming to Westminster with me. This was the first time we had met each other after many, many phone conversations and emails. So that was good.

It didn't take long to get to our destination and in through the seriously tight security zone. Questions were raised about the possible contents of my oxygen tank, but I was finally allowed to take it through with me.

We were then mistakenly directed to the wrong room, a trek through the maze of Westminster and back again which tired me. I was glad to get into the meeting and listen to the discussions taking place, although my train's arrival time and our misdirection meant that we missed hearing what MPs Rachael Reeves and Kate Green had to say.

A few people knew who I was and introduced themselves, but feeble excuse as it is, I was so full of painkillers and quite out of breath that I barely managed to recognise their names, despite having shared 'tweets'. Because of this, I won't mention anyone by name in case I inadvertently forget you and I am sorry about that. But I was very happy to be amongst so many like-minded people with different backgrounds and views, yet with one united purpose: to fight the Bedroom Tax. Thank you all. You have my greatest respect.

I don't know where everyone in that packed room came from, but I know many had made journeys as long or longer, as hard or harder than mine from all over the country just to be there. It was truly inspirational.

After the meeting closed, it was good to chat for a while with fellow protesters before we went outside to demonstrate and tell the public why we were there. It felt good to be part of a group at last, after being something of a lone protester back home in Pembrokeshire since April this year. And it was good to see a Cornish flag there too!

There was a little bomb alert then in the Parliament building, which meant we were moved on by the police. But all ended well and we continued demonstrating and speaking a little further down the road where we were filmed and photographed.

Then it was time for the debate, so we headed back through the security area into the Parliament buildings and on towards the public gallery.

Rachael Reeves was speaking as we took our seats, surrounded by many fellow protesters. Immediately, I was struck by the noise.

How was she managing to be heard? How could anyone be actually listening to her? It was disconcerting to say the least. Perhaps they would calm down soon?

This however was the House of Commons.

I had always believed that here, in this place of government, where our elected representatives meet and policies which affect all our lives are made, they would have the highest standards of debate.

The reality shocked me to my core. I knew I wasn't alone in feeling like this as I looked around the public gallery. It was absolutely shameful to witness. I was horrified.

I soon had to force myself not to leave in absolute disgust. I was close to tears witnessing the events unfolding down there below me on the floor of the 'House'.

Put quite simply and, I must emphasise, non-politically, the behaviour of the few Members of Parliament on the Government benches was simply disgraceful.

Their behaviour was perhaps the biggest insult to every disabled person, to every carer, to every chronically sick person, and yes, insulting to every 'hard working family' in the country, many of whom are also affected by Bedroom Tax.

There was NO debate: there was no dialogue on the Bedroom Tax on Tuesday 12 November 2013. At least not in the House of Commons.

It saddens me so much and I wish it were not true, but it is.

I repeat: there was no debate.

What there was instead showed me the reality, the truth of the political process that we have here in the United Kingdom. Serious reform of some sort is needed if there is to be any hope for the future of all citizens of our country and especially perhaps, our children.

Does a person who sits and openly laughs at another Member of the 'House' telling of a constituent's suicide and comforting the bereaved son really deserve their seat in the Commons?

I believe not. Not under any circumstances.

It is honestly very difficult indeed for me to write this even now, two days later.

I am certainly no emotional 'softie'. I have been called ruthless many times in my life, possibly deservedly so, but I was very nearly in tears witnessing what I had travelled so far to see.

Time after time, Labour politicians told heartbreaking stories of how some of their most vulnerable constituents had been so needlessly affected by the Bedroom Tax.

On virtually every occasion, there was derision from the Coalition MPs. When they spoke, they constantly refused to acknowledge what they were hearing, instead arrogantly and disrespectfully quoting party rhetoric with little regard for context.

'It is all Labour's fault.'

There was no acceptance of Labour Members' attempts to bring reasoned argument to this alleged debate.

Everything that the 'Opposition' Members said was ignored or simply shouted down.

This is the level that our once respected, often emulated political process has sunk to. It is  extremely worrying.

Let nobody, nobody at all, of any political persuasion be in any doubt whatsoever: the current Government do not care one iota for you. Not in the slightest.

That was evident on Tuesday.

If they can laugh at suicide. If they can ignore disabled people's problems. If they can shout down evidence of broken families, of children being made homeless, of increasing poverty, then they are unable to accept responsibility for their own actions in implementing policies that harm.

Policies that harm everyone. Policies that divide our society. Policies that kill. Policies like the Bedroom Tax. Policies like Welfare Reform. Policies such as privatising the NHS. Policies that affect every one of us.

Yes, we are all in this together. We are all at the mercy of these monstrous egos.

After witnessing this on Tuesday, I can promise one thing, one truth: you, whoever you are, you are not safe. Nobody is safe from these bullying, arrogant, self-serving excuses for politicians.

They do not care for the British people at all.

Amongst all this hatred, derision and scorn, I found myself looking again and again at a lone figure sitting calmly on the Opposition front bench.

This was Kate Green, Labour's spokesperson for disability. She knew I was probably watching. Someone had told her I was there.

I knew she would mention how my family and others had been affected by Bedroom Tax in her closing speech.

I am glad I had to leave for my train home before Kate's speech because I don't know if I could have coped with hearing my own story being heckled and denigrated in the same vile way so many others had been during the four hours I had sat there.

My journey home was long. I ran out of oxygen. My mind was trying to deal with the events I had seen that day. I got home exhausted, both physically and mentally. I am still very tired.

Yesterday, Kate Green emailed me. Amongst other things, she apologised for what I had witnessed.

That was the point when I finally broke down and cried.

Kate Green knew exactly what myself and the others had experienced in that gallery. She cared. I think she knew the effect it would have on me and those others of us who were there. For that, I thank her on behalf of all of us.

As a nation, as a society, we must somehow rid ourselves of the divisions that have been intentionally created and fostered by this Government. We must look at each other with fresh eyes.

It isn't Labour's fault.

We disabled are not causing any harm. We are not draining the economy. Our carers are saving the government billions of pounds each year. Yet we are blamed by them for costing too much in benefits.

The people I saw behaving like overgrown schoolchildren on Tuesday are afraid of us. They are afraid of all of us: able and disabled alike. They need to keep us divided and fighting between ourselves. With a united society, they have no power.

We must not behave like them.

They owe us an apology.

There is something you can do to help right now: Please sign the WOWpetition.