Staffordshire students campaign against disabled benefit cuts

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Thursday, November 01, 2012
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The Sentinel

DOZENS of students armed with placards have launched a campaign against benefit cuts for disabled people.

Protesters held a demonstration yesterday about private firm Atos being awarded a £400 million contract to test whether disabled people should continue receiving the money.

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    CAMPAIGN: Group chairman Caroline Butterwick with fellow protesters.

The firm, which runs assessments designed to encourage people to move off benefits and into employment, was awarded the contract by the Government to look into residents’ Employment Support Allowance (ESA) claims.

But campaigners from the Disabled Students’ Forum group of Staffordshire University’s Students’ Union claim the decision has already had a major impact on some residents.

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Group chairman Caroline Butterwick, who led the protest outside the Jobcentre Plus assessment centre in Festival Park, Etruria, said: “People are being forced off the benefits they desperately need.

“People like late-stage cancer patients or those who have limited mobility or mental health problems are being kicked off ESA and these are the people who need the most support.

“For some people, the decision whether they continue to receive these benefits is the difference between life and death.”

The 20-year-old, of Hanley, added: “The decision to give Atos the contract is wrong.

“People have been forced to tears by the company’s work capability assessments and they should be scrapped.

“They come at a huge cost to the welfare and dignity of thousands of disabled people.”

The protest follows a demonstration by hundreds of disabled people and anti-cuts activists who occupied the lobby of the Department of Work and Pensions office in Whitehall in August.

Fellow forum member Kiel Gibson, aged 20, from Stoke, said: “We formed this group a month or so ago with the aim of fighting issues like this one.

“We are doing all we can to show we are against this.

“These people are given those benefits to help them to live, it’s as plain and simple as that and nobody should be given the right to take them away.”

Representatives from Hanley-based Disability Solutions and the North Staffs Pensioners Convention turned out to support the campaign.

Convention member Alex Shaw, aged 72, of Longton, said: “Some disabled people struggle to deal with their own problems without having to be put through these assessments and potentially learn that they have lost their money.

“It’s a disgrace what they have to go through.”

Mr Shaw added: “While I am not directly affected by this, whose to say it won’t affect my children or grandchildren or my friends’ families.

“The Government have cutback on so much.

“I don’t understand why they feel the need to target the vulnerable, disabled and the elderly.”

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  • Profile image for SmellySock

    by SmellySock

    Sunday, November 04 2012, 6:00PM

    “everyone who has internet access knows when you go into this atos centre its going to be HELL now on,i find it disgusting it takes a terrorist 8 yrs to be extradited out of the uk,wasting millions & millions of tax payers money cause these LORD SNOOTY'S don't want to breach his 'human rights' that pos cameron is more bothered about looking after other country's like Libya than his own, he is an absolute Disgusting POS,he has let the pensioners down the cripples / disabled he has pisced on the lot of life's vulnerable & defenceless folk,,scandal after scandal after scandal the man is a FRAUD,he is smug,arrogant,irritating, patronising piece of filth to say the least,he ought to be in the hague for crimes against humanity he is no better than hitler / slobodan milosevic / josef stalin to name but a few, YOUR A DISGRACE CAMERON & ALL YOUR POSH CLUELESS COLLEAGUES YOU HAVE LET THE VULNERABLE DOWN SHAME ON YOU SHAME ON YOU,,YOU CLUELESS IDIOT!!”

  • Profile image for focusboy

    by focusboy

    Sunday, November 04 2012, 3:37PM

    “These people who carry out the assessments, what medical qualifications have they got? In fact, what qualifications of any description have they got which gives them the knowledge to pass judgement on people?”

  • Profile image for Johntoe

    by Johntoe

    Sunday, November 04 2012, 12:12PM

    “My partners illness doesn't exist either, apparently she was lying and just wanted to scrounge off the state, her doctor was lying when he kept advising her to give up the job she loved,
    The job that took her 3 years of study at university as a mature student attaining her degree to get, (at times holding down 2 part time jobs in order to afford it, while raising 2 children)
    The professor and expert in her rare, and incurable and acute condition (one that will eventually kill her) was also lying,
    When she ignored the medical advice of the experts telling her to quit her job for almost THREE YEARS,
    What she really wanted to do was stay at home sitting on her backside letting the 'hard working tax payer' pay for her, but cleverly avoided being suspected of being a scrounger,.... by NOT 'scrounging'
    When, after almost three years of ignoring the medical experts, by continuing to work despite the severe pain and actually accelerating the deterioration of her health, She could no longer sit at her desk for more than 10 minutes without being in pain, and anyway her hands were so stiff and swollen she couldn't type, She reluctantly gave up the job she loved, she was actually crying with joy because at LAST she could sit at home all day "scrounging"
    and when 2 years later ATOS 'caught her out' telling her there was NOTHING AT ALL wrong with her (0 points) and made her go all the way through the appeal process to an independant tribunal of medical experts who within 20 minutes of looking at her medical report (ATOS didn't think it was necessary to even ask to see it) they awarded her 26 points, (15 is the target to 'qualify' for IB and ESA) they too were obviously lying,
    and anyway the filth changed the rules and basically unless you are in a permanent vegetative state or DEAD, the longest you are allowed by law to be sick or even dying is a year before they take your benefits away and tell you to either work, slowly starve, or preferably die,
    So my missus, being the scrounger and liar she and her doctors are, HAS got off her backside and found a part time local job (LAZY COW) and so far, despite being on strong pain killers (and having no choice other than to drive in) and despite being in so much pain she can't even get her own coat on or off, she is managing,
    and NOW the filth are reducing our council tax benefit, putting council tax UP, and hitting us with the 'bedroom tax'
    While they give the rich a 140 GRAND A YEAR 'pay rise' and tell US they are cutting another 10 BILLION off 'welfare' on top of the 18 billion they've already cut,

    and it amazes me that people still can't understand why I HATE these Tory bas***ds,
    Must be because I "wan't something for nothing" eh?

    erm.. 140 grand would be nice though.

    Red arrows will be along soon,”

  • Profile image for Redtone

    by Redtone

    Saturday, November 03 2012, 11:23PM

    “My illness doesn't exist anymore. They tell us there simply isn't enough money for this 'entitlement' society... as they hoard more money in off-shore accounts!

    It's all the poors fault!”

  • Profile image for Johntoe

    by Johntoe

    Saturday, November 03 2012, 11:01PM

    “Good posts folks..... I am here to absorb the red arrows,... think of me as an arrow magnet.... carry on,”

  • Profile image for johnboy2011

    by johnboy2011

    Saturday, November 03 2012, 6:03PM

    “They are treating disabled people like criminals and its all wrong. One day Cameron you could find yourself in this position, who knows what fate has in store for us. But of cause you'll be protected by your wealth. All these people are asking is a chance to get on with their lives the best they can, and DLA or incapacity benefit helps them to do this. Please Mr Cameron, have a heart and don't put them through this suffering.”

  • Profile image for chrissie1992

    by chrissie1992

    Friday, November 02 2012, 12:45PM

    “Finally people are standing up for what is right, I hope you every success In what your doing, I am disabled and had to go before a panel of people to fight for my disability allowance due to having Cerebral Palsy where I lost the battle, the people on the panel were horrible to me, they said If I am disabled I shouldnt be going out to the cinema with friends or socialising, I have to wear splints and special shoes for the rest of my life and all they think that bothers me is going to the cinema. One woman was so rude she kept shouting at me and telling my mum she couldnt say anything until the very end. These people dont know how it feels to be faced with difficulties in everyday life. I have a full-time job and struggle everyday with different parts of life. I dont understand how some people can tell us how we feel and what we can and can't do in life if they havent been through it themselves.”

  • Profile image for DarKwTEr

    by DarKwTEr

    Thursday, November 01 2012, 6:11PM

    “at last people are waking up to the evil methods that are government are using,our government atm is cleansing the uk of the sick,the disabled, ....wait till next year anybody in work and earning under 30k will also be cleansed, GO FIGURE !!!”

  • Profile image for anonfromstoke

    by anonfromstoke

    Thursday, November 01 2012, 12:13PM

    “They kick them off ESA so they have to go on jobseekers allowance , and then bring out new rules to kick them off job seekers allowance if they aren't applying for enough jobs ?
    there isnt enough work around for able bodied people , so how are people with serious health issues going to find work ???? so therefore these people will be the first to get the size nine up there backsides and punished with a three year benefits ban.
    this idiotic gorverment is trying to stamp all of us into the dirt , and we all stand around and let them do it , so i say well done to this small group of people for making a stance against this NAZI party , well done.”

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