A confusion of consultation and change

Can anyone work out what this mysterious e-mail I received is about? I couldn't at first until I realised that it was a request for me to appear before a select committee to give evidence about the changes being made to ESA. Now when I first agreed to give evidence should it be needed I provided my phone number and made it explicitly clear that I would prefer to be called to be informed than to be e-mailed. So why did I recieve an e-mail?

The primary conclusion I came to, seeing as I first got the e-mail two days after the date given on the e-mail, was that the request was little more than a farce. They are asking people to make statements or give evidence but they don't really want to hear it. It supports the governments possition if those called to give evidence don't show up - we are scroungers who can't be bothered rather than being genuinely ill people. Had I gotten the e-mail on time I still would not have been able to attend as I have a disability and particularly a wheelchair which means that moving around the country is incredibly difficult for me and requires a great deal of forward planning. I do not have my own transport and therefore am at the mercy of the public transport system so therefore I have to book tickets at least a week in advance to ensure I can book assistance/ramps at the right stations.

There is also the cost of getting to London. Being on benefits limits how often you can travel because you are limited by what you can afford. I can't afford to buy a last minute ticket to London for any reason. This would cost me nearly £250 return for me and that's not including my husband who is my carer.

If this is the way the consultation periods for benefits reform are being run then no wonder the cuts are being approved, no one with an invested interest in them can get there to oppose them. This means that important services for those who are disabled and sick but want to work are being lost and also means that support and funding for those who are sick and disabled and cannot work is being drastically cut. The services I have lost to date are the want to work scheme, the disability work support team and a joint support venture between the job centre and the NHS called the condition management team. All of these services are invaluable and gave fantastic support to me and many others who wanted to return to normal work or start their own businesses. All of these services have been lost in my area due to cuts and badly run consultations.

I currently have a fantastic advisor at the job centre who has tried their best to help me. His job is to advise those in the work related activity group on ESA and also as a disability advisor for those who want to work. I worry that his job will be entirely cut and that there will be no support what so ever for those who are disabled. This advisor being disabled himself understands the needs and peculiarities of peoples disabilities better than anyone else possibly could but he is also at risk of losing his own work in the face of hefty cuts.

Cuts are dangerous for a variety of reasons. Firstly those who are mentally ill or suffer from conditions such as Aspergers who find change distressing will be faced with a myriad of confusing and difficult to understand cuts. Letters and forms from the DWP are already difficult enough to navigate and understand so you can imagine the confusion that will be caused by the new reforms. They are also dangerous to those who are vulnerable to the degree that they rely completely upon carers. Cuts to DLA, ESA and Carers Allowance will mean a threefold cut to these peoples lives putting their health and lives at risk. There is also the involvement of ATOS, the government sanctioned doctors. A lot has already been said about the inefficiency of ATOS and how most appeals against their decisions are successful. The level at which they deem people fit for work is ridiculous. There is also the threat of compulsory community work for those on any kind of benefit. In the initial plans for this the government said that it would be across the board and without exception. There are people who are so beyond the capability to work that it would be ridiculous to expect them to do community service activities for their benefits. If they do not though their money will be withdrawn and these people will die. It is a ridiculous idea and completely unworkable. If they do decide that certain people are exempt how will they be deciding this, where do they draw the line?

Now for a little bit of opinion. As a disabled UK citizen I feel more than neglected by the ConDem government. I feel victimised. I feel like they have decided who is useful to society and who is not and drawn a line and those not on the good side they will let suffer. I honest to God feel like the government is trying to kill me and anyone else who has a disability. I would be surprised if I was the only disabled person in the UK feeling this way. Being disabled in the UK right now is bewildering and frightening. The people who are already some of the most vulnerable in society are about to become even more vulnerable and it seems that the government refuses to hear our voice between ensuring poor publicity for disability rights marches and poorly run consultations we have pretty much no voice. Others are speaking up and now I will join them because there are those disabled who can't speak up for themselves, its up to those who can to speak for all of us before its too late.