The Devil's Point Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Best holiday I ever went on was to Luxor in Egypt. Magnificent room with balcony overlooking the Nile for a glass of wine at night. Brilliant trips to the Valley of the Kings, Temples and other wonders by day. Superb service everywhere but if you went off the tourist routes at all you were accosted by beggars from all sides, and it eventually got very harassing and slightly scary at times. You only need to walk around these places for a few hours to see what desperate things happen to people when there is no safety net. I fear we are currently experiencing a breakdown in the social security system in Glasgow. An enormous percentage of those who are attending Cadogan Street medicals and are being (often ludicrously) found fit for work are finding they can find no services available to represent them in their appeal tribunals. People are being put off benefit and being completely denied their rights to appeal and representation. The Department of Work and Pensions continue to send letter after letter to claimants explaining they have disallowed their claim and they must contact Citizens Advice or a Lawcentre if they want to challenge a decision. I work for a Lawcentre and you can't get an appointment for love or money (and thats saying something for lawyers ). I know the CAB service (mainly consisting of volunteers) is also under enormous, and quite unreasonable, pressure. The plan seems to be to force everyone on to Jobseekers Allowance but that won't be realistic in this city. Anyone who is on Jobseekers for a year or more will soon start to see reductions (a fine effectively for failing to find jobs which don't exist) in their Housing Benefit and face rent arrears and possible eviction. I am a Liberal Democrat and a Coalition supporter. However, I did not expect this behaviour from the DWP before the necessary services were put in place to help pick up the pieces. Danny Alexander was rightly laying into the DWP over their dodgy assessments before the election but he seems to have gone a bit quiet on this subject recently. How ironic if, in a few years time, a bus load of Egyptian tourists find themselves bothered by beggars in George Square. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistlemad1 Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Too many of the Cadogan Street "regulars" continue to get money when thers sod all wrong with them!!!!! People with cancer and REAL life threatening problems REGULARLY get told to bugger off, whilst the wasters who know how to milk the system get everything. FAT, OBESE? Here, have a car, have extra cash ....... ****n GYM MEMBERSHIP would be better for most of them!!!!!!! And dont get me started on the "sore back" brigade!!!!!! "I am a Liberal Democrat and a Coalition supporter." That says it all really!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Devil's Point Posted February 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) Too many of the Cadogan Street "regulars" continue to get money when thers sod all wrong with them!!!!! People with cancer and REAL life threatening problems REGULARLY get told to bugger off, whilst the wasters who know how to milk the system get everything. FAT, OBESE? Here, have a car, have extra cash ....... ****n GYM MEMBERSHIP would be better for most of them!!!!!!! And dont get me started on the "sore back" brigade!!!!!! "I am a Liberal Democrat and a Coalition supporter." That says it all really!!!!!!! I agree with a lot of that. There is a real problem that those who know how to work the system get hold of all the services and the truly vulnerable end up being the ones who receive little or no help. I'm not sure how we address that though as advisors are not doctors and so are not very well placed to decide who is "genuine" or otherwise. I suspect that too often those who shout loudest tend to get all the services and those without a voice lose out. You take on the big question - what counts as a real disabiltiy? I would say that the single biggest issue is whether addiction (to drugs and/or alcohol) should be classed as disability. My appalingly controversial view is that we need to move away from classifying addiction as a disability. There is no disease that causes people to need alcohol or drugs. It's choice, and if there were suddenly no drink or drugs available the addicts would not die (they might feel crap for a few days but they would not die and afterwards they might even feel better). Enormous numbers of incapacity claims are based on alcoholism but yet we give the alcoholics not only Incapacity Benefit but DLA so that they can afford plenty alcohol. There is absolutely no check on what happens to the money and absolutely no check on what the person is doing to address their problem (or resources to help them with it). Its all upside down that. People with cancer and other real diseases need what resources are available. Edited February 5, 2011 by The Devil's Point Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistlemad1 Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 DAMN IT ..... halfway through a reply and the computer shuts down!!! My appalingly controversial view is that we need to move away from classifying addiction as a disability. Not sure its as controversial an opinion as it once was. I have ALWAYS believed that drugs and drink or indeed any addiction, is a lifestyle choice and not an illness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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