New Back to Work Plan to help up to 1,100,000 people with long-term health conditions, disabilities or long-term unemployment to look for and stay in work. HM Treasury, Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, The Rt Hon Victoria Atkins MP, The Rt Hon Mel Stride MP, and The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP.
Additional support comes alongside tougher sanctions for people who don’t look for work, as part of the next generation of welfare reforms. Includes exploring reforms of the fit note system, expansion of available treatment and employment support, and formal launch of the WorkWell service to help people start, stay and succeed in work.
You can read over the full story HERE.
It was fantastic to celebrate the end of a brilliant year for Fightback with a lovely team night out this Christmas! As many of you will be aware, we work incredibly hard throughout the year and so a chance to get together outside of working hours is always greatly deserved.
As we have done for many years, we started out at Fightback HQ before moving on for a lovely meal and a few celebratory drinks.
Thanks to everyone who has show us such brilliant support this year. We’ve been able to assist so many people with so many positive outcomes which is the reason we do what we do!
Here’s to a great 2024!
On 30 November DWP introduced a new technology called Conversational Platform onto the Department’s telephony channels, starting with Universal Credit. This will transform the customer journey by replacing traditional Interactive Voice Response options (press 1 for X, 2 for Y etc.) with a voice-led interactive solution.
Conversational Platform will enable customers to speak naturally, securing better insight into why they are calling, and how best to respond to their enquiry. The Platform will provide self-serve instructions to simple enquiries, saving customers time spent waiting in a call queue and reducing call demand to agents. Where a further conversation with someone is required, Conversational Platform will help route the call to the right
Every day in December, ITV open a door of their Granada Reports Advent Calendar of local heroes. Each day, they showcase someone who has gone above and beyond in what has been a very difficult year. Most recently, it was Fightback’s turn to be featured and we were delighted and thankful to ITV for taking the time to visit our offices and give Fightback a moment in the stoplight.
If you have a spare moment, you can watch the report here – https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2021-12-03/advent-heroes-meet-michelle-cardno-of-fightback4justice
We were delighted to take part in Healthwatch Bury Live to discuss our work within the local area in relation to PIP and disability benefit applications. On the chat, we were joined by Artie Carden who shared her lived experience of applying for disability benefits.
Healthwatch Bury are part of a wider network of groups who jointly aim to promote the voice of the people and use people’s experiences within communities to ensure positive change can happen.
The video ends with a question and answer session where we answer questions from the local public. It was a pleasure to take part in this chat and we look forward to doing this once again in the near future.
You can watch the whole video below.
Full Article – https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/dwp-accused-of-denying-people-their-rights-after-rejecting-90-of-disability-benefit-appeals/
We were recently asked to comment for an article by Chaminda Jayanetti for The Big Issue about the accusations towards the DWP after rejecting 90% of disability benefit appeals.
The government is rejecting a record high of almost 90% of disability benefit appeals, sparking accusations it is ignoring court rulings in order to take a harder line on claimants.
The most recent figures covering England and Wales show the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is rejecting 89% of appeals relating to initial applications for the personal independence payment (PIP) disability benefit.
PIP is designed to help mostly working-age people, both in and out of work, with additional living costs arising from long-term disabilities and mental health conditions.
When asked to comment, Michelle Cardno, founder and lead legal advocate at Fightback4Justice said “We are finding that more and more [MRs] are being refused as they are not submitted within the one-month DWP limit. The courts have confirmed that someone with disabilities should be allowed reasonable adjustments of up to 13 months to put an MR letter together, but increasingly this year we are finding that the DWP are ignoring this and telling claimants they have just a month to gather the evidence.”
If you wish to read the fun article, you can do so here! https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/dwp-accused-of-denying-people-their-rights-after-rejecting-90-of-disability-benefit-appeals/
Last night we took our hardworking office Fightback crew for a treat, as a team building exercise. It was so good to get together outside the busy office, especially as the girls have put in long extra volunteer hours this month to cope with the extra enquiries we’ve had.
A great night was had by all in Manchester, and the weather was lovely too.
We will be refreshed and back in the office tomorrow from 9am.
Huge congratulations to our Lawyer Sonya, graduating with a Master of Laws with distinction today. Sonya has been part of our legal team for a few years now and many of you will have been helped by her, especially as she has a medical and legal background.
Well done Sonya, we knew you would do it!
Sonya originally studied medicine and surgery before specialising in women’s health. During this time she also gained experience in dentistry and laboratory sciences. A life changing accident resulted in a career change that was focused on law.
Sonya is a Scholar of The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. In 2022 she was one of 20 legal scholars across the world chosen to receive a fully funded scholarship to continue her barrister training.
Sonya is committed to all aspects of client services at Fightback. Her unique medico-legal background provides our clients with representation that is multifaceted, professional, and above all, effective.
January 2023 marks the 10th Anniversary of Fighback4Justice! It is an incredible achievement to reach this milestone and it has been one hell of a journey to get here! After leaving CAB, our founder, Michelle started the page on Facebook as a way of helping people to fight for the right outcome when claiming welfare benefits. Ten years, 70k followers and so many success stories later, Fightback has helped thousands and thousands of claimants.
We marked our anniversary with a week long celebration which included open days and incredible giveaways to our loyal followers.
We wold like to take a moment to thank everyone who has supported us in some way, by using our services, by donating or simply leaving great feedback or sharing the word about what we do. We would like to extend this thanks to the incredible team of Fightback angels, past and present, that we have grown over the years.
Please keep spreading the word about Fightback so that we can continue to grow and help more and more people.
Here’s to the next 10 years!
Michelle
We were delighted to team up with local companies in 2022 to give away a full Christmas dinner hamper to two lucky winners. We asked our incredible followers to nominate one person who they felt was deserving of this brilliant prize.
The winners were chose at random in the run up to Christmas and the Christmas dinner hampers were delivered on Christmas week.
We love nothing more than to give away prizes such as this and we can not do it without the support of everyone who follows Fightback. We look forward to bringing you more giveaways in the near future.
WaterSure is a scheme which helps some people on Welfare Benefits with their water bills. To apply for the scheme, you must need to use a lot of water either for medical reasons or because your household has a certain number of who are of a school age. You will need to be on a water meter or be waiting list to have a water meter installed.
If you are eligible for the WaterSure scheme, your water bill will be capped meaning will not pay any more than the average metered bill for the area your water company deals with.
In some cases, your normal metered water bill could already be less than your company’s WaterSure cap. If this applies to you, you will only be billed for the amount of water you use.
Dont forget, you can always ask your water company what their cap is or seek advice directly from them if you want to check the cap before applying.
Who qualifies for WaterSure?
To qualify for WaterSure you need to:
- be on a water meter or have applied for one and be waiting for it to be installed, or be paying an assessed charge because it’s not possible to fit a meter at your property
- be on certain benefits – see below.
- have a high essential use of water
Which benefits do you need to be on?
The benefits you need to be on depends on who supplies your water. Again, it may be useful to seek their criteria before starting your application.
All suppliers offer WaterSure if either you or someone in your household get one of the following benefits:
- Universal Credit
- Pension Credit
- Housing Benefit
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income Support
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit awarded at a rate higher than the family element
Some water suppliers also offer WaterSure if you’re on Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments. You should check with your water company if you’re not sure if they cover these benefits.
How do I apply for WaterSure?
You can apply for WaterSure by filling out a form from your water company. You will need to supply evidence that you qualify, such as a copy of your awards notice for a benefit.
You’ll need to provide evidence of your medical condition from your doctor, including how the condition is treated and the effect it has on how much water you use.
Some companies will accept a stamp from your GP confirming your medical condition. There is space on the end of the form for a stamp, which the GP will usually give free of charge. You should check your supplier will accept a stamp before sending your application.
If your water supplier won’t accept a stamp, you’ll need to pay for a doctor’s certificate. Some water suppliers will reimburse the cost of the certificate.
Where can I find the information ation from my water company?
Please click the link below for the information provided by your water company.
Mental Health Awareness Week is happening between 9 to 15 May 2022. The official theme is ‘loneliness’ and, across the week, we encourage you to build meaningful connections with your friends, family, colleagues and communities.
Loneliness affects many of us at one time or another. We know that loneliness can be both the driver for and a product of poor mental health.
Our society is changing fast. The pandemic has given rise to a sense of loneliness and isolation undermining confidence in daily routines. In recent times, many of us have had far less access to loved ones. Tech is enabling healthcare professionals to see more patients without the need to travel, but on the flip side of the coin, convenience and cost efficiencies are driving more and more activities online.
Alongside loneliness, we also aim to shed light on all mental health conditions which we deal with on a daily basis with our clients. We have made a number of our mental health resources available to access to all followers of Fightback. Please see the links below if you would like to take a look.
Reasonable Adjustments for Mental Health Conditions Factsheet
PIP Submission – Mental Health Issues
Coping With Mental Health – COVID-19
PIP Submission – Depression & Anxiety amongst other conditions
We have recently been contacted by the Bolton Evening News to comment on a story they are investigating, regarding a failure to provide reasonable adjustments at Oxford Road Station Manchester https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/…/20065003.northern…/
We know that our volunteer Nicky, had major issues getting to our office in Bury from South Manchester reliably, and know it is something that our followers feel very strongly about and also have problems with.
Would our followers have any feedback on experiences they would like to share, regarding a potential failure to make reasonable adjustments at stations, particularly concentrating on the ones in the Manchester and surrounding areas, but if you have a story from another area we still want to hear from you. Please get in touch!
Towards the end of last year, we were delighted to take part in a report for ITV which aimed to highlight the flaws in our current benefit system. The ITV film crew spent the morning in our offices where they interviewed a number of our past clients and team members. Here is the official video from our recent coverage on ITV Granada Reports. Once again we would like to say a massive thanks to Matt and the Granada Reports team for once again contacting us for assistance when creating their reports on the errors in the welfare benefits system.
UPDATE JULY 2020 – Jenny, The lady featured at the start of this feature came to sign up for our services on that day. This month we successfully advocated in her appeal and we are pleased to report her daughter has won enhanced mobility and standard daily living with our support. We are still to hear about the other gentleman featured in the video.
This week we have been contacted by Joe Harrigan for a comment in his report on benefits and terminally ill claimants. Michelle commented that ‘It just shows the system is not working, there’s no checks and balances at all, they assessors do not know who has appealed so someone could be writing damningly wrong assessments over and over again and they wouldn’t know’ You can read the full report HERE.
Towards the end of last year, we were delighted to take part in a report for ITV which aimed to highlight the floors in our current benefit system. The ITV film crew spent the morning in our offices where they interviewed a number of our past clients and team members. Scroll down to view the official video from our recent coverage on ITV Granada Reports.
Once again we would like to say a massive thanks to Matt and the Granada Reports team for once again contacting us for assistance when creating their reports on the errors in the welfare benefits system.
We were thrilled to once again be asked to assist ITV News with a report which highlighted the issues faced by claimants when making welfare benefits claims and in particular PIP claims. We would like to thank Andy Bonner and the ITV team for inviting us to be part of their coverage and for continuing to shed light on the difficulties that people with disabilities can often face when processing a claim.
If you would like to check out the full report, please click HERE.
In the most recent budget, Rishi Sunak announced a reduction from 63p in the pound to 55p in the universal credit taper rate – the amount in benefits a claimant loses for each pound they earn above a set work allowance. The move was intended to compensate for the withdrawal of the £20-a-week uplift which was introduced during the pandemic. Shortly after the announcement, we were contacted by Katie Feehan from the Mail Online for our comments on the changes.
When speaking to Kaite, Michelle commented that ‘This is a budget for the those who are non-disabled or not caring for someone. It is again ignoring people on disability benefits who are unable to work full time. The government don’t care about disabled people and we see this daily in our work at Fightback4justice. One lady told us she felt like a non-person, someone who is glazed over and forgotten about. It’s dehumanising and shameful.’
If you would like to read over the full report in the Mail Online, please click HERE.
Our very own Chloe has released her new book, “My Daddy and his Super Dialysis”. The book tells the story of a little boy whose Daddy is on Dialysis, the twist in the story is that his dialysis machine gives him superpowers. The book follows Jack and his Daddy’s magical adventures throughout the course of this treatment. This will be the first of a 5 book series all in relation to different disabilities. Chloe is on the look out for a Dialysis charity/support group where she will make a donation for every book that is sold. If you know or are connected with a charity or group, please get in touch with us.
You can get a a copy of the book by visiting the amazing link below.
New disturbing evidence has emerged that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has introduced harsher rules designed to force more disabled people with significant mental distress to attend frequent face-to-face jobcentre meetings.
Last week, a work coach told Disability News Service (DNS) that she and her colleagues were being “bullied and harassed” into forcing claimants with significant mental distress into attending work-related meetings.
Many have been waiting months for a work capability assessment (WCA) but in the meantime are being forced to make regular trips to the jobcentre so work coaches can meet their targets for face-to-face appointments.
After the story was published last Thursday, DNS received an anonymous phone message – apparently from another work coach – who said the harsher new approach “was definitely happening”, although DNS has been unable to confirm that they work for DWP.
The Benefits and Work website has also reported hearing from someone who claimed to be a former DWP employee and who said that work coaches were being “named and shamed” by their bosses for not pushing enough claimants out of the support group* of employment and support allowance (ESA) and onto universal credit.
They also claimed work coaches were being bullied into sanctioning claimants.
Two DNS contacts have this week described hearing from people claiming to work for DWP who have spoken of a harsher new approach and a push to force as many claimants as possible to attend one-to-one meetings in jobcentres, although again DNS has been unable to verify these claims.
And two more work coaches – although once again DNS has been unable to verify their claims – spoke of their concerns on the news and discussion website Reddit this week.
One said they had recently resigned after 14 years with DWP, and that the claims made in last week’s DNS story were “all true and then some”, with senior managers only caring about the number of face-to-face appointments that are booked.
He said there was an “endemic culture within DWP of bullying and harassing claimants… perhaps 10-15 per cent of staff who want to help people, the rest are awful people who delight in causing misery and sharing their stories in the tea room”.
The other work coach said their job had “simply turned into a daily rush to book as many appointments in face to face for people that just don’t need them”.
This week, the founder of a national benefits advice service confirmed to DNS that her organisation was hearing from an increasing number of disabled people who experience significant mental distress and are being treated with “contempt” by DWP.
Michelle Cardno, a welfare rights lawyer and founder of Fightback4Justice, which provides advice and support for claimants of ESA, personal independence payment (PIP), universal credit and disability living allowance, said DWP’s actions were “cruel”, “disabling” and “intolerant”.
Not only has DWP’s attitude worsened since the middle of the pandemic – when it eased off on conditionality and sanctions – but Cardno said it was now worse than before the COVID-19 crisis began in early 2020.
She compared DWP’s attitude with the worst days of the department under Iain Duncan Smith and the post-2010 coalition government.
She said: “It feels like things have changed and their contempt for people with disabilities seems to have changed.”
Only this week, a distraught woman with severe anxiety and agoraphobia rang Fightback to say that she was being told to come into the jobcentre every day for two weeks to “discuss her anxiety and get her out of the house”.
She is facing a benefit sanction if she fails to turn up.
Another claimant with severe anxiety has been told he has to attend a group CBT** therapy session in a room with up to 10 people.
A third claimant, with epilepsy, experiences stress-induced seizures every time he leaves his house, but he is still being told to attend the jobcentre for face-to-face meetings.
His dispute with DWP has caused the number of seizures he experiences to increase.
Cardno said DWP was ignoring its duty to provide reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act.
But she said DWP was also ignoring its own “substantial risk” rules, which make it clear that a claimant should be treated as having limited capability for work and work-related activity if there would otherwise be a “substantial risk” to the health of themselves or any other person.
Cardno said all of those they were supporting would eventually be found not fit for work when they had their WCA.
But in the meantime, she said, DWP was “ticking boxes to try and get as many people in as possible”.
She said: “There seems to be no real purpose behind it other than making them do something and tick a box.”
A DWP spokesperson declined to confirm its new policy, or to say whether it had assessed the risk of harm to the disabled claimants it was apparently subjecting to the new measures.
She said the department would not add to last week’s statement, when a spokesperson had said: “Not all claimants need to come into the jobcentre and work coaches take a flexible approach for those with long-term health conditions to best meet the individual’s need.
“This includes considering their circumstances when agreeing achievable work-related activity and whether appointments should be carried out in person or via phone or their online journal.”
*Those with the highest support needs, who are not expected to carry out any work-related activity
**Cognitive behavioural therapy
We are delighted to share the news that our drop in sessions are now officially back open! We would like to thank our local mayor, Tim Pickstone who officially announced the return of our drop ins at the Mill Gate Shopping Centre in Bury in September.
Our free drop in sessions are a great chance for you to come and meet our team of Lawyers, Advocates and Form Fillers to get advice on any welfare benefit related query including PIP, ESA, DLA or Universal Credit.
We are able to host these free events as part of our not for profit work. Every penny that is generated from our services such as the VIP Platform is put back into helping as many people as we can, as often as we can.
No appointment necessary, just turn up. Disabled Parking and some disabled access available. Please note our general office toilet is up 3 small steps and non wheelchair friendly owing to building layout. Our sessions are hosted at Fightback HQ in Tottington on the first Wednesday of every month.
If you would like to come down to get assistance, please get in touch to let us know that you are coming.
If you are part of a working household that receives tax credits, you may be eligible for a new one-off payment of £500. The payment is being introduced to provide extra support after the temporary increase in working tax credit – that was introduced for the pandemic – ended as planned on 5 April. HMRC have released further details regarding the payment. A reminder – this payment replaces the ongoing uplift which was introduced due to COVID-19. HMRC have confirmed that:
– Claimants do not need to make a separate claim
– Eligibility will be confirmed either by text message or letter
– Payment should be received into the same bank account that tax credits are paid into by 23 April 2021
– The payment is not subject to Income Tax or National Insurance and does not need to be reported in a self-assessment declaration.
– The payment does not count as income for Housing Benefit.
For more information, please contact a member of the Fightback team.