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Conference - Universal Credit: a quiet revolution in the Welfare State

Gareth Morgan
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A bit short notice I’m afraid.

Universal Credit: a quiet revolution in the Welfare State
23 January 2015

Reichel Hall, Bangor University

The introduction of Universal Credit is the most significant and wide- ranging change to the benefits system since its establishment in 1948.

The Credit will co-ordinate aspects of State support with the aim of ensuring that no claimant will be financially worse off by accepting work than they would be by claiming benefits. It will replace the following benefits:

Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Income Support
Child Tax Credit
Working Tax Credit
Housing Benefit and some aspects of the Social Fund
The Conference will bring academics and Professional workers in the field to discuss and try and foresee the impact this change will have on some of the most disadvantaged people in Society.

The Conference will be particularly informative and important to those whose decisions affect families on low incomes, children and the housing sector and will be of interest to workers in the third sector, policy directors and officers as well as local and national elected representatives and students of social policy.

The Conference will be held in Welsh but with translation available.

Key Note Speech: Hywel Williams MP

Conference Details

Time: 10.30am – 3.30pm

Admission: Free but delegates are asked to register before hand

Registration and Further Information:

Siôn Jobbins: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | 01970 622893

Conference Hashtag: #CredydCynhwysol

Peter Turville
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If I jump on my bike now I might just make it?

Is UC really the most significant and wide- ranging change to the benefits system since its establishment in 1948?

Cut and paste the existing means tested benefit rules, tinker round the edges where the rules don’t fit (hit with hammer as last resort). Make the existing administrative set up even more remote and unresponsive than at present. Introduce harsher conditionallity (in advance), replace one set of ‘better off’ / marginal tax rate etc. etc. issues with a different set.

Sprinkle with some incomprehensible policies like work ‘incentives’ for home owners, minimum income floor for self-employed etc.

Serve up with secrecy, management bullshit speak, and lashings of ideological clap trap.

Prey it really will be much simpler and solve every ‘problem’ with the current system (which a previous Govt. of your party introduced and then made systematically more complex over the years with further ‘revolutionary’ reforms - you never learn!).

What have you got? One highly complex means tested benefit to replace the existing highly complex means tested benefits producing a whole new raft of difficulties (Ahhh but they will be different difficulties!) that will generate the need for the next ‘most significant and wide- ranging change to the benefits system since its establishment in 1948’ within a decade (if not sooner if the IT won’t work).

Discuss.

PS Bangor Univ - can I have my PhD now please?

Andrew Dutton
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‘Cut and paste the existing means tested benefit rules, tinker round the edges where the rules don’t fit (hit with hammer as last resort).’ Yesssss!

Think Michael Palin - ‘Gumby Flower Arranging’ (“Get in!!! get in!!! Get in!!!”)


I think no less than an MPhil should be in the post to you, Peter.

stevenmcavoy
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Peter Turville - 22 January 2015 09:52 AM

If I jump on my bike now I might just make it?

Is UC really the most significant and wide- ranging change to the benefits system since its establishment in 1948?

Cut and paste the existing means tested benefit rules, tinker round the edges where the rules don’t fit (hit with hammer as last resort). Make the existing administrative set up even more remote and unresponsive than at present. Introduce harsher conditionallity (in advance), replace one set of ‘better off’ / marginal tax rate etc. etc. issues with a different set.

Sprinkle with some incomprehensible policies like work ‘incentives’ for home owners, minimum income floor for self-employed etc.

Serve up with secrecy, management bullshit speak, and lashings of ideological clap trap.

Prey it really will be much simpler and solve every ‘problem’ with the current system (which a previous Govt. of your party introduced and then made systematically more complex over the years with further ‘revolutionary’ reforms - you never learn!).

What have you got? One highly complex means tested benefit to replace the existing highly complex means tested benefits producing a whole new raft of difficulties (Ahhh but they will be different difficulties!) that will generate the need for the next ‘most significant and wide- ranging change to the benefits system since its establishment in 1948’ within a decade (if not sooner if the IT won’t work).

Discuss.

PS Bangor Univ - can I have my PhD now please?

I have done presentations on universal credit to my client group (people with learning disabilities) and the best way i have found to explain it is by making 6 small balls from play dough then mashing them together so they sort of all fit into one but not really.

I think that works well.

Peter Turville
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Steve - have you put it on Utube - I think you’ve cracked UC training!

stevenmcavoy
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Peter Turville - 22 January 2015 12:56 PM

Steve - have you put it on Utube - I think you’ve cracked UC training!

I think i cracked policy making as well to be fair!

Peter Turville
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stevenmcavoy - 22 January 2015 02:15 PM
Peter Turville - 22 January 2015 12:56 PM

Steve - have you put it on Utube - I think you’ve cracked UC training!

I think i cracked policy making as well to be fair!

Ghad! your consultancy fees must put you in the super rich bracket.

Gareth Morgan
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The conference, Credyd Cynhwysol - Y farn o Gymru, looks to be interesting.  A large packed room and, apart from the MP and the AM, I don’t know any of them.

( correction a couple of people from Gwynedd Welfare Rights who are WRAC members have just turned up)

Peter Turville
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Is there any feed back / minutes / presentation notes etc from the conference. Did it reveal anything we didn’t know or guess already?

Gareth Morgan
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It was a locally focused conference and the presentations, which were interesting in particular from the politicians, are in Welsh so not perhaps that useful here.

Peter Turville
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Gareth Morgan - 05 February 2015 01:45 PM

It was a locally focused conference and the presentations, which were interesting in particular from the politicians, are in Welsh so not perhaps that useful here.

Gareth, isn’t there an option “if you would like to hear the feed back in English please press….”?

Andrew Dutton
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The ‘quiet revolution’ is obviously the government’s new shtick for peddling UC.

This report from the Telegraph - knee-slappingly funny but also depressing in its amazing bias - continues the propaganda.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/11401753/Against-all-odds-a-welfare-revolution-is-quietly-under-way.html

Jon Blackwell
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Andrew Dutton - 10 February 2015 02:55 PM

The ‘quiet revolution’ is obviously the government’s new shtick for peddling UC.

This report from the Telegraph - knee-slappingly funny but also depressing in its amazing bias - continues the propaganda.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/11401753/Against-all-odds-a-welfare-revolution-is-quietly-under-way.html

Presumably “quiet” is harking back to this…

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/oct/09/conservatives2003.conservatives9

 

Peter Turville
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But is it a February or October revolution?

Glenys
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Quote:

I have done presentations on universal credit to my client group (people with learning disabilities) and the best way i have found to explain it is by making 6 small balls from play dough then mashing them together so they sort of all fit into one but not really.

I think that works well.[/quote]

People who come to our UC training courses see a powerpoint showing fruit going into a blender- it’s not a fruit salad it’s a smoothie! That seems to work too!

HB Anorak
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I like the sausage idea that some suggested on another thread: UC is like a sausage made from the mashed up bits of the old schemes.  The taper reduces the amount of mashed up meat in your sausage, sanctions chop a bit of your sausage off.

Gareth Morgan
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Have you tried adding beer to cider?  Two clear liquids go cloudy and create a lot of gunge at the bottom.  (I got banned from a pub when I was a student for drinking that - the landlord said it put people off his beer).

Then you add blackcurrant, then milk, then tomato juice and finally creme de menthe.

Now ask whether anyone wants to drink it.  I suspect apart from students the answer will be no ( we could try it at the pre-NAWRA on Thursday?)

HB Anorak
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If you take away the milk, tomato juice and creme de menthe, what you have there is a snakebite and black which was the subject of many urban legends in my youth

Gareth Morgan
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I wasn’t sophisticated enough to add blackcurrant.

P.E.T.E
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HB Anorak - 01 March 2015 03:48 PM

I like the sausage idea that some suggested on another thread: UC is like a sausage made from the mashed up bits of the old schemes.  The taper reduces the amount of mashed up meat in your sausage, sanctions chop a bit of your sausage off.

Ouch.  Chopping a bit off your sausage would sure work as a sanction!

Andrew Dutton
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The wurst thing that could happen.

Gareth Morgan
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Load of polony if you ask me.

DaphneH
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Gareth Morgan - 02 March 2015 10:29 AM

Have you tried adding beer to cider?  Two clear liquids go cloudy and create a lot of gunge at the bottom.  (I got banned from a pub when I was a student for drinking that - the landlord said it put people off his beer).

Then you add blackcurrant, then milk, then tomato juice and finally creme de menthe.

Now ask whether anyone wants to drink it.  I suspect apart from students the answer will be no ( we could try it at the pre-NAWRA on Thursday?)

see you in the pub on Thursday Gareth - is it your shout?

and snakebite and black was my favourite tipple as a student - with a packet of nik-naks on the side…does that mean I’m more sophisticated than you Gareth??

[ Edited: 2 Mar 2015 at 03:13 pm by DaphneH ]
HB Anorak
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No, just a lightweight.  The blackcurrant takes up space that could usefully be filled by more snakebite

juliem
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Round here some people I know drink lager snakebite which tastes (to me) slightly less awful than beer snakebite. I can’t remember who it was on Rightsnet who felt the need to wash away a bad week with some Purple Moose, but I see that Purple Moose did well in the CAMRA Winter Best Ales Competition.

Gareth Morgan
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DaphneH - 02 March 2015 03:11 PM

see you in the pub on Thursday Gareth - is it your shout?

and snakebite and black was my favourite tipple as a student - with a packet of nik-naks on the side…does that mean I’m more sophisticated than you Gareth??

Probably my shout - it usually is :-)

Everyone is more sophisticated than me.