Latest press reports on UC

Plymouth: https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/truth-universal-credit-dwp-staff-2679811

Birmingham: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/truth-universal-credit-dwp-jobcentre-16020487

Coventry: https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/universal-credit-jobcentre-staff-16021314

Wales: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/dwp-staff-reveal-truth-universal-16022642

Gloucestershire: https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/truth-universal-credit-not-bad-2682415

(... all pointing at the Plymouth story)

Fake News alert!!!!!

According to Wikipedia, the Leicester Mercury, Teeside Gazette and Hull Daily Mail are all owned by Reach plc, formerly Trinity Mirror (along with 150 other regional titles).  A couple of minutes googling reveals that the Senior Independent Director of Reach plc is Helen Stevenson, formerly a non-executive director of the DWP. Happy coincidence probably, news is made in all sorts of ways.

This is…...disgraceful.  News manipulation to soften the image of a failing benefit!

To whom do we complain??? (I’m serious)

Here’s an interesting vignette - I was at a very nice social event over the weekend, and met someone who is training at DWP. Without any prompting, they started off on a riff about how the benefits system was trapping people in to poverty and there are ‘generations’ of workless people out there who need to be saved from this terrible plight and that UC is the answer etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.

Luckily someone intervened and changed the subject.

Good news culture and brainwashing - that’s the DWP!

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/24/almost-2m-people-will-lose-1000-a-year-with-universal-credit-study

Oooops - better get the Good News Machine out again!!!

Andrew Dutton - 23 April 2019 01:27 PM

This is…...disgraceful.  News manipulation to soften the image of a failing benefit!

To whom do we complain??? (I’m serious)

IPSO?

Maybe citing the fact, inter alia, that some Service Centres have been on strike because they’re so understaffed they’re leaving people destitute as they’ve not got time to correct problems with their claims.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/25/im-at-rock-bottom-food-bank-offers-respite-from-universal-credit

Oh my ears and whiskers, it’s almost as if UC doesn’t work and all those good-news stories are a bit over-pitched…..

Dan Manville - 24 April 2019 03:24 PM

Andrew Dutton - 23 April 2019 01:27 PM

This is…...disgraceful.  News manipulation to soften the image of a failing benefit!

To whom do we complain??? (I’m serious)

IPSO?

Maybe citing the fact, inter alia, that some Service Centres have been on strike because they’re so understaffed they’re leaving people destitute as they’ve not got time to correct problems with their claims.

Funny how all the ‘good news’ stories are about staff in Jobcentres and never about staff in the UC contact & processing centres?

Meanwhile:

“People have heard rumours, they’re going off hearsay and not facts.”

Our work coaches are back, answering a selection of your tweets on Universal Credit.

https://twitter.com/AmberRuddHR/status/1121320425420677120

Being a naive and trusting sort, I had hoped that the (relatively) new SoS would make a difference and end the culture of crowing, claiming outright success on nil evidence, and insulting any critics.

To a small extent she has, but is this approach much better?

DWP’s style is still to deny problems, dismiss criticism, chuck out good-news stories, refuse to listen until the pressure is unbearable, and then end up having to admit that the problems were real and the criticisms valid - but then the cycle starts again as DWP claims that flaws are fixed, all is well, criticisms are out of date, or are based upon hearsay etc etc etc.

Please Ms Rudd, stop this soft-publicity campaign, tune in to the agony of those responses (unnecessarily vituperative as some of them may be) and engage with those who can show you just how bad this system is.

And do this, please, before you roll the wretched thing out any further.

According to table 3-2 here, there were only 4,441 UC claimants in Hull as of February 2019, with 3,061 of those not employed. According to an earlier local article 1,547 had already been sanctioned by late 2018. While I accept that’s a cumulative sanction count, and the claimant count is the then current number, it still points to a rather higher proportion than is being claimed.

Credit to Esther (not that one) ...

This powerful story shows #UniversalCredit is changing lives

Malik was a knife carrying, drug dealer ... but is now working in tech and applying to university.

“He credits his transformation to Esther, a work coach at Peckham Jobcentre.”

https://twitter.com/AmberRuddHR/status/1122052078661177345?s=09
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/f01ee854-6851-11e9-adc2-05e1b87efaea

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/may/01/universal-credit-is-orwellian-says-former-high-court-judge

Former court of Appeal judge describing it as “Orwellian” (and, of course, the usual quote from the DWP in response…)

“I don’t understand my UC statement.” whispered Winston.

O’Brien lifted his spectacles and settled them back on to the bridge of his nose in his characteristic reassuring gesture.

“You can always phone the helpline, Winston.” he said gently.

“But they don’t understand the statement either.”

“They are not allowed to, Winston. Only the Inner Party can understand UC statements.”

“How am I supposed to live on so little?”

“Room 101” said O’Brien, his voice suddenly harsh and commanding.

“No! I beg you!” cried Winston feebly.

“Don’t worry Winston, you will see it all differently in Room 101.”

On the door was a sign reading ‘HELP TO CLAIM’.

But Winston had already made a claim, and so Help to Claim would not see him.

“There’s always gov.uk.” suggested O’Brien.

“Please just shoot me now.” gasped Winston.

Andrew Dutton - 01 May 2019 09:13 AM

“I don’t understand my UC statement.” whispered Winston.

O’Brien lifted his spectacles and settled them back on to the bridge of his nose in his characteristic reassuring gesture.

“You can always phone the helpline, Winston.” he said gently.

“But they don’t understand the statement either.”

“They are not allowed to, Winston. Only the Inner Party can understand UC statements.”

“How am I supposed to live on so little?”

“Room 101” said O’Brien, his voice suddenly harsh and commanding.

“No! I beg you!” cried Winston feebly.

“Don’t worry Winston, you will see it all differently in Room 101.”

On the door was a sign reading ‘HELP TO CLAIM’.

But Winston had already made a claim, and so Help to Claim would not see him.

“There’s always gov.uk.” suggested O’Brien.

“Please just shoot me now.” gasped Winston.

 

Haha that’s brilliant Andrew, you genuinely made me laugh out loud with that gem.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/may/07/dwp-slow-response-to-universal-credit-errors-bizarre-says-council

Read this and weep.

Many of the built-in flaws of UC are on show, not least the failure to react to overpayments as there is no incentive in the system to stop them accumulating.

Does anyone have a link to the actual report? Would be interested to read it.

Hi - there’s a link to the report in the story - I tried to attach it here but it wouldn’t redirect. In any event, the link is in 5th para from the end - is a report to the Housing Scrutiny Sub Committee and the section about universal credit is right at the end of the report.

Attached the report.

Thanks Andy!

Ros - 07 May 2019 10:14 AM

Thanks Andy!

It meant i could prevaricate, and put off doing etc etc!

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby-news/single-dad-praises-universal-credit-2826073

“Single dad says Universal Credit stopped him wallowing in grief following tragic death of his partner”

A number of issues with this (hindsight fallacy, survivor bias, dubious causation), not least that it’s only disclosed half way down that he works for a Job Centre.

Mr Finch - 07 May 2019 11:21 AM

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby-news/single-dad-praises-universal-credit-2826073

“Single dad says Universal Credit stopped him wallowing in grief following tragic death of his partner”

A number of issues with this (hindsight fallacy, survivor bias, dubious causation), not least that it’s only disclosed half way down that he works for a Job Centre.

The drip-drip of ‘positive’ reports goes on….from the same news company behind the last lot of same, I rather think - ?

Mr Finch - 07 May 2019 11:21 AM

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby-news/single-dad-praises-universal-credit-2826073

“Single dad says Universal Credit stopped him wallowing in grief following tragic death of his partner”

A number of issues with this (hindsight fallacy, survivor bias, dubious causation), not least that it’s only disclosed half way down that he works for a Job Centre.

Yes, I noticed that he now works for JCP as security guard.

Also this stuck out ”“I was lucky that I had saved up some money prior to signing on, so I had enough money to pay the bills and my rent, so I was able to look after us both during the waiting period to get my first claim. so not so many problems as many have at the start of their claim,and also “It has allowed me to start paying off some of the debts that I had, and I am now almost debt free, or I will be in a few months at least.” so he ended up in debt even though he says he had savings.

Glad that he feels like he’s back on his feet and doing well but this statement really dioes smack of an I’m alright Jack attitude which was a shame to see “I often read about people who have had a horrible time on Universal Credit, but honestly I just don’t see the problem, it is your claim so you are to blame, you just need to make sure that you are budgeting and managing your money effectively.”

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/man-thinks-universal-credit-great-2862272

And another person who thinks UC is wonderful.

Ain’t life grand?

And another former claimant who says it turned his life around, who just happens to now work at a Job Centre:-
https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/18-months-ago-unemployed-skint-2863418

Well, well, well. It appears that the reports we have spotted were a mere rehearsal:

‘Coming soon: the great universal credit deception’

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/14/universal-credit-department-work-pensions-pr

Andrew Dutton - 14 May 2019 06:27 PM

Well, well, well. It appears that the reports we have spotted were a mere rehearsal:

‘Coming soon: the great universal credit deception’

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/14/universal-credit-department-work-pensions-pr

i came to post the link to exactly that….and you’ve got there before me, LOL

i guess they’ll have to recruit management to pretend to be frontline staff, then…

From a conversation have just had with a claimant:

“Universal Credit has brought me to an all-time low…I feel bullied’.

Got that, DWP spybots? Can it go in to the nice TV show?