DPAC |
Posted: 03 Aug 2011 12:42 PM PDT DPAC welcomes the letter sent by Anne Begg, Chair of the Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee to the Minister for Employment Chris Grayling expressing serious concerns at the most recent mis- representation of DWP statistics on benefit claimants in sections of the media on the same day that the Select Committee published a report which criticising aspects of the government’s involvement in reporting about the incapacity benefit reassessment process. The report found that: “more care is needed in the way the Government engages with the media and in particular the way in which it releases and provides its commentary on official statistics on the IB reassessment”. The letter comments that “By what I assume was a coincidence, the Department chose to release statistics on new Employment and Support Allowance claims [on the same day as the report]. The coverage of the statistics in some newspapers, notably the Daily Mail and the Daily Express, was a particularly egregious example of the way they can be misused.” The letter goes on to say “I am sure that you are therefore as shocked as I am by this most recent misrepresentation of DWP statistics on benefit claimants” and ends “I trust that you will be contacting newspaper editors again to urge them to ensure that the reports they carry about ESA claims are factually correct and that they avoid pejorative terms such as “shirkers” and “scroungers” which are irresponsible and inaccurate.” Of course the release of the statistics on the same day as the publication of the report can have been no coincidence and it displays the arrogance of the government and their determination to pursue a policy direction that targets and attacks disabled people. However we commend the way the Select Committee have taken a stand in this. For the full letter see: |
Posted: 03 Aug 2011 12:35 PM PDT Last week while the country was hooked on the Murdoch affair, the government made moves that signed the death warrant for the NHS, with Andrew Lansley announcing that from next April NHS services in 8 areas worth a total of £1 billion will be opened up to competitive bids from the private sector. This means that in those 8 areas the NHS will effectively cease to exist. The NHS Reform Bill is very different to the NHS white paper which was published last year, yet MPs are voting in favour of the Bill without having read it, assuming it is similar to the white paper and unaware that the Bill focuses almost exclusively on opening up the NHS to private providers. We have seen with the privatisation of care homes how profit can only work to the detriment of the welfare of service users. Privatisation of the NHS can only lead to poor and selective patient treatment. For those wealthy enough to afford private health care this is no doubt of no concern. Meanwhile regarding those of us who will be affected, the changes are being pushed through behind our backs. |
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