Pathways (sometimes) to Work
October 6, 2008Research, Pathways to Work for new and repeat incapacity benefits claimants, published by the DWP in the past couple of days highlights that Pathways to Work has little effect on the receipt of Incapacity Benefit. The research focused on the experiences of claimants in the original seven pilot areas where Pathways was introduced in 2003/2004.
Whilst showing that the pilots has had a positive effect on employment such as helping to reduce the extent to which individuals’ health conditions limited their ability to go about their everyday affairs. But it highlights that benefit receipt was not substantially reduced in the long-term.
And this research is important as NL wants to reduce the numbers of the people receiving incapacity benefits from 2.74 million in 2005 to 1.74 million or fewer by 2015.
Pathways was successful in encouraging employment and may also have helped reduce the extent to which individuals’ health conditions limited their ability to go about their everyday affairs. This was achieved in a seemingly cost-effective way, with net measured benefits accruing to both the individual and the Exchequer (and therefore to society as a whole). Benefit receipt was not substantially reduced in the long-term, however.
Some of the recommendations from this report include giving more priority support for people with mental health problems, seeing the same adviser where possible, training advisers and so on.
A second DWP report highlights the circumstances and experiences of existing claimants in the original seven pilot areas, highlights that:
the majority … were dealing with health conditions and disabilities that greatly limited their day-to-day activities. Their conditions, though varied, were commonly long-term and rarely improving. Furthermore, there was a greater proportion of older customers in the existing customer population, with the particular health and other barriers to work that they face. Compared to those in the new and repeat population, their position was considerably worse.
As a result, the research reports, only one in ten were in work 13 months after their start on Pathways to Work.
The point is a simple one. Many people face intractable health problems that will not go away and cannot be made to go away. They face lifetimes of pain and disability. Their lives are not being ruined by a lack of get up and go or a willingness to live off the sweat of others. Yes, we need proper conditions of employment for all and help with jobsearching. What we do not need is more scapegoating of people facing disability.
And this article in today’s Indie is worth reading….
The article from the Indie is interesting. A close friend of mine started to lose his eyesight very quickly in his twenties. It was an hereditary problem that left him with only peripheral vision. As a telephone engineer needing to connect different coloured wires and work in confined spaces he could not continue his career.
After attempts at re-training paid for by the then GPO Graham accepted his disability and took on the role of house parent whilst his partner returned to her career as a teacher. But there has always been elements of discrimination for him.
Bringing up two small children with everything that incurs plus extremely limited vision is difficult enough without being perscuted and discrminated against. Because he adapted, using hearing and smell to replace lost vision many refused to accept that limitation to his sight. Often he has been laughed at in shops and supermarkets when he has confused coins or asked questions to help him buy wisely “What the matter can’t you read?” “Well, yes I can but I cannot see very well” this short discourse has on occasions been followed by an aside about people being stupid rather than unsighted or lack hearing.
But probably some of the most degrading discrimination has been from the services that are supposed to help. Graham , bringing two small kids needed the advice and companionship of others bringing up small children only to be turned away from a mums and toddlers group because he was the worst of all things…a man! How dare he suggest that his issues with bringing up kids were the same, if not more difficult, than a mother.
Graham has been abused and verbally assaulted in the street for being to slow to cross the road or having to look at things more than once to be sure what he was. ” if your fuckin blind why ain’t you gotta white stick?”
The Martin case is horrific, that someone can be killed for any ‘difference’ smacks of racism and nazism of the worst kind. We must not forget that the master race was not going to have any impurities whether they be race, colour or physical.
That the individual can be ‘blamed’ and discriminated against for something beyond their
control that cannot be altered suggests that our society still has a long way to go towards civilization.
I agree Pete.
I have heard of people who experience severe epilepsy collapsing in the street, instead of help they get verbally and physically abused as it’s believed they are drunk! People make snap and crass judgements. Instead of trying to help someone they prefer to abuse.
And the case of Brent Martin is shocking. The way society blames, punishes, oppresses and undermines people with disabilities. And intentisfied with NL’s obsession with attacking the poor and disabled over benefits. I don’t think they care what message is coming across or the fact they are fanning the flames of blame and scapegoating.
There’s this piece in today’s Graun:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/oct/07/disability.hate.crime
I remember at the time of “care in community” there was a report on Newsnight (?) maybe maybe not but there was this area where housing had been developed for people leaving long term psychiatric “care” and the middle class residents of this area organised this nasty campaign based on NIMBYism. They kept whinging that the former users were a “threat”…. So they started chucking bricks at the windows of these houses and were fightening these people witless (think someone even fired airgun pellets).
A reporter asked the middle class person running the campaign about “who is actually the threat here”? He said that these people had done nothing wrong yet it was the residents who were persuing a hate campaign based on scare tactics and potential violence. And for what?
Perceptions based on stereotypes and predjudice that cause further vilification and stigma for people with mental distress.
That shut them up.
I also recall a neighbour of mine many yrs ago who seemed quite left wing yet when there were proposals of converting houses in the road for people leaving long term psychiatric “care” she said she was worried and would have to make sure doors were locked etc.
I was pretty amazed by her assertions and asked why are people with mental health probs a risk which led to further security? She couldn’t explain, again it was based on assumptions.
What I found laughable was the fact she would ask me many times to look after her cat when she was away (she also had a very good crime fiction bk collection) and I was in her flat many times…. Me a former psych user!
When I said I had used the psychiatric system and how did she view me..? That unnerved her and she became defensive… Her reply was, “But you’re different”
So that was ok, then. I was an OK former user. But why was I different to countless other former or current mh users?
you write a very good article. the government and the tories are making out that disabled people will be better off in work but work is not the be all and end all.
You are right that there are conditions that will not improve as in my case a brain injury. The government just want to get disabled people into any job just improve there unemployment figures. When the ESA starts and people are transferred off income support and IB the figures will be going up I am sure and with the possible recession as well. What a good time to start.
From my experience of pathways to work I will not be visiting them soon. It is a joke with the tories saying that disabled people refusing 3 jobs will have there benefit withdrawn, I have applied for jobs and never be offered one yet so they might be waiting a long time yet.
I am helping a university lecturer in social work at the moment with my experiences of brain injury and trying to get into work and my experiences of the jobcentre and what it is really like and the so-called support.
The jobcentre are sometimes the worst offenders because they seem to forget that you actually have a disability and trying to get you into any low paid job with no chance of making a future for yourself will do.
Thanks for that brainblogger. And I agree with what you say.
NL certainly aren’t interested in supporting people and going beyond the “get a job” mentality. And it will inevitably get worse under the Tories.