Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group — the Kwug Blog: coroners

Showing posts with label coroners. Show all posts

Thursday, 17 November 2016

Update on David Clapson, sanctioned to death

Guest blog post by Gill Thompson, sister of the late David Clapson. (David Clapson died after being found 'fit for work' and then sanctioned for inability to stick to a 'Claimant Commitment' that was not fit for humanity.)

David Clapson when he was a serving soldier

Update on David Clapson: sanctioned to death?

Hi,

As many of you know, I have been campaigning for a long time to try and achieve an investigation into the link between the benefit sanction imposed on my brother and his death. I believe that having had his benefits stopped due to a sanction, he was unable to afford to buy food and electricity to refrigerate his insulin, which in turn left him unable to manage his diabetes.

Unfortunately despite the best efforts of my lawyers, the Coroner has refused to open an investigation as he considers there is no evidence that the benefit sanction played any role in my brother’s death. I am now preparing to ask the High Court to consider my brother’s case and am raising money to cover legal fees, including court fees and experts fees.

In order to do this, I need to raise a minimum of £10,000 and I would appreciate any help you can give. You can pledge your support here – https://www.crowdjustice.org/case/david-clapson/

Please share the link on social media and email it to 3 people who you think would be interested to help me spread the word. Please also make a pledge of £35 or whatever you can afford to the new case. Either of these things will really help me to take this case to the High Court.

I am very grateful for your support of my campaign so far. This is not just about my brother. I want a Coroner to look at the DWP guidance on people living with Diabetes and how the sanction regime is applied to people with long term health conditions.

The UN has raised concerns about the extent to which the UK government has made use of sanctions in relation to benefits and the absence of due process and access to justice for those affected by the use of sanctions. I hope you can continue to support me in my fight to ensure David’s death is properly investigated and action taken to prevent future deaths of vulnerable people

Thanks so much for your ongoing support,

Gill Thompson

Saturday, 5 November 2016

Disability News Service uploads, 3 November 2016

Friday, 4 November 2016

One line in 92 page DWP 'consultation paper' proposes imposing 'mandatory' activity on all ESA claimants

(How about that for a lack of transparency?)

by Dude Swheatie of Kwug — aka Alan Wheatley of the Green Party of England & Wales and London Green Left

(The below is based on a submission just now by the author to the Green Left Discuss e-list)

Disability News Service reports:

http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/ministers-set-to-force-work-related-activity-on-everyone-in-esa-support-group/#comments

The Department for Work and Pensions is considering forcing all sick and disabled people on out-of-work disability benefits to take part in “mandatory” activity, its new green paper has revealed.

The suggestion of compulsory activity is revealed in a single line of the 92-page work, health and disability green paper, published this week....

This Green Paper 'consultation' closes at 11:45pm on 17 February 2017. The next Green Party of England & Wales Conference is not scheduled till March-April 2017.

Meanwhile, what is mental health charity Mind doing in bed with DWP?

http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/mind-boss-lies-to-protesters-over-dwp-contracts/

And what have coroners said about claimant deaths?

http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/?s=coroners+claimant+deaths

In 2008 it was largely Green Left members (Anne Gray and me) that brought about a GPEW alternative to Labour's 'No-one written off' Green Paper. https://cse.google.com/cse?q=writing+off+workfare&ajaxSearch_submit.x=0&ajaxSearch_submit.y=0&cx=014602880548773237108%3Abfmqbz3c1w4&ie=UTF-8#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=writing%20off%20workfare&gsc.page=1

I propose that we at least republish those materials that were sat upon by national news media at the time. (Though I doubt that I would be able to contribute fresh this time around for health reasons, our 2008 publication is rich in background and can serve as 'we told you so' background to what has passed since.) Perhaps there could even be scope for 'Progressive Allaince' responses?

Alan Wheatley

PS:

"The [2008] consultation asks 29 questions, none of which are addressed to the impact of growing global recession and diminishing global resources upon employment. [Neither did they address anything about rewarding claimants.]" — https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/workfare-is-not-the-answer.html

"In September [2016], a book by disabled researcher Mo Stewart detailed the influence of the US insurance giant Unum over successive UK governments, and how it had undermined the social security system in order to boost the market for its own income protection policies." — http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/ministers-set-to-force-work-related-activity-on-everyone-in-esa-support-group/

Benefits sanctioned? Take mass action!

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Meeting structure

Helping you feel at home: We meet weekly in the Small Hall at KingsgateCC and start gathering from 3pm, attempting to start the meetings at about 3:15pm and definitely before 3:30pm.

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