Post by nickd on Jan 11, 2013 22:00:51 GMT 1
Just look no further than the DWP....
I cannot think of a more rotten start to the new year than we've seen in the first two weeks of January 2013. I am to say the least appalled by the way Government has once again resorted to fabricating its usual tissue of welfare lies to dupe the public in to believing that the nation's ills are all down to the fault of the benefit claimant. It is positively shameful how the government is getting away with its continuous vilification of those who, for whatever reason, end up on welfare as a way of justifying their reform programme. Thankfully more and more people seem to be seeing through it all.
It's noteworthy that bit by bit official statistics are being conveniently 'archived' from public view. They are still there if you persevere long enough to find them, - apparently the clean up on statistics is being carried out in the interests of transparency - my cynical side thinks the changes in data publication are being conducted wherever government dislikes its own figures.
The passing of the welfare uprating bill was bad enough but what was to happen in its wake was in my view almost as bad if not worse. There were two despicable acts of injustice in the past week and very few of you will have realised the importance of either.
In its list of the 'top hundred achievements' government listed the abolition of legal aid for anyone with a welfare benefit appeal as 'number 14' on the spurious grounds that it was excessive and unnecessary litigation. By its inference government implied that benefit claimants appealing such atrocities as the Work Capability Assessment injustice were the ones wasting time and were to blame for the increasing number of appeals; how out of touch with reality can a government get?
In a further act of welfare wickedness, government's message on social welfare justice became all too clear when Lord McNally broke the news to the House of Lords' that in retaliation for the fatal blow delivered by opposition peer Lord Bach just before Christmas government - government's response was to withdraw legal aid in its entirety for anyone with a points of law issue in the first tier tribunal.
Government is making it all too clear that what it really doesn't like is the success rates benefit claimants are achieving in the first tier benefit tribunal as the following figures go on to show:
These are taken from the latest official HMCTS figures and show comparable quarterly figures for 2009/2010 to 2010/2011, all quarters for 2011/2012 and the first quarter of 2012/2013. The first figures in the left most column are the numbers who brought an appeal in the first - tier tribunal, the second are the numbers who had the appeal found in their favour and the third (red) is the percentage of those who won their appeals.
The figures are broken down in to the most popular benefits and will be followed up with information about the decisions made by the DWP before cases go to appeal in a later post. I've included figures for tax credit and child support:
Disability Living Allowance
Q1 - 09/10 --- 14,300 --- 6,200 --- 43%
Q1 - 10/11 --- 12,500 --- 4,900 --- 39%
Q1 - 11/12 --- 15,900 --- 6,200 --- 39%
Q2 - 11/12 --- 19,100 --- 7,500 --- 39%
Q3 - 11/12 --- 18,100 --- 7,200 --- 40%
Q4 - 11/12 --- 22,300 --- 9,300 --- 42%
Q1 - 12/13 --- 19,800 --- 8,300 --- 42%
Annual 11/12 --- 75,500 --- 30,300 --- 40%
Employment & Support Allowance
Q1 - 09/10 --- 1,200 ---- 330 ------- 27%
Q1 - 10/11 --- 26,200 --- 10,300 --- 39%
Q1 - 11/12 --- 40,900 --- 15,400 --- 38%
Q2 - 11/12 --- 41,900 --- 15,700 --- 38%
Q3 - 11/12 --- 41,700 --- 16,200 --- 39%
Q4 - 11/12 --- 43,500 --- 18,100 --- 42%
Q1 - 12/13 --- 44,400 --- 18,700 --- 42%
Annual 11/12 --- 168,000 --- 65,400 --- 39
Incapacity Benefit
Q1 - 09/10 --- 16,600 -- 8,600 --- 52 %
Q1 - 10/11 --- 8,400 --- 4,400 --- 52 %
Q1 - 11/12 --- 7,400 --- 3,700 --- 50 %
Q2 - 11/12 --- 6,200 --- 3,200 --- 52 %
Q3 - 11/12 --- 3,200 --- 1,600 --- 51 %
Q4 - 11/12 --- 1,400 --- 670 ----- 49 %
Q1 - 12/13 --- 530 ----- 230 ----- 44 %
Annual 11/12 --- 18,100 --- 9,200 --- 51 %
Severe Disablement Allowance
Q1 - 09/10 --- 33 --- 15 --- 45 %
Q1 - 10/11 --- 21 --- 8 ---- 38 %
Q1 - 11/12 --- 20 --- 7 ---- 35 %
Q2 - 11/12 --- 30 --- 14 --- 47 %
Q3 - 11/12 --- 33 --- 15 --- 45 %
Q4 - 11/12 --- 14 --- 6 ---- 43 %
Q1 - 12/13 --- 12 --- 6 ---- 50 %
Annual 11/12 --- 97 --- 42 --- 43 %
Jobseeker's Allowance
Q1 - 09/10 --- 4,200 --- 840 ----- 20 %
Q1 - 10/11 --- 4,700 --- 720 ----- 15 %
Q1 - 11/12 --- 8,400 --- 1,200 --- 14 %
Q2 - 11/12 --- 9,500 --- 1,400 --- 15 %
Q3 - 11/12 --- 7,400 --- 1,200 --- 16 %
Q4 - 11/12 --- 8,500 --- 1,300 --- 15 %
Q1 - 12/13 --- 7,500 --- 1,100 --- 15 %
Annual 11/12 --- 33,800 --- 5,100 --- 15 %
Pension Credit
Q1 - 09/10 --- 650 ----- 200 --- 31 %
Q1 - 10/11 --- 600 ----- 150 --- 24 %
Q1 - 11/12 --- 840 ----- 210 --- 25 %
Q2 - 11/12 --- 890 ----- 240 --- 26 %
Q3 - 11/12 --- 860 ----- 220 --- 26 %
Q4 - 11/12 --- 1,000 --- 270 --- 27 %
Q1 - 12/13 --- 900 ----- 260 --- 28 %
Annual 11/12 --- 3,600 --- 930 --- 26 %
Income Support
Q1 - 09/10 --- 3,600 --- 1,100 -- 30 %
Q1 - 10/11 --- 2,300 --- 720 ---- 32 %
Q1 - 11/12 --- 2,300 --- 650 ---- 28 %
Q2 - 11/12 --- 2,300 --- 590 ---- 25 %
Q3 - 11/12 --- 2,200 --- 570 ---- 26 %
Q4 - 11/12 --- 2,800 --- 710 ---- 26 %
Q1 - 12/13 --- 2,100 --- 570 ---- 27 %
Annual 11/12 --- 9,600 --- 2,500 --- 26 %
Housing benefit
Q1 - 09/10 --- 2,200 --- 560 --- 25 %
Q1 - 10/11 --- 1,900 --- 500 --- 27 %
Q1 - 11/12 --- 1,800 --- 420 --- 23 %
Q2 - 11/12 --- 2,200 --- 430 --- 20 %
Q3 - 11/12 --- 2,100 --- 460 --- 22 %
Q4 - 11/12 --- 2,500 --- 540 --- 21 %
Q1 - 12/13 --- 2,200 --- 440 --- 20 %
Annual 11/12 --- 8,600 --- 1,800 --- 21 %
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Q1 - 09/10 --- 1,400 --- 570 --- 41 %
Q1 - 10/11 --- 1,400 --- 530 --- 37 %
Q1 - 11/12 --- 1,800 --- 580 --- 33 %
Q2 - 11/12 --- 1,800 --- 610 --- 34 %
Q3 - 11/12 --- 1,700 --- 530 --- 32 %
Q4 - 11/12 --- 1,300 --- 400 --- 31 %
Q1 - 12/13 --- 920 ----- 320 --- 35 %
Annual 11/12 --- 6,500 --- 2,100 --- 33 %
Child Support Allowance
Q1 - 09/10 --- 900 --- 390 --- 43 %
Q1 - 10/11 --- 600 --- 280 --- 47 %
Q1 - 11/12 --- 620 --- 250 --- 41 %
Q2 - 11/12 --- 750 --- 290 --- 39 %
Q3 - 11/12 --- 820 --- 360 --- 43 %
Q4 - 11/12 --- 990 --- 350 --- 35 %
Q1 - 12/13 --- 720 --- 290 --- 41 %
Annual 11/12 --- 3,200 --- 1,300 --- 40 %
Tax Credits
Q1 - 09/10 --- 200 --- 34 --- 17 %
Q1 - 10/11 --- 300 --- 28 --- 9 %
Q1 - 11/12 --- 450 --- 51 --- 11 %
Q2 - 11/12 --- 590 --- 48 --- 8 %
Q3 - 11/12 --- 790 --- 81 --- 10 %
Q4 - 11/12 --- 840 --- 140 -- 16 %
Q1 - 12/13 --- 630 --- 140 -- 22 %
Annual 11/12 --- 2,700 --- 320 --- 12 %