Majority of people who apply for sickness benefit are found fit to work or drop claims before they are completed, official figures show Three-quarters of claimants who apply for sickness benefit are found fit to work or abandon their claims before completing their medical assessment, according to the latest figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). However, initial assessments of people’s fitness to return to the workplace have been overturned in almost four in 10 cases where individuals appealed. The employment and support allowance (ESA) replaced incapacity benefit and income support for new claimants in October 2008, accompanied by a work capability assessment – a controversial computerised test used to judge claimants’ ability to work . If found fit to work, the individual can no longer claim ESA, though they can ask for the decision to be reviewed or launch an appeal. The DWP figures, which cover the period from October 27 2008 to August 31 2010, shows that during that period 887,300 of the 1,175,700 applicants for ESA failed to qualify for any assistance. Of those, 458,500 (39%) were judged fit to work, while 428,800 (36%) ditched their claim. A further 16% were placed in the “work-related activity group”, where individuals are deemed able to take on some level of work but still receive a level of ESA support. Over one-third (36%) of people who made a claim for ESA between October 2008 and February 2010 and were found to fit to work at assessment have appealed to date, with the original decision overturned in almost four in 10 cases (39%). The DWP said it expects that more appeals from assessments made during this period have yet to be heard. Chris Grayling, the employment minister, said the number of claimants assessed to be fit to work underlined the need to reassess people still on the old form of incapacity benefit, a process the government began rolling out last month. “Once again we have clear evidence of the need for change in our welfare system,” Grayling said. “We now know very clearly that the vast majority of new claimants for sickness benefits are in fact able to return to work. That’s why we are turning our attention to existing claimants, who were simply abandoned on benefits. That’s why we are reassessing all of those claimants, and launching the work programme to provide specialist back to work support.” Grayling promised the government would continue to provide “unconditional support” to those who cannot work. “But for those who can it’s right and proper that they start back on the road to employment,” he added. Disability Welfare Work & careers Chris Grayling Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Majority of people who apply for sickness benefit are found fit to work or drop claims before they are completed, official figures show Three-quarters of claimants who apply for sickness benefit are found fit to work or abandon their claims before completing their medical assessment, according to the latest figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). However, initial assessments of people’s fitness to return to the workplace have been overturned in almost four in 10 cases where individuals appealed. The employment and support allowance (ESA) replaced incapacity benefit and income support for new claimants in October 2008, accompanied by a work capability assessment – a controversial computerised test used to judge claimants’ ability to work . If found fit to work, the individual can no longer claim ESA, though they can ask for the decision to be reviewed or launch an appeal. The DWP figures, which cover the period from October 27 2008 to August 31 2010, shows that during that period 887,300 of the 1,175,700 applicants for ESA failed to qualify for any assistance. Of those, 458,500 (39%) were judged fit to work, while 428,800 (36%) ditched their claim. A further 16% were placed in the “work-related activity group”, where individuals are deemed able to take on some level of work but still receive a level of ESA support. Over one-third (36%) of people who made a claim for ESA between October 2008 and February 2010 and were found to fit to work at assessment have appealed to date, with the original decision overturned in almost four in 10 cases (39%). The DWP said it expects that more appeals from assessments made during this period have yet to be heard. Chris Grayling, the employment minister, said the number of claimants assessed to be fit to work underlined the need to reassess people still on the old form of incapacity benefit, a process the government began rolling out last month. “Once again we have clear evidence of the need for change in our welfare system,” Grayling said. “We now know very clearly that the vast majority of new claimants for sickness benefits are in fact able to return to work. That’s why we are turning our attention to existing claimants, who were simply abandoned on benefits. That’s why we are reassessing all of those claimants, and launching the work programme to provide specialist back to work support.” Grayling promised the government would continue to provide “unconditional support” to those who cannot work. “But for those who can it’s right and proper that they start back on the road to employment,” he added. Disability Welfare Work & careers Chris Grayling Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
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A bus taking Pakistani navy employees to work was the target of Islamic extremists Thursday, killing five people in the third such attack in a week. (Apr. 28)
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Thousands will lose their jobs along Florida’s Space Coast as NASA pulls the curtains on the shuttle program. But, as AP correspondent Jason Bronis found, many are optimistic about the region’s future. (April 28)
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Katherine Jackson, mother of Michael Jackson, speaks out about the upcoming trial of Dr. Conrad Murray – the doctor charged in the singer’s death. (April 28)
Continue reading …A wave of tornado-spawning storms ripped through four Southern states on Wednesday, killing at least 72 people and flattening buildings. Authorities say 58 people died in Alabama alone, including at least 15 in Tuscaloosa, where a mile-wide tornado tore through the city’s downtown, the AP reports. Eleven people were killed…
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HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales were officially estimated to cost £4bn when announced in 2007 The cost of building two new aircraft carriers for the navy, which has already risen significantly because of delays, has soared and could eventually total as much as £7bn, it has emerged. The latest increases are largely the result of a decision in last year’s defence review to equip HMS Prince of Wales, the second of the carriers due to enter into service by 2020, with aircraft catapults and traps. The first carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will be mothballed when it is completed, leaving Britain without a carrier able to take aircraft for 10 years. The carriers were officially estimated to cost less than £4bn when they were announced in 2007. The estimate rose to £5bn last year after the Ministry of Defence decided to delay the construction programme to put off costs. Short-term savings led to cost increases in the longer term. “Cats and traps” will enable the Prince of Wales to be equipped with the naval version of the US Joint Strike Fighter, cheaper than the hugely expensive short take-off and vertical landing version the MoD initially decided to buy. It will also mean that British and French planes could land on each other’s carriers, a feature outlined in the British-French defence co-operation agreement signed last year. The new estimate that the two carriers could now cost £6bn and possibly £7bn is believed to have been suggested by the makers, the Aircraft Carrier Alliance consisting of BAE Systems, Thales and Babcock. The MoD said: “The conversion of the Queen Elizabeth Class will allow us to operate the carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter that carries a greater payload, has a longer range and is cheaper to purchase.” It added: “Final costs are yet to be agreed and detailed work is ongoing. We expect to take firm decisions in late 2012.” Critics of the defence review argue that the Ark Royal and Harrier jumpjets, scrapped last year, would have given Britain much cheaper options over Libya than the Tornados the RAF is relying on for air strikes. The government argues that the Tornados can carry more modern missiles and have a greater range. Military Defence policy Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk
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Four men have been sentenced to death over the killing of two policemen in anti-government protests last month A Bahraini military court has sentenced four Shia protesters to death over the killing of two policemen during anti-government protests last month. Three other men were sentenced to life in prison in the first verdicts related to a pro-democracy uprising, which was crushed with military help from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. The seven were tried behind closed doors on charges of premeditated murder of government employees. Their lawyers denied the charges. Hundreds of thousands of Bahrain’s Shia-led opposition have called for greater rights and freedoms in the Sunni monarchy. Authorities have detained hundreds since martial law was declared last month to quell dissent. Government officials have said that four policemen were killed during the unrest in February and March, at least three of whom were run over by cars around 16 March. Hundreds of protesters, opposition leaders and human rights activists have been detained since emergency rule was declared on 15 March . Earlier this month, the authorities banned media from covering legal proceedings in the country’s military courts. Among those detained are also dozens of Shia professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, including a lawyer who was due to defend some of the seven opposition supporters in the military court. The lawyer, Mohammed al-Tajer, is one of Bahrain’s most prominent human rights lawyers. He has represented hundreds of clients against the state, including Shia activists accused of plotting against the Sunni monarchy that has ruled Bahrain for more than 200 years. At least 30 people have died since 15 February, when anti-government protests erupted in Bahrain. Four opposition supporters have also died in police custody. Bahrain is the home of the US navy’s 5th Fleet. Bahrain last issued a death sentence in 2007, and before that had condemned only one person to die over the preceding three decades. That verdict came in the mid-1990s, during the greatest unrest Bahrain had seen before this year’s protests. Bahrain Capital punishment Protest Arab and Middle East unrest guardian.co.uk
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The severe weather system that has ravaged Mississippi and Alabama is now in Georgia, and officials there are reporting at least nine deaths in the state. That increases the death toll to at least 82 across four states in the South. (April 28)
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Can’t afford a royal wedding of your own. The AP’s Rich Matthews talks to a London wedding planner for some ideas on downsizing to fit a commoner’s budget. (April 28)
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