The government has responded a petition which has been making the rounds in the last couple of weeks. The petition was started because a young woman killed herself after the Department of work and pension cancelled her benefits. The investigation highlighted that Jody Whiting had been wrongly penalised. Her parents have been awarded a paltry £10,000 as compensation.
The update to the petition came through today. The DWP has admitted that several mistakes were made and they’re very, very sorry. There will be no investigation into whether there should be fines, no one will be penalised. We can’t demand justice for Jody or her family. We can’t demand justice for anyone else who was driven to killing themselves due to the mistakes or the current policy.
So what does this mean? Well, on the face of it, we as the public are to accept that £10,000 is appropriate compensation for a young woman who was struggling to deal with her life while facing lies and sanctions. We should take this and shut our mouths. The idea that the government can just throw a very small sum at a family drowning in grief.
So now we know, the worth of a loved family member is £10,000. No investigation, no punishment, no justice and that is that. This is only the sum you will see as compensation if you have enough money to be able to engage a lawyer and fight against the DWP. Ask any disabled person who has been unlucky enough to have to claim “support” for the government. If you don’t have the extra cash, tough luck AND be grateful.
This won’t be news to disabled people across the country the DWP has inflicted a poisonous, cruel campaign against. No other country in the top five have faced an indictment from the United Nations with regard to the punitive welfare state here.
How dare we question the government’s handling of support for “the most vulnerable in society”. How dare we expect justice. We should take what we get and be grateful. After all, according to main stream media, we are all scroungers and benefit cheats. The DWP has stripped us of our dignity. Causing untold damage to disabled people’s mental health. Fostering distrust for official welfare agencies.
Who will pay for those of us to receive treatment for the PTSD caused by the very nature of the assessment regime? If we could actually find the mental health services we could afford. The government has left us on poverty levels of support. Stark choices are being made in households all over the country between food and electric, heating and eating. People who work are having to use food banks regularly.
So, now we know what the government thinks of our worth, £10,000. Be quiet and go away. Be thankful for the gruel and NO you can’t have any more Oliver Twist.
The Klockwork Raven 