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180,000 people on sickness benefits to receive backdated payments averaging £5,000

Tens of thousands of people on sickness benefits will receive backdated payments averaging £5,000 following government errors. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed it is paying more than £1.5bn owing to the mistakes.

The staggering incompetence of the current government continues unabated. This story throws up three interesting questions, in my view.

1. Who will pay the (political) price for this error, which has cost some of the most vulnerable members of society hundreds of millions of pounds?
2. Why will 75,000 of the victims of this error - which dates back to 2011 - have to wait until the year 2019/20 to receive the back payments they are owed?
3. Will an additional £1.5bn sloshing about in the economy - in the hands of those typically least likely to stash cash away in savings - have a material, profound and false improvement on the economy?
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Comments

  • Bloody scroungers.
  • edited October 2018
    Greenie said:

    Bloody scroungers.

    Wow. I hope that was meant tongue in cheek
  • edited October 2018
    Greenie said:

    Bloody scroungers.


    Sun
    reader alert.

  • Greenie said:

    Bloody scroungers.

    bloody ex-serviceman with war injuries living off the state.

    Greenie said:

    Bloody scroungers.

    Wow. I hope that was meant tongue in cheek
    No I meant every word..........



    ..........of course it was tongue in cheek.

    (I bet old Henners blood pressure went into orbit)
  • Greenie said:

    Greenie said:

    Bloody scroungers.

    bloody ex-serviceman with war injuries living off the state.

    Greenie said:

    Bloody scroungers.

    Wow. I hope that was meant tongue in cheek
    No I meant every word..........



    ..........of course it was tongue in cheek.

    (I bet old Henners blood pressure went into orbit)
    No, my blood pressure is good or so my doc tells me.

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  • Dazzler21 said:

    Chizz said:

    Tens of thousands of people on sickness benefits will receive backdated payments averaging £5,000 following government errors. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed it is paying more than £1.5bn owing to the mistakes.

    The staggering incompetence of the current government continues unabated. This story throws up three interesting questions, in my view.

    1. Who will pay the (political) price for this error, which has cost some of the most vulnerable members of society hundreds of millions of pounds?
    2. Why will 75,000 of the victims of this error - which dates back to 2011 - have to wait until the year 2019/20 to receive the back payments they are owed?
    3. Will an additional £1.5bn sloshing about in the economy - in the hands of those typically least likely to stash cash away in savings - have a material, profound and false improvement on the economy?

    You blame this government, can you confirm this error was created by this government?

    The saddest thing about this is that some of the most in need people in our country have been left lacking the funding they need to get by.

    The second saddest thing about this is that the dirtiest, most dishonest benefit fraudsters of this country will reap even more funds from a system that is ridiculously easy to cheat and will only end up with us being forced to pay more in taxes.

    Some people are experts in how to play the systerm at all levels of society.
  • Dazzler21 said:

    Chizz said:

    Tens of thousands of people on sickness benefits will receive backdated payments averaging £5,000 following government errors. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed it is paying more than £1.5bn owing to the mistakes.

    The staggering incompetence of the current government continues unabated. This story throws up three interesting questions, in my view.

    1. Who will pay the (political) price for this error, which has cost some of the most vulnerable members of society hundreds of millions of pounds?
    2. Why will 75,000 of the victims of this error - which dates back to 2011 - have to wait until the year 2019/20 to receive the back payments they are owed?
    3. Will an additional £1.5bn sloshing about in the economy - in the hands of those typically least likely to stash cash away in savings - have a material, profound and false improvement on the economy?

    You blame this government, can you confirm this error was created by this government?

    The saddest thing about this is that some of the most in need people in our country have been left lacking the funding they need to get by.

    The second saddest thing about this is that the dirtiest, most dishonest benefit fraudsters of this country will reap even more funds from a system that is ridiculously easy to cheat and will only end up with us being forced to pay more in taxes.

    Some people are experts in how to play the systerm at all levels of society.
    I'm not surprised with the "schools" set up to teach them.
  • Addickted said:

    Will they also be paying interest on the monies owed?

    Not a lot extra with current low interest rates I know, but every pound counts to the vast majority of these claimants.

    I wouldn't be surprised if a number of these owed these back payments have subsequently died - let's hope the Government still releases the money to their families.

    Listening to R5 about this earlier - seems pretty incredible they can make a mistake on this scale. It almost suggests a degree of incompetence?
  • People on 6 figure salaries run these departments,those responsible must be ditched without notice and forego pension entitlements.It wont happen,some poor souls way down the food chain will be made scapegoats and the whole thing will be glossed over.
  • People on 6 figure salaries run these departments,those responsible must be ditched without notice and forego pension entitlements.It wont happen,some poor souls way down the food chain will be made scapegoats and the whole thing will be glossed over.

    It's on a par with the f***ups the banks made over PPI etc for which nobody was ever held resonsible.

    I imagine those responsible for all the f***ups in the DWP will all have been given lovely bonuses.
  • Was just speaking to a friend of a friend in the civil service about this and this is what they had to say (paraphrasing) -

    Those affected have been underpaid when moved from incapacity benefit to ESA - this is a change that happened ten years ago. So @Chizz this simply is not a failing of the current government, as much as I dislike them.

    Equally I doubt it's even a failing of either the Lab or Coalition government. It's not on those in government and ministry who have set policy, but it's on government bodies who have zero ability to effectively deliver anything, which ultimately also reflects quite badly on the ops and logistics parts of the civil service/DWP.

    This is a big, big fuckup, but not really something any one group - with the possible exception of those in operational/delivery parts of the civil service - can be blamed for.
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  • PaddyP17 said:

    Was just speaking to a friend of a friend in the civil service about this and this is what they had to say (paraphrasing) -

    Those affected have been underpaid when moved from incapacity benefit to ESA - this is a change that happened ten years ago. So @Chizz this simply is not a failing of the current government, as much as I dislike them.

    Equally I doubt it's even a failing of either the Lab or Coalition government. It's not on those in government and ministry who have set policy, but it's on government bodies who have zero ability to effectively deliver anything, which ultimately also reflects quite badly on the ops and logistics parts of the civil service/DWP.

    This is a big, big fuckup, but not really something any one group - with the possible exception of those in operational/delivery parts of the civil service - can be blamed for.

    I think it just reflects how crap the running of the DWP has been - this is not just a recent thing. I feel sorry for those who have to work for this crap organisation.

    I love the idea that if Labour were in power it would suddenly become efficient.
  • 1-0 to the Chizzster.
  • edited October 2018
    Yep point to Chizz.

    The reason I don't find politics interesting, is simply because politics always seem to be primarily built upon lie after lie.

    I do however appreciate those that have more of a clue sharing their 'knowledge' or understanding and so I thank you for sharing those details around how the Conservative government is to blame.
  • Chizz said:

    PaddyP17 said:

    Was just speaking to a friend of a friend in the civil service about this and this is what they had to say (paraphrasing) -

    Those affected have been underpaid when moved from incapacity benefit to ESA - this is a change that happened ten years ago. So @Chizz this simply is not a failing of the current government, as much as I dislike them.

    Equally I doubt it's even a failing of either the Lab or Coalition government. It's not on those in government and ministry who have set policy, but it's on government bodies who have zero ability to effectively deliver anything, which ultimately also reflects quite badly on the ops and logistics parts of the civil service/DWP.

    This is a big, big fuckup, but not really something any one group - with the possible exception of those in operational/delivery parts of the civil service - can be blamed for.

    Your friend is wrong.

    ESA was introduced in October 2008. But the issues were created when the DWP began reassessing people on incapacity benefits (e.g. Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance) for eligibility for ESA in March 2011. Errors relating to the amounts paid first came to light in 2013. So the Coalition set up the process to assess some people to move to ESA; and the Coalition was still in power when the first issues came to light.

    This isn't an issue on which the Tories will be able to pass the buck to a previous government. But, worse than the mistake (because mistakes always happen) is the disgraceful length of time it's taken first to work out a fix (five years) and second to make amends (several more years).
    So this person, who I am NOT going to categorically state works for the DWP (cough), is wrong?

    I've asked again and got a reply -

    It reads like you're suggesting that the coalition came in and decided to change a policy that had already been around for a few years, so they could deliberately start paying people less.

    The policy and rollout plan started in 2008. The timing for said rollout was set in 2008. While this started in 2011, that was after years of planning beforehand (not that this really matters given it's apolitical). This was initially a minor mistake by low-level civil servants - by poorly-paid staff who have nothing to do with politics, but will remain in their role regardless of who is in power - that has ballooned into a massive mistake.

    To actually quote the person I'm talking to - "It's like this guy genuinely believes they designed a policy, but didn't even think about how they would roll it out until three years later, and that they gave it one day's thought and started the next day."

    ----------------

    You might be right about the timeframes, but even so, this is WAY more complicated than leaving the buck with the Conservatives (as much as I would like to!).
  • edited October 2018
    My only comment is how bloody lovely for those people getting money back that was rightfully theirs. I’m sure it’s going to make a lot of lives a little easier.
  • PaddyP17 said:

    So this person, who I am NOT going to categorically state works for the DWP (cough), is wrong?

    I've asked again and got a reply -

    It reads like you're suggesting that the coalition came in and decided to change a policy that had already been around for a few years, so they could deliberately start paying people less.

    Yeah, cos they'd never do that, would they... *eyeroll*

    And don't get me fucking started on the DLA to PIP migration, let alone the so called "managed migration" process from ESA to universal credit that they're proposing.
  • Addickted said:

    Will they also be paying interest on the monies owed?

    Not a lot extra with current low interest rates I know, but every pound counts to the vast majority of these claimants.

    I wouldn't be surprised if a number of these owed these back payments have subsequently died - let's hope the Government still releases the money to their families.

    I believe 8% compensatory interest is what the FCA / Ombudsman typically charges banks and possibly what HMRC charges on late tax although I am not certain of this.
  • Greenie said:

    Bloody scroungers.

    bloody ex-serviceman with war injuries living off the state.
    Bloody Blair
  • Who could possibly be a worse minister than Chris “Failing” Grayling??

    Esther McVey: “...Hold my pint”
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