Work Programme woes

Just sounding off really. I have a client in his late 50’s who has a very poor work history and has not worked for years. He’s on JSA, and over the years has come in every now and again with a sanction for not making enough effort to find work. In the past I’ve managed to get these overturned, but since the introduction of the work program last April he must have been threatened with sanctions at least a dozen times. Now I have 5 sanction cases going to appeal and another on the way, he’s on his second 26 week sanction for failure to participate. He’s just given up going to the appointments, leaving me with virtually no arguments for the appeals. There are no other benefits he can claim. I can’t blame him for giving up really, he has virtually no chance of getting a job, having tried everything in the past,  and it seems wrong to spend so much time and resources hounding him to find work that doesn’t exist. He will simply fall out of the benefit system and be left destitute. I’m sure there will be many others like this, in the long run costing the public purse a huge amount in general bureaucracy, appeals costs, increased ill health, crime and homelessness etc. No doubt it would be more cost effective to pay the JSA and spend money on creating more job opportunities rather than pointless coercion to force people to find work that doesn’t exist, but that is just my opinion. That’s it, rant over. If anyone has any magic answers, I’d be pleased to hear them.

Coming to a country near you.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/05/new-right-ayn-rand-marx?INTCMP=SRCH

I don’t want to sound unduly cynical but if he could get a sick note he could at least have a few weeks of ESA - quite a lot of weeks if he fails the WCA and appeals..

Nevip -  Scary. I hope people soon see through what’s happening
http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2012/03/work-party-benefits-cameron

Rosie - I’ve been down the sick note route. It won’t work this time.

Tom - I forsee great demand for places in religious communities. Also an increase in informal fostering when the benefit cap forces people to downsize their families.

I’m starting to feel like I fell asleep and when I woke up the clock had turned back 200 years.

Does anyone know of a case where JCP have sanctioned someone for not participating in the 26 week Community Action Programme for the long-term unemployed? This is not the programme for 18-24 year olds which got so much publicity a few weeks back, but is very similar. Apparently the regulations allow JCP to make a sanction decision for a long term JSA claimant who is not propared to work for nothing for 26 weeks for an employer as part of this programme, but that might be a controversial decision politically, and I am trying to find out if it has ever actually happened. The Public Law Project are looking for an example with a view to a legal challenge.

Chris
Tower Hamlets Law Centre