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Timms: It's lives being transformed

Stephen Timms MP, Labour’s Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform, has spoken exclusively to labour.org.uk about the Government’s Pathways to Work programme.

You can watch a video interview with Stephen Timms about the programme, which he said was transforming people’s lives.

Stephen Timms is keen to hear what you think about the programme, so add your comments below and he will review them.

The Minister said: “It’s dedicated to people who have been on incapacity benefit or are applying for it to get back to work.

“On Monday I was in Cardiff and met a young woman who got onto the programme in January. She’d run into problems when she was 17, she’s now 39 so she’s has been out of work on incapacity benefit for 22 years. She’s just now on the point of starting a job thanks to the help she’s had from Pathways.

“It’s literally people’s lives being transformed.”

Want to comment?


DAVID Message left at 01:09 pm, Sat 24th May 2008
SORRY SPELT INVILIDITY WRONG JUST TO ADD MORE WE ARE NOT ALL WORK SHY LIKE IS PORTRAYED IN THE MEDIA AND WORK FOR SOME OF US IS SOMETHING WE JUST CANNOT DO AND INCAPACITY PENSION WAS DESIGNED TO REPLACE YOUR INCOME THAT WE PAYED IN NI INCASE YOU CANNOT WORK ANYMORE.
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DAVID Message left at 01:03 pm, Sat 24th May 2008
MR TIMMS, I WAS RETIRED DUE TO ILL HEALTH AND WAS ON IVILIDITY BENEFIT NOW CALLED INCAPACITY BENEFIT AND I AM ON HIGH RATE DLA CARE WHICH MAKES ME EXEMPT FROM ASSESSMENTS I HAVE HAD LOTS OF ASSESSMENTS IN THE PAST WHICH ARE VERY STRICT BUT AS I SAY I AM EXEMPT NOW ON DLA,NOW ARE YOU SAYING THAT I HAVE TO BE REASESSED AGAIN EVEN THOUGH MY OWN DOCTOR SAYS I WILL NEVER WORK AGAIN,BECAUSE I DO NOT THINK THAT YOU POLITIONS WOULD LIKE IT AS IT CAUSES A GREAT DEAL OF STRESS WHICH MAKES OUR CONDITIONS WORSE,I THINK THE RULES AS NOW SHOULD STICK FOR US DISABLED ON HIGH CARE DLA. REMEMBER THAT WE ALL VOTE AND I THINK THAT IS WHY SOME OF US STAYED AT HOME AND DID NOT VOTE ALTHOUGH I DID MYSELF AND STILL SUPPORTED YOU I THINK THAT YOU MUST CHANGE THIS POLICY.
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Ste Message left at 11:35 am, Sat 24th May 2008
This is really good news - I've been stuck on IB for a while and think that this could really help me get back to work
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Philippa Jane Message left at 11:02 am, Sat 24th May 2008
I understand that all incapacity benefit claimants are to be called in and given a new fitness to work test. Does this include people on high rate personal mobility and personal care? I care full time for my husband (and work part time for a Labour MP!!) My husband had three brain haemorrhages in his twenties. He has hemiplegia,including very little feeling in his left side, no use of his left arm or hand, has drop foot which means he catches it when walking and trips,he has no eyesight left of centre in either eye, he has uncontrolled epilepsy, Even more disabling is the fact that the brain damage he suffered (much due the radiotherapy treatment he had) has left him with severe amnesia and delusions. He also has problems with visual perception and lost the ability to judge what it is appropriate to say in social situations.He sees a neuro psychiatrist every six months, has to have support workers with him when I work because he cannot be left alone. Are you really going to be calling people with my husband's degree of disability to find out whether he is capable of working. Is it not obvious from reading just this despcription let alone the assessments of medical professionals and his brain injury case manager? If you cannot see how crule pointless and humiliating this is for all concerned you have lost all sense of social justice and humanity.
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Ste Message left at 11:37 am, Sat 24th May 2008
This is clearly a difficult circle to square. While we've got to make sure that we're tough enough to cut out fraud we have to make sure that people like your husband aren't persecuded. I think an initial meeting followed by doctors being asked to raise a change of cirumstances with the authorites would be fair.
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Philippa Jane Message left at 12:03 pm, Sat 24th May 2008
"I think an initial meeting followed by doctors being asked to raise a change of circumastances with the authorities would be fair" Sorry i don't understand this. What is the difference between an initial meeting and a work based test?
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