The Minister of Manslaughter
The Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith
Secretary of State for Work & Pensions
Department for Work & Pensions
Caxton House
Tothill Street
SWIH 9DA
Date 20th August 2012
(Ref FOI 2600 – Date August 6th 2012)
Sir
The importance of factually correct information being sent out to the public is I’m sure you’ll agree vitally important, distorsions and the spinning of the truth is something to which I’m sure you would not allow to happen in your department?
I was therefore very concerned that your department has on a number of occasions provided information to the general public which can only be described as outright deception?
The DWP in several documents that are available in the public domain have stated that Audio Recording Equipment used in the Pilot Study recommended by Prof Harrington was the NEAL 9102 DUAL CD AUDIO INTERVIEW RECORDER, the DWP state this in FOI Request (REF2600) Dated 6/8/2012, the DWP State
“The recording device currently used by the Contractor is the Neal9102 Dual CD Audio Interview Recorder, and purchased for use by Atos Healthcare in conducting the Audio Recording of Work Capability Assessments (WCA) Pilot scheme at Newcastle Medical Assessment Centre, that was conducted in April to June 2011. This Pilot was conducted as a result of the recommendations made by Professor Malcolm Harrington in the 1st independent review of the WCA process.”
The DWP have published these lies before, a mistake once maybe but more than once can only be taken to be an outright attempt to deceive the general public with misinformation, it appears the right hand doesn’t know what the other hand is doing as it clearly states in the report made by Atos Healthcare that handheld digital recorders were used in the pilot study?
Maybe it’s time to instruct your employees to act in a more professional manner as of course you would hate to see taxpayer’s money go to waste something to which yourself and your most distinguished colleague Mr. Grayling hate?
I think the wasting of taxpayer’s money is of course to be avoided that’s why I need to clarify something with you and the DWP? If the DWP can justify spending over a £1million pounds on 1284 Audio Recording Machines for the FIS (Fraud Investigation Service)for conducting interviews under caution, then how come the DWP, Yourself and Mr. Grayling keep on making the excuse that it wouldn’t be financially prudent to supply all Atos Assessment Centres with a single machine?
The cost of supplying all of the Atos Assessment Centres with at least one machine would be less than £300,000 pounds, this would be beneficial to claimants/customers, it would ensure that Atos HCP performed correctly, or maybe how they’re behaving at present is exactly what you and the DWP want?
Sadly Mr. Smith I very much doubt you’ll even bother to read this letter, you and Mr. Grayling are so far removed from the realities of everyday life that you cannot comprehend what it’s like to go cold or hungry, face the threat of losing your home because your benefits been removed unjustly, you and your department are killing people on a daily basis and you have no qualms about it, your lack of understanding and empathy for those least able to defend themselves is disgusting, you have made your thoughts clear on the disabled community by your totally inappropriate and untrue statements about “REMPLOY” workers, you are a disgrace Mr. Smith.
I look forward to your reply but don’t hold out much hope, decency and you don’t go together.
Yours Sincerely
Mr. Paul Smith
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Hi Paul -
I’ve read this twice and wonder, apart from your obvious frustration & anger, what is the point?
You must surely know by now that the DWP employ an army of staff to respond to any and all letters from the public that Gvt Ministers never get to see.
Nice one Paul! I think I might send one myself seeing as I’ve often been complimented on my writing as being “eloquent but forceful” in the past by various officials. The trick for me will be quelling my abject anger & disgust at what is being allowed to happen in our once just & proud country! The real trick though will be trying to remain completely lucid & sharp enough for long enough to be able to string it together, Because since the DWP started all this current persecution against us & I’ve consequently been forced to walk further & longer which means I have to take many more controlled painkillers that invariably dull me down! I will do my best though! Again very well done & respect to you for it mate.
lets face it smith was looked down as leader of the tory party and now he’s sunk to an even lower level …what a shit he has’nt the guts to face any of us…all he’s fit for is hiding behind his lackies and making cheapshots at us and excuses…just like the other shits cameron and grayling lest we forget the damage created by these posh upperclass bastards who live in their world like the glory seekers they are… they just load the gun and others fire it…they have a low opinion of us but our opinion of them is even lower…THAT THEY CANT AND WILL NEVER BEAT…THE FIGHT GOES ON…regards…sandra
True! I attended an appeal tribunal yesterday re: DLA, by the time I’d caught up with the itinerant goal post’s latest position [since January] it’d become non-applicable in law; with the panel sitting smugly legit with the narrow remit. It was like a Star Chamber of The Wall Street Party: impassable! Yet, however legit Gideon Osborne would appear to be, he’s just a hanger-on, really. He, too, is looked down on by some of the dubious have yachts, and it really is a case of sink-or-swim for his particularly political class, I feel.
And I hope they sink swimming in the dangerous mess that they are deliberating on as cover for the great rise-and-fall — Will they be remembered?
Not by me, they won’t.
Some of the most inept will no doubt get caught up in the cross fire between the Court of Public Opinion, when it’s all too late — like some of those Nu-Lab idiots who sold their souls to Blair in signing on for the “Battle of Iraq”.
2015 will be a bad year, but a very interesting one, me thinks ….
Nice one. really, we can write what the hell we like because Ian Drunken Spiv doesn’t give a flyin’ f*ck what we think.
That’s why we have to BOOT his sorry arse into touch. It’s the only language these people understand. Brutality.
Why do we bother?…Because we care! NOT just for ourselves but for those who inevitably will follow & become sick or disabled in the future! Unless of course the miraculous Atos are actually coming up with a cure for all sickness & disabilities! I wonder how long it will be before enough people have had enough & start to track down those ultimately responsible & start severely disabling them so they can experience first hand just how marvelous it is to be disabled! I can’t bloody wait, remember, what goes around comes around eventually!
According to the assessment questionnaire regarding people on sickness benefit mental health issues seem to take a very low priority , to score the maximum 15 points you have to be in an unconscious state once a day according to the attached document .The whole procedure is inhumane ,against human rights but shows what this government is all about ,riding roughshod over the general public .Like my parents I have voted Labour all my life but am having second thoughts as they seem to be very quiet on this topic ,I do appreciate that you introduced the need for reform .but this as it stands is a blatant disregard for humanity .Similar to Clark’s ‘Care in the Community ‘bill ,I would like to know how many suicides per week this has caused by loading immense pressure upon very stressed people already .The test is designed so that everyone is targeted as being a benefit cheat ,it’s about time moral values as well as materialistic ones are taken into consideration .
The above email was sent to Anne Mcguire with the Atos questionnaire attached
sorry to piss on your fireworks here ADMIN. But I had my WCA assessment recorded and I have a 90min audio cassette. Done on a machine that looked like it had been used as a doorstop for the last few years. the cassette is still used by some police forces in this country,but by a multi national iT company,somebody is having a laugh.
Phil
Philhow
Your NOT pissing on anything Phil, when did you have your assessment audio recorded, that would be very interesting?
Was the tape used in the machine unopened?
Have you questioned Atos/DWP about this as they don’t mention Cassette Tapes in any literature I’ve seen?