Author Archives: James Goldstone

About James Goldstone

James assists Rev Paul Nicolson in his lobbying work and leads on all Z2K's campaigning activity. Previously he helped manage the NextDoor project with Romin. He has a degree in International Relations from Aberystwyth and a masters in Political Science from UCL. Between his two degrees James volunteered on the 2008 Obama campaign, worked in public sector PR in 2009 and organised Andy Slaughter MP’s re-election in 2010 as election-agent.

A woman has died despite Atos declaring her fit for work

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When the coalition government was formed it was a mere matter of hours before it was announced that the government would be “reassessing people on incapacity benefit as fit to work and move them on to the lower jobseeker’s allowance“.

Currently the government is seeking to reassess all 2.6 million people on incapacity benefit – and its successor employment support allowance (ESA) – by 2014 in an effort to encourage more people back to work and to cut the welfare bill.

Cecilia Burns (right), 51, from Strabane, County Tyrone, was just one of these individuals. In February she had her benefits cut after a Work Capability Assessment conducted by Atos, a private contractor, declared her fit for work.

However Ms Burns was very ill with cancer and bravely fought the decision and eventually her benefits were reinstated just two weeks ago. Sadly Cecilia Burns passed away on Monday. She spent the last few precious months of her life fighting an injustice the likes of which we at Z2K see all too often.

The combination of rigid bureaucracy and badly thought out policy means that this is not the first case and is unlikely to be the last.

The death of this woman and the fact that Atos is a sponsor of the Paralympic games have drawn closer attention to the Work Capability Assessments and the fact they are not fit for purpose. Hopefully this increased scrutiny will put pressure on the government to change policy in this area.

Read the full article on the BBC website. 

PHA’s submission to the Banking Standards Inquiry

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Drafted by Professor Peter Ambrose, Visiting Professor in Housing and Health, University of Brighton, and agreed by;

Dr Stephen Battersby, Chair PHA, past President of the Institute of Environmental Health.

Stephen Hill, Director, - C2O futureplanners

Peter Archer, Chair, Care and Repair.

Angela Maule, past Chief Executive, UK Public Health Association.

Rev Paul Nicolson, Chair Zacchaeus 2000 Trust.

  Continue reading →

One of our clients came by today with a nice surprise

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Our clients always impress us, often it is with their strength, their kindness or their profound sense of dignity but sometimes it is with their generosity too. A gift from our client means a great deal to us because if you’re suffering from issues related to debt and an inability to access justice then giving what little you have is so much more significant.

Today we had a client come to visit so she could share with us these biscuits and cookies. What’s made this gift extremely special is the fact that… these are really tasty! We managed to get the camera out in time just quick enough to take this picture before they all disappeared.

We never expect it when this happens but it is always nice when it does.

Radio 4 Tackles Council Tax Benefit Changes

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Z2K to was pleased to hear the BBC’s Today Programme devote some time to the proposed changes to council tax benefit currently being debated by the House of Lords in the Local Government Finance Bill.

An expert on local taxation Baroness Hollis put forward the case that the proposed changes will amount to a postcode lottery with no relation to need. Government Minister from the Department of Local Government and Communities Bob Neil MP did attempt to defend the current proposals although at many times his answers to questions were less than satisfactory.

Neither speaker dealt with the very difficult issue of the relationship of localised council tax benefit to the Universal Credit . Localised schemes may disrupt the complicated  UC benefit tapers with the effect of  further undermining the stated intention of UC which is to make sure  work always pays better than being on benefits.

Click here to listen to Baroness Hollis and Bob Neil on the Today Programme this morning.

My time at Z2K

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Rufus in a Meeting with Volunteer Co-ordinator Henu Cummins (left) and Chief Executive Joanna Kennedy (right)

I came to z2k to do some work experience as a volunteer. I was expecting to be carrying files and making coffee, but I was given the chance to do so much more than that. Within hours I was speaking to clients, and helping to sort out old case files from those that were still active, all the while learning more about how the benefits system and the law worked. I was allowed to research some parts of the law for a tribunal hearing the following week. I also helped to organise a chartered voluntary surveyor for a woman who’s housing was falling to pieces, but needed a surveyor to tell her landlord that. My time at Z2k was an intensely rewarding experience, the staff there were very helpful (and tolerant of my endless questions!). I really enjoyed my time at z2k and I’m very thankful that I had the opportunity to come here and learn so much, not only about how a workplace functions, but also about the benefits system and many other things.

Rufus Dobson

Letter in today’s Guardian from Rev Paul Nicolson

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It is the decisions of parliament that have led to banks’ unruly behaviour. Parliament deregulated lending and rents, and allowed the free movement of capital in and out of the UK. It was as if Moses flipped, went back up Mount Sinai and deregulated the Ten Commandments in the name of freedom, and was then puzzled by the increase in theft. Better political leadership and the implementation of rules that enable markets to function in the interests of us all seem long overdue.

Rev Paul Nicolson
Chair, Zacchaeus 2000 Trust

Compensation for Ms B

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In April 2012 we helped Ms B get a resolution for some of the problems she faced, as detailed by Yiannis Voyannis in his blog post.

However there were some problems that she was still confronting, including the rodent infestation, which Camden council (pictured) claimed had been exterminated despite strong evidence to the contrary. Her new flat also lacked basic essentials such as a fridge and a cooker. Ms B was then unable to install these essential items as she had to spend what little money she had fixing the extremely poor floor situation, neccessary for her son’s extreme dust allergies.

It was clearly unnaceptable for a client to be moved into accomadation where there was no provision for her to store or prepare food safely, as well as a serious rodent infestation.

We therefore wrote a letter of complaint to the local council and managed to secure an assurance that:

  • They would deal with the rodent infestation within 20 days.
  • Other repairs to the house would also be made within 20 days
  • That Ms B would recieve £200 compensation for the distress caused to her by these issues.

Both the money and the assurance that her children would be safe from illness and disease caused by the rodents vastly improved her sense of security and peace of mind.

Written by Rufus Dobson, work experience volunteer.

 

Justice for Vulnerable Client

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Ms M had been facing problems with both her housing benefit and the total state of disrepair that her housing was in.

In particular:

  • Her house was not secure, the front door was sourrounded by plasterboard which left her feeling vulnerable.
  • There was evidence of drug use on the property, as well as innappropriate behaviour from other residents.
  • There was no central heating due to a lack of water pressure.
  • There were plug sockets hanging out of the wall
  • There was no hot water
  • There were no laundry facilities.

Furthermore Ms M had had to pay a large amount weekly as she was living in a hostel due to the fact that she was a very vulnerable adult who had previously been in and out of care.

With our help she was able to move into new accomadation, thus dropping her rent bill by over £100 a week, as well as increasing her quality of life due to the better standards in her new building.

We have also helped her to contact another charity, called The Kids Company, that provided her with food credits, helping her to have more money to pay off various debts she accrued while living in the hostel.

Written by Rufus Dobson, work experience volunteer.

Rev Paul Nicholson’s letter in today’s Observer

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The passion of the secretary of state for work and pensions (Two babies, one future, 2 July) for early intervention to increase the chances of a disadvantaged child moving out of poverty brings horses bolting and open stable doors to mind. For too many children disadvantage starts with a mother who cannot afford a healthy diet and might not know enough about the food she needs to give birth to a healthy baby. International research, headed by the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition, has shown that poor maternal nutrition leads to poor cognitive ability, developmental brain disorder and a higher risk of cerebral palsy.

The last government took the point and added the health in pregnancy grant, the baby entitlement of the child tax credit, the toddler entitlement of the child tax credit and the child trust fund, but it too should have started before women conceive by increasing their unemployment benefit of £53.45 a week. Thepresent government abolished all these benefits, so reducing the income during pregnancy and the first year of a baby’s life by £1,735, as calculated by Family Action.

An unemployed woman aged 18-25, before and during pregnancy, has an income of just £53.45 a week. This will be more vulnerable to rent arrears from housing benefit caps, still vulnerable to unregulated loan sharks, and is likely to be overtaken by the escalating weekly cost of a healthy diet and domestic fuel, with the annual uprating now pegged to the RPI. The public health white paper only mentions food when abolishing the Food Standards Agency and never mentions debt, another source of mental illness.

Rev Paul Nicolson

Chair, Zacchaeus 2000 Trust