All aboard the Gravy Train. 'Poverty Pimps' seek to cash-in on welfare reform!

We are publishing below a recent briefing from 'Boycott Workfare'.

"Take action on Monday 27th January while poverty profiteers gather at Capita’s‘Welfare reform’ conference

While millions of people struggle to eat or heat their homes, and thousands of families face eviction, foodbanks and homelessness due to sanctions, bedroom tax and loss of disability benefits, Capita cashes in with conferences for Lord Freud (Minister for Dismantling Welfare) and his workfare collaborators.

You could pay £350 – £575 (plus VAT) to join all those snouts in the workfare trough at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel. Or you can let them know what you think via twitter, email, phone – follow the links below.

We’ll post the conference hash tag as soon as we have it so you can join in the discussions on the day (or you can check out @capitaconf and their inspiring #capitaconf hashtag to see for yourself). You could also use the DWP’s #job2014 hashtag. The DWP are making a big effort to improve their social media presence – the least we can do is increase their footfall @DWPgovuk

The aim of the conference is to get ‘partners’ who make money from it ready for the next stage of ‘benefit reform’, with a special focus on ‘shifting the culture’. Let’s shift it in another direction!

In addition to the DWP’s own Lord Freud, (one of the chief architects in paying the private sector to dismantle welfare rights aka the great welfare rip off) the organisations below are supporting the event.

Private and voluntary sector organisations making big money from the outsourcing of welfare – let them know (politely) what you think…

Papworth Trust
As they say ‘If disabled people are affected, it’s likely that we’ll have something to say about it.’
Text 07860 021210 and Papworth will contact you.
Email: info@papworth.org.uk
Twitter: 

David Martin, Director of Strategy and Marketing will be speaking on the needs of job seekers with disabilities.  He’ll be covering self esteem and self awareness.  We’d like to know if he has anything to say about suicide, despair and plunging people with disabilities into poverty.
D: 01480 357208
M: 07772 197770
E: david.martin@papworth.org.uk

Aspire Housing

Email: enquiries@aspirehousing.co.uk

Sinead Butters CEO  of Aspire will be speaking on ‘achieving social and financial return on investment’ – and ‘delivering enhanced employment and skills interventions to tenants’. Let her know what you think about making money out of workfare and using housing as a route to coerce people into ‘skills interventions’.

Twitter: 

A2Dominion

A2Dominion – another housing association collaborating with the DWP’s benefits cuts agenda.  As part of the ‘digital deal pilot’, A2Dominion are ‘getting social tenants on line as part of preparation for universal credit’.

Fiona Cornell, Deputy Executive Director, will be talking about the digital deal pilot and how it helps the DWP to spy on and harass claimants
Twitter: 

Tomorrow’s People  ‘making life (low pay/no pay) work’

TP are major players in the forcing young people to work for nothing industry.

Steve Swan, Tomorrow’s People Director of Welfare to Work will be holding forth on how to push those who are most vulnerable and disadvantaged into the new growth industry of low pay, no pay jobs

You can let them know what you think about their schemes for young people:
Twitter: 

ATOS Healthcare

Gary Gear from ATOS will be speaking alongside Stephen Duckworth from Capita.

This is the ‘healthcare’ arm of the French IT firm ATOS, well known for making millions out of DWP contracts for ‘work capability assessments’ designed to strip people of out of work sickness and disability benefits.  They are also well known for earning hundreds of millions from WCA and payingno Corporation Tax in the UK.

Local Councils

Lewisham, Wigan and Southwark councils are also taking part.  If you live in these boroughs, why not let them know what you think:  Gerri Scott (Southwark Strategic Director of Housing), Peter Gadson (Lewisham Head of Customer Insight), Alison McKenzie-Folan (Wigan Director of Customer Transformation) and Graham Cadle (Croydon Director of Customer Services).

Lewisham Council
Twitter: 

Wigan Council
Twitter: 

Southwark Council
Twitter: 

Croydon Council
Twitter: 

Citizens Advice Bureaux
Twitter: 

We’re sorry to see CAB taking part.  CAB workers across the country have seen first hand the impact of sanctions, forced unpaid labour, bedroom tax and other benefit cuts.  The evidence is set out in areport from Manchester CAB. So why is Katie Shaw, Head of CAB Welfare Policy chairing this event? Workfare and other attacks on social security and workers’ rights would collapse without the collusion of the voluntary sector."