This is the start of a series called Automating Poverty, and how it may effect us, focussing on the welfare state, its stripping of humanity,and it's administration by AI.
This is the start of a series called Automating Poverty, and how it may effect us, focussing on the welfare state, its stripping of humanity,and it's administration by AI.
The Australian robodebt is a national disgrace. The number of deaths associated with the program is astronomical. And for all that cruelty and human suffering, the government didnt even make much...
The Australian robodebt is a national disgrace. The number of deaths associated with the program is astronomical. And for all that cruelty and human suffering, the government didnt even make much money from it. As far as I can tell, the true purpose was just to punish poor people for using welfare in the first place.
We have issues in the UK that mirror yours, it seems. Our new "all in one" system called Universal Credit, which started rolling out under the Tories in 2010 is way behind schedule, way over...
We have issues in the UK that mirror yours, it seems. Our new "all in one" system called Universal Credit, which started rolling out under the Tories in 2010 is way behind schedule, way over projected costs, and is seemingly designed to punish, rather than support.
It's worth reading the select committee report, or even just the introduction to the report. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmworpen/1884/1884.pdf The old benefits are...
It's worth reading the select committee report, or even just the introduction to the report.
The old benefits are called legacy benefits. The new benefit is universal credit. The process of moving from a legacy benefit to UC is called "migration". There are two categories of migration: natural migration and managed migration.
A natural migration happens when something about the benefit claimant's circumstances change - they move home, they form a couple, there's a long list - and that means their legacy benefit claim is closed and a new claim for UC is started. This group of people is not protected by the income protection guarantee (that no-one will be worse off claiming UC than claiming the other benefits).
A managed migration happens when nothing about the benefit claimant's circumstances change but the DWP pushes them onto UC anyway. This group of people will be covered by the income protection guarantee.
So far the vast majority of migrations to UC have been natural, not managed, migration.
Some people have been given bad advice: they were told they'd be better off, or at least not worse off, under UC. Those people then changed their claim, and lost huge amounts of money. And because of the "lobster pot" they cannot go back.
This report lists some of the injustices. For example, if you have a home and one of your family members dies you are now over-accommodated. If you move home to avoid the bedroom tax and you move to a different council area you'll be pushed onto UC, but if you move within the same town you'll stay on your legacy benefit. This is because housing benefit (a legacy benefit) is paid by town councils. If you move within the same town this is a simple change in circumstance that doesn't affect your other benefits. If you move to a different town your current claim gets closed down, and when you're in your new home you have to start a new claim for HB, but you can't because it's a legacy benefit so you'll need to start a claim for the housing element of UC. This drags the rest of your claim onto UC. DWP have put a little bit of protection in place for people recently bereaved, but it's not much.
This is the start of a series called Automating Poverty, and how it may effect us, focussing on the welfare state, its stripping of humanity,and it's administration by AI.
The Australian robodebt is a national disgrace. The number of deaths associated with the program is astronomical. And for all that cruelty and human suffering, the government didnt even make much money from it. As far as I can tell, the true purpose was just to punish poor people for using welfare in the first place.
We have issues in the UK that mirror yours, it seems. Our new "all in one" system called Universal Credit, which started rolling out under the Tories in 2010 is way behind schedule, way over projected costs, and is seemingly designed to punish, rather than support.
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/universal-credit-report-mps-dwp_uk_5d3599eee4b004b6adb2c672
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/21/universal-credit-welfare-savings-human-beings-lives
It's worth reading the select committee report, or even just the introduction to the report.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmworpen/1884/1884.pdf
The old benefits are called legacy benefits. The new benefit is universal credit. The process of moving from a legacy benefit to UC is called "migration". There are two categories of migration: natural migration and managed migration.
A natural migration happens when something about the benefit claimant's circumstances change - they move home, they form a couple, there's a long list - and that means their legacy benefit claim is closed and a new claim for UC is started. This group of people is not protected by the income protection guarantee (that no-one will be worse off claiming UC than claiming the other benefits).
A managed migration happens when nothing about the benefit claimant's circumstances change but the DWP pushes them onto UC anyway. This group of people will be covered by the income protection guarantee.
So far the vast majority of migrations to UC have been natural, not managed, migration.
Some people have been given bad advice: they were told they'd be better off, or at least not worse off, under UC. Those people then changed their claim, and lost huge amounts of money. And because of the "lobster pot" they cannot go back.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmworpen/1884/1884.pdf
This report lists some of the injustices. For example, if you have a home and one of your family members dies you are now over-accommodated. If you move home to avoid the bedroom tax and you move to a different council area you'll be pushed onto UC, but if you move within the same town you'll stay on your legacy benefit. This is because housing benefit (a legacy benefit) is paid by town councils. If you move within the same town this is a simple change in circumstance that doesn't affect your other benefits. If you move to a different town your current claim gets closed down, and when you're in your new home you have to start a new claim for HB, but you can't because it's a legacy benefit so you'll need to start a claim for the housing element of UC. This drags the rest of your claim onto UC. DWP have put a little bit of protection in place for people recently bereaved, but it's not much.