The Labour Government

[threespires]

It would be helpful to see the evidence rather than them just saying it.

Yep all they need to do is point to the trial data etc. if they've modelled this and the associated costs and benefits correctly then I'm all for it.

Years ago I employed someone with significant mental health issues as part of their recovery. It wasn't a simple process to make it work and it came with multiple challenges; I'd expect that to be the reality in a significant number of cases.

If the data they are using reflects this fact (or shows that our situation was an outlier) and they haven't simply modelled a few folks rocking up in hospital wards with a ppt on how to write a CV then that's good. To do it properly will be a significant investment that will pay back in the mid-term, if that's what they're doing they should be applauded, and in which case explain the detail. Also be helpful if they can explain how you will engage with employers on this too because otherwise it'll die on its arse.

 

[Ifwecouldjust.......]

I may be missing something but what do those articles have to do with job coaches going around harassing people with poor mental health? I'd like to see the evidence of this trial that they've done.

Shame that we don't have a not for profit business that provided meaningful employment to the disabled and mentally ill ... with coaches and mentors to develop the individuals talents and skills

Oh wait .... we did .... it was called REMPLOY and shut down by the Tories.

 

[Don Karleone]

FFS

 

[threespires]

Shame that we don't have a not for profit business that provided meaningful employment to the disabled and mentally ill ... with coaches and mentors to develop the individuals talents and skills

Oh wait .... we did .... it was called REMPLOY and shut down by the Tories.

Not strictly true, the REMPLOY owned factories were shut down thereby making thousands of disabled people redundant but the rest of the business was sold to an American company. Given at the time that we didn't seem to give a shit about flogging off even our strategic infrastructure to enrich foreign businesses, I can't imagine deciding to offload our disabled community took more than a few minutes to agree. The company in question is a US service provider called Maximus, in 2021 they got caught colluding with various US states to diddle severely disabled children out of their social security payments but I'm sure they're much better now eh?

 

[Ifwecouldjust.......]

Not strictly true, the REMPLOY owned factories were shut down thereby making thousands of disabled people redundant but the rest of the business was sold to an American company. Given at the time that we didn't seem to give a shit about flogging off even our strategic infrastructure to enrich foreign businesses, I can't imagine deciding to offload our disabled community took more than a few minutes to agree. The company in question is a US service provider called Maximus, in 2021 they got caught colluding with various US states to diddle severely disabled children out of their social security payments but I'm sure they're much better now eh?

So the usual Tory ''Due Diligence'' was applied eh?

 

[Blue Maverick]

That’s just not true. Single parent working full time with 3 kids will not have enough time to cook fresh in time for kid’s tea time.

It’ll be oven chips and pizzas etc. They’re knackered and have 3 hangry kids.

Or mass cook at a weekend and freeze decent meals, doesn’t take long to make a pot of spaghetti bol or chilli, stick some frozen chips on the side from an air fryer 10 mins job done.

 

[Blue Maverick]

Some people are just too lazy to do either I'm affraid and the numbers are rising. Hence the huge rise in fast food places. You also only have to look at the baking stuff in supermarkets, the amount and selection is tiny compared with 30 years ago. Then look at the ready meals and crisp sections which are now enormous. More people are just lazy these days.

Fast food isn’t cheap anymore though, even McDs is declining because they charge too much and have you been to a chippy lately. I agree £1 frozen pizza etc is too easy, it’s not hard to make a block of meals at a weekend, there are 24 hours in a day, in 2 hours I could knock up enough meals for a week than can be frozen and defrosted when needed and a fraction of the cost of taking 3 kids to McDs for one meal.

 

[Brewster's millions]

Not strictly true, the REMPLOY owned factories were shut down thereby making thousands of disabled people redundant but the rest of the business was sold to an American company. Given at the time that we didn't seem to give a shit about flogging off even our strategic infrastructure to enrich foreign businesses, I can't imagine deciding to offload our disabled community took more than a few minutes to agree. The company in question is a US service provider called Maximus, in 2021 they got caught colluding with various US states to diddle severely disabled children out of their social security payments but I'm sure they're much better now eh?

Not strictly true, the Labour government started the process by shutting down a third of Remploy factories in 2008.

 

[Kompany Car]

Absolutely the correct decision, the other work currently ongoing in the Crewe area and South Manchester will ensure the final bit of the link is suitable even though it wont be rated the original full HS2 speed.

 

[threespires]

Not strictly true, the Labour government started the process by shutting down a third of Remploy factories in 2008.

That's correct Labour did do that, or at least a third sounds about right, would have been more but was reduced after the unions got involved I think. This was part of Labour's plan to reeingineer Remploy but I don't think the strategy was to close them all or to outsource the'problem'. It was after the Conservative government did a review that policy changed and the entire estate was dismantled and the services outsourced. The theory was you don't need specialist employment facilities, its ultimately better to integrate everyone into the mainstream employment. This was a reasonable idea on paper and was supported by some disability rights groups. Unfortunately it suffered from the same issues that a lot of theoretical ideas do, namely lack of investment and commitment to doing it properly and it just turning into a short term cost cutting exercise. I used to work at a reasonably senior level within a global BPO provider, the idea that they form a suitable basis for transforming government service delivery is utterly fanciful in 9/10 cases. It's always bewildered me that successive governments think they can get the model to work. It's Alice in Wonderland territory.