The Scandalous History Chapter One - Part 1

The Scandalous History

We are now compiling a history of our case detailing all those authorities and departments involved in such disgraceful behaviour. Each chapter will concentrate on particular aspects and details of each nightmare we have endured at the hands of those duty bound, by law, to support and protect us.

Chapter One                                      The D.W.P                                                      Created 8^th January 2020

                                                Department of Works and Pensions

Since Elizabeth became an adult she has been hounded, as have we, by the D.W.P to continually justify the merger existence they permit us to have whilst we suffer and struggle with such demanding and complex care needs and the constant uncertainties, hour by hour.

We have many years worth of evidence of the persistence of their demands and have suffered many situations of great pressure at their hands. We have endured constant threats if we are not compliant with their requests, regardless of our suffering or evidence of it.

However we are going to concentrate on just two of the most serious offenses they have committed against us.

Part 1

In 2015 we were requested, after filling in a ‘work capability’ questionnaire on behalf of our daughter and supplying a great deal of evidence of her condition and needs, something we had done many times, to present her for a ‘work capability assessment’ at our local centre. We were quite shocked with this request, especially as it was accompanied with a threat of the consequences if we did not comply.

We thought there had been a mistake so called the department and were told this was correct and she must attend, completely ludicrous.

We were so angry but thought, OK we will take her and see what job they can find her to do.

On arriving at the assessment centre we had to cram into a tiny lift to get our daughter to the level for her assessment and we were asked to wait to be seen. Once we were called we took our daughter through to a desk in an open plan office without enough room for us to sit together. The lady who we were seeing then addressed Mum, thinking she was Elizabeth to which Mum responded, gesturing, “No! This is Elizabeth”. The woman was obviously shocked and said “I think there has been a mistake” “really!?” we exclaimed.

We expressed our anger and she promised to ensure we would not suffer this complete indignity again and would update the system, we then left.

Ten days after this ordeal we received a letter from the D.W.P stating that our daughter was due a second interview in a further two weeks. Thinking that the details we were promised would be updated had not yet been made on the system we rang to explain. However, we were then told, in no uncertain terms, that we must attend the second interview and that there was nothing on the system to confirm anything regarding our last visit.

We refused to take our daughter to this follow-up interview and be put through such a degrading and upsetting situation again, we should never have had to the first time.

The next contact we had from the D.W.P was that they would now sanction our daughter and they stopped her benefit payments with immediate effect.

We of course challenged this but were told we would have to appeal through a tribunal; we had been put through these before. We made an application but after a great deal of paper shifting to-and-fro over many many weeks were unsuccessful and our challenge rejected, unbelievable. We were still left with no money by their actions.

We then took the steps to write directly to the then Minister for the D.W.P the Rt Hon Mr Ian Duncan Smith MP. His office replied with contempt and a refusal to intervene and after further attempts to his department but with the same response and contempt we escalated our efforts and wrote directly to our then Prime Minister the Rt Hon David Cameron PM.

Our complete shock by the response of his office to suggest that this was no concern of Mr Cameron’s and he would not be making any attempt to intervene was so totally compounded by the same response after a plea to him directly as a Father of a child who had suffered the very same rare condition. Of anyone we knew surely he would understand our suffering and commitments to the complexity of our daughters care and needs and the uncertainty of when we may spend our last moments with her.

Mr Cameron’s total disregard and complete lack of care and compassion in such a situation is heartless to the highest order. This is nearly equalled by the complete lack of care and consideration we now face from our current leader Mr Boris Johnson PM.

Without any help from those duty bound to give it we were forced to contact our local paper and the BBC East team.

Both of them were initially very supportive and expressed a great deal of interest. We were somewhat concerned by the speed at which the BBC wanted to report on our story without knowing the full facts or any real details; however we trusted their experience and were guided by them, initially, through the process. We were interviewed at our home on camera and over a few days saw and spoke with many at the BBC who were collecting reports for television, radio and release on other media platforms.

However; it became very apparent and very suddenly that we were being avoided and increasingly ignored by both the BBC and our local newspaper when making enquiries for an update. Some quite ridiculous and obviously untrue excuses were being given to us as to why those who had been so very keen and so very interested in reporting our story were now not available or busy, suddenly gone away, in meetings or now no longer working there, sure.

We knew that something was going on but no one was telling us anything and we were now being blanked by both the newspaper and the BBC.

Just before 7:30pm on a Thursday evening we received a phone call from a reporter who said, “I do not agree with what is going on and wanted to tell you that the DWP have told us that we cannot report on your story as you are under criminal investigation and it would harm the case against you if we reported on your daughters circumstances”. He then hung up, no number was recorded. 

We were furious as this was totally untrue and was a lie by the D.W.P to prevent publication of our story and to avoid their public scrutiny by it.

With rage still deep in our bellies the next morning, having had little sleep, we called one of our senior contacts at the BBC at 08:40 on the Friday morning and challenged them with what we had been told the previous evening to which they made no denial or defence and instead made the comment “we must be seen to be impartial”.  Our immediate response was to request how they thought keeping those details from us and not allowing us to make a challenge to such a lie by the D.W.P was being impartial to which she repeated “we must be seen to be impartial”. We then said, very directly to her, that we were withdrawing the story from the BBC and did not give them any permission or rights to use any of the details they had gathered from us and then told them that we would be taking our story to another media organisation only now the BBC would be included as part of this problem and ended the call directly.

Totally distraught and completely upset we prepared to take our daughter to her specialist day centre and were just about to start the van to leave when we received a call on our mobile at 09:10, only 20 minutes after finishing our call with the BBC.

The caller asked who he was speaking with then announced he was calling from the D.W.P and then said very quickly “all of your withheld funds will be in your account by 12 O’clock midday today” then he hung up.

The money, which they had been withholding for months, was indeed paid into our account at 11:53 that very morning by the D.W.P. There are a great many questions still unanswered regarding this situation and the underhanded way in which we were treated by all those involved in these quite disturbing circumstances, who the hell do they think they are?

We have not yet made any appeal for assistance to the BBC as our past experience has given us unease about them and a founded distrust of their ‘impartiality’. They would be shamefully letting down thousands in so much need of their help if they failed to report our story to the public and would be helping those who, in our case, have acted unlawfully and with intent to deceive to go unchallenged by their actions and would be allowing them to continue in their evil deeds.

Our local paper has responded in the very same way again now and although they have been sent a great deal of detail and a promise of any of our evidence they wish to see their constant attempts to avoid any involvement in our case have now become clear and obvious. Unfortunately their decision not to assist us and help to warn others of the perils they may be facing locally has meant that others have now suffered, needlessly, and they have failed those who are now possibly facing the same treatment by the same local authorities, it’s shameful.

The Governments response is always, avoid and cover-up. This can’t happen anymore and with numbers rapidly increasing in the awareness of these issues and a real desire by all for the truth we can, with help, apply enough pressure for an effective response and resolution.

Please keep sharing and posting, we need your help.

More details regarding the D.W.P will be posted in Chapter One Part 2 and further chapters will follow regarding the other authorities and departments involved in this shameful fraud.