Has anyone seen todays people 300,000 who applied for sickness benefits, 200,000 failed the test and were told to get a job. It does not give any figures for those who have lodged appeals. Disability MINISTER MR SHAW is interviewed, I dont know how to do the link perhaps one of the moderators may do it , Best Wishes.

Allow me to oblige:-

Sunday People

Yet again, more inaccurate and misguided reporting by the media.

The whole concept of the test is not designed to help people back to work, but it was created purely to transfer the majority of working age claimants onto JSA, paid at a lower rate than either the ESA WRAG/support group or IB.

One interesting comment by the Sunday People is that if you score 15 points or more, you are placed in the support group. No, completely wrong! This is in keeping with the rest of the untruths in the article.

I too noticed the complete load of spherical objects regarding the 15 points and you're in the Support Group

I may email d.collins@people.co.uk to put him or her straight on a few facts regarding ESA but there again when has a red top let the facts come between it and a good story!

I think that one of the most absurd revelations attributed to Jonathan Shaw the Disability Minister is the quote:-

"Overall, from what I'm being told on the ground, the new scheme is a success. It's getting people back to work who haven't been employed in 15 years."

This is a completely implausible statement referring to ESA, as the transfer of existing claimants to whom these circumstances would apply, are not due to transfer to ESA until October 2010 at the earliest. It is therefore impossible for the situation to arise, as currently all ESA claimants are new claimants.

Either Mr Shaw is being economical with the truth, or D Collins who wrote the article is very proficient at inventing fictional reports!

I wrote to my MP about the WCA and got some rubbish back from Shaw. I pointed out that for some of us (many of us?) with severe mental illness and on medication, one of the biggest obstacles to getting back into paid work is fatigue and the WCAdoesn't take this into account. Shaw said that it does, so I've sent a copy of the regulations showing the descriptors to my MP and asked him to point out the relevant descriptor.

The other thing Shaw said was the old mantra about not being in work making mental illness worse.

I'm too irritated by Shaw to copy out the details from his letter. You've all heard the propaganda before anyway.