Which Shropshire MP’s replied to SDN request for their views on Welfare Reform?What do you think. Vote in our poll
Friday, February 10th, 2012
Vote in our Poll – Tell your MP’s what you think of their responses – scroll down to find the poll and vote now.
Update posted 20 February 2012
By the deadline of 10th February we had received 3 replies from our MP’s, two Conservative (Paterson & Kawcznski) and one Labour (Wright) . We loaded the copies of the letters onto our website and highlighted the text in these responses which was identical, presumably the required party line in a Form letter. Following the deadline we were contacted by the Shropshire Star who then contacted our two non-responders (Dunne and Pritchard) Interestingly we had responses from both of them following the intervention of the Press. Does this say more about their engagement with disabled people or the press? It should be noted that the only MP to offer to discuss this with his constituents was Philip Dunne. It should also be noted that in spite of his opening paragraph Mark Pritchard was asked by a number of his constituents to respond to SDN and it was made very clear that SDN covered the whole of Shropshire & Telford and Wrekin as a representative organisation.
This whole process has left us with a number of interesting questions.
- Have disabled people in the constituencies of these MP’s just not bothered to express their concerns or perhaps just felt unable to express their concerns?
- Have disabled people in these constituencies expressed their concerns but their MP’s have simply ignored them?
- Have MP’s simply failed to seek the views of disabled people and their carers in their constituencies before supporting this Welfare Reform Bill?
Whatever the reason, the fact that three MP’s can respond with a centrally produced Form Letter without apparently reflecting any local interests or concerns could be a reflection of the relationship between our political representatives and people with disabilities and their carers in Shropshire. If people with disabilities in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin want this to change what should they do?
This link takes you to some very interesting debate andcomments on the Guardian website about the further reforms being forced on the government
Post placed on wesite 10th February 2012 (below)
Well, we certainly can’t describe it as a 100% turnout! Two of the five Shropshire MP’s - Conservative MP Philip Dunne (Ludlow) and Conservative MP Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) both failed to respond to our requests and we know that you have been writing to them yourselves as well asking them to respond. Mark Pritchard did send an automated reply to say that he was not able to respond to anyone who was not a constituent, so we made sure that we asked some of his constituents to send the letter themselves asking on our behalf. We have not had any response of any kind from Philip Dunne.
Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP (North Shropshire),Danield KawcznskiMP (Shrewsbury and Atcham) and David Wright MP (Telford) have replied. If you click on their names in the previous sentence it will take you to their replies. Please note that SDN has taken the liberty of highlighting in yellow any sentences in the two Government responses (Paterson and Kawcznski) which are identical. We wonder if our members will feel that this is truly a response from your MP addressing/acknowledging your concerns as a constiuent or one that simply reproduces the Government’s line. What do you think?
The thing is, that these are your MP’s who are supposed to represent your views and listen to your concerns when they speak and vote in Parliament. We know that some MP’s have been very uncomfortable about the content and progress of the Welfare Reform Bill and have had the courage to say so.
Loading ...This is what we asked them in our letter:
We would therefore invite you to give us your views on:- the Government’s Welfare Reform Bill and your personal stance on this
- the likely impact on people with disability of Welfare Reform in the next 2 years.
- whether you believe the proposals are fit for purpose and the framework is ready to roll out with minimal disruption to the lives and livelihoods of the most vulnerable
- what you think of the Responsible Reform (Spartacus report) attached and its very different analysis of the same data used by Government (the report is attached for your information)
- share with us your views on the likely impact on levels of trust between disabled people and their families, and national government caused by this process.
Loading ...Lets have a debate about this very important matter of perception and representation of views of disabled people by the very people who make the political decisions.
We really would liketo know what you think about their comments and we encourage you to either:
Vote in the poll above if you have very little time but send us an email to say what you think and who your MP is
- if you are already registered as a member of SDN website – login using your Username and Password (on the right) and you will then be able to comment in the comment box at the bottom of this article.
- if you have not registered as a member of SDN website – please do so and you will get an email confirming and then you will be able to log in
- If you do not wish to use the comment box just send us an email and we will cut and paste your response anonymously (or with your name if you ask us to) on our website. Email – info@shropshire-disability.net
the new PIP mobility component will only give high rate to those in wheelchairs, and not those whose walking is limited by their condition, i hate to think how many motability drivers will lose their car!
There is a growing level of concern about this Martin and you are quite right to raise it. Shropshire Disability Network will continue to highlight concerns like this with MP’s and wewelcome any comments from anyone in Shropshire setting out their concerns about the impact on their own lives.
As a newcomer to SDN, I sure welcome someone being a collective voice for disabled people. Each TIME I’ve had to contact my MP, the buck has been passed ie “Not my department” or my correspondence has been passed on to someone else as it is not his remit-never a satisfactory outcome. Have other people had similar experiences? Just a thought may be it would be better if the country was run by Carers and people with a disability. What do others say. Would like to hear. Thanks
Shocked to say the least, not just by what looks like collaboration, “toeing the party line” but also two failed to respond by the SDN deadline date. To select less than 10% of the 5500 responses just beggars belief. Shame on our government! We the electorate pay their wages, however they treat their constituents, they get paid until voted out. But people like us claiming Carers Allowance, DLA, Incapacity Benefit…..would much prefer a life without pain, and difficulties in carrying out daily tasks that most people never have to give a second thought to. So what happens if we fail to complete our forms by the given deadline date-OUR BENEFIT STOPS!! Say no more.
The ethos medical assessment is a complete mess when you consider that your own doctors,surgeons and medical physiotherapist who know more about your conditions or illness than anyone.This seems a waste of public money paying twice.