Travels of a Fish Nut

A couple of months ago I wrote about the government's announcement regarding the Disabled Student's allowance, or DSA. I was horrified at the changes, which were not so much modifications as a massive gutting of the funding provided to disabled students. I was particularly incensed over their plans to stop funding laptops for disabled students, plans which were 'supported' through the use of what can only be described as dodgy statistics; statistics that look supportive at first glance but are actually completely irrelevant.

Yesterday saw the Department for Work and Pensions rolling out their latest attempt to get the long-term unemployed back to work. The new scheme, called “ Help to Work ”, is supposed to provide extra support to those who have been out of work for more than two years. Esther McVey, speaking on the Today programme on morning of the scheme’s start, said: “This is significant extra support, it's about helping people into work . . . It is absolutely not about punishment . . . This is costing money. We are supporting people, we are getting people who know as much as they possibly can . . . helping people into work, that's what they do every day, help people into work and we're putting more support for more people to help them get into work and benefit from our long-term economic plan."  [ Source , starting around 1h 40]  Unlike many government schemes, this one has been scientifically tested for efficacy. Ms McVey even used the study as evidence that the scheme...

A couple of days ago the Rt Hon. David Willetts MP (Minister for Universities and Science) announced his changes to the Disabled Students’ Allowance. The DSA is a grant given to disabled students to help cover costs that arise as a direct result of their disability. It's an excellent scheme and for many it can, and has, make the difference between success and failure. These 'changes', more accurately termed 'cuts', are far-reaching and devastating.