This is for their six month paid training placement scheme – Enabling Talent. The scheme offers a number of opportunities in London and Leeds for talented individuals who have a disability.

For more information or details in a different format visit www.itvjobs.com or contact Ruth Newman tel/minicom 0116 244 0173 or email ruth@posability.net by 14th March 2008

Please feel free to forward this message to any contacts or persons you think may be interested.

I thought I’d post these media opportunities to help the online reporters groups. It can be difficult to hear about media jobs and I hope that this will be of service.

Best Wishes

ITV Jobs - Home

Open wide your wallet, if you’re on Incapacity Benefit, when you first visit an NHS dentist. But why? Because this Government has made it more difficult for us genuine Incap claimers to get free treatment.

This is discrimination!

When I eventually found a “willing participant” (NHS dentist), they go and hit a nerve by extracting £15 from my wallet for sitting down for 2 minutes. But I’m on benefits - I protested. The receptionist told me that this Government changed the rules. So that now, us Incap claimers have to apply for a free treatment certificate.

This meant that I had to pay £15 out of very little and go without just to satisfy a Government that wants to pay £160 per MP per day for just turning up at the Houses of Parliament. In real terms that is nearly my fortnightly money and they get that a day for doing nothing. Then they get paid £60,000 p/a for closing down a primary school in Hulme after promising not to, not policing our streets at night and taking money back off drug addicts that would probably steal the deficit or have to have another sex customer at 1am.

Then they wonder why crime as gone up! Why do MP’s dream of such demoralising schemes?

Can we pay this kind of MP £200 a day just to stay at home?

I asked the receptionist could they wait until I got the certificate. People on other benefits only have to tick a box and they can walk out. “No” was the reply. I had to pay £15 and then go beg outside McDonald’s, so I could feed my Council Tax demand and 3 utilities.

Did I complain? Too right!

When I did complain to Tony Lloyd MP, his secretary was very very arrogant and rude towards me. Next time I’ll have video evidence. She raised her voice and talked over the top of me when I was telling her what the problem was with this Government. Then she said that they are not the Government. Could have fooled me? Then she treated me with contempt. Me, a floating voting mail elector in their constituency, treated like sh**. But we voted her party in. Well, someone did. I tried to vote for someone else, but had a problem with the mail-voting system - I forgot to post it.

This is how we are treated by this Government, as 3rd class citizens. No free education at all - we have to beg for it. Free NHS by redemption & certificate. That’s how I see it.

1-in-5 they say. Good! That’s a 5th of the voters that can change the Government and bring about a positive attitude towards people who are sick and even more stressed by this discrimination.

Someone get me a Human Rights lawyer - please?

- by Paul Summer

A good headline, don’t you think?

I received a letter this morning telling me that unless I attend an interview at Alexander Job Centre they will reduce my benefit… and we wonder why crime is on the increase. The Government by doing this forces good abiding citizens to resort to breaking the law because they take money back off the poor, sick and disabled. I, like many other Incap claimants, are not eligible to work that’s why we are on the benefit we are on. This is backed up by our own GP; but MP’s, who think they are more qualified than GP’s, say differently.

So, how shall we break the law to get our money then Mr Tony Lloyd? Shall we beg? Steal? Do we starve while the Government mispends millions?

It’s like the Government putting a gun against my head and saying, “Attend this interview or we will starve you to death!” That’s right, any reduction in my benefit will effect my health as I won’t be able to buy food!

Interesting. When I rang the JC+ at Alexander Park I told them that I had just come out of hospital after a hernia operation. Fiona Burnside then asked me to get a letter from my GP why I could not attend. Ridiculess, I’m not a bloody child! A letter to excuse me from some interview? I told her to contact the Greater Manchester Surgical Centre - she refused. It was a letter from my GP or else!

What? GP’s don’t do letters unless they charge for them. Doctors are very busy people and to take time away from treating patients is time that could save a life. Does this Government not understand the pressures GP’s are put under? Every minute is important to health care in Britain, without taking them away to write a letter to the JC+ because of some over zealous Secretary of the Department of Work & Pensions is trying to force sick people to work - whip us why not?

This Government has set up unworkable unhelpful stupid rules to oppress the poor even more. I’ve had enough stress and anxiety this week and now its the Job Centre’s own insensitive rigid rules.

LEAVE ME ALONE TO RECOVER!!!

Do disabled people not have the same rights as those on other benefits to 100% Rent & Council Tax Benefit?

On Wednesday 9th January BBC North West Today & Tonight did a report about the 1 in 5 people in the NW who claim Incapacity Benefit and are stereotyped by the Government as lazy system fiddlers. They came and filmed me speaking about my view. Even though the report was good, I felt I needed to say more about my experiences and frustrations about the Government’s treatment of us.

Many of us, who have disabilities/injuries and claim Incap, are living productive lives and do voluntary work - unpaid work - when our disability/injury allows us, to keep charities running. In simple terms, we suffer this exploitation to help our communities and our country. We could stay at home and do nothing! Millions of people wouldn’t even dream of working for free - when did Gordon Brown do any volunteering this year? When did David Cameron help his local community unpaid and not for publicity or political gain? So, please do think about that.

I, myself, volunteer (when I can) for the British Red Cross, ALLFM and this website - I put back into my community when the pain is less noticable! Why doesn’t this Government reward us instead of punishing us? Why don’t they give us help with education, training, resourses, expenses and any needed equipment? They could reward us for attending educational courses and training. But, they rather punish us and make us 3rd class citizens and make us suffer even more.

All this I do so I can gain confidence, help towards my recovery, manage my disability and hopefully get back into full time work and contribute to society.

Stepping Stones may help those who are already trained, but I find they are of no help when needing training. That’s my finding. All this Government is interested in is keeping their figures down and they don’t care how. Statistics, are we? Human being, I am! This Government just wants to brag about how they got people off Incap into jobs, low paid minimum wage posts, and they, like David Cameron, just doesn’t care how they accomplish it. EDUCATION, RESOURSE, UNIVERSITY POSTS, REAL PROPER TRAINING, EQUIPMENT and FUNDING is the answer.

HOLD ON! Are you 18-24yrs..?? “No?” What a pitty, as the Government is throwing millions at the young; at the same time the older disabled people, who’ve contributed to this country, are put on the shelf to collect dust - well, left to sweep it up in a dead end job. Isn’t there “Age Descrimination” now? Government exempt again from that one?

Even Government training initiatives are not working. Another image for the press as the MP’s all smile. “Look at us, aren’t we great at forcing disabled people down another dead end street” Then the scheme ends, the Government takes our money away and we still don’t get the opportunities - no experience, certificate or college not recognised. Still, I’m not relying on this or any Government… I’ll make it wether or not!

This is my reply blog:

BBC NWT reply blog

Oops! I said, “restrict” instead of “un-restricted” when mentioning education and 15 hours.. sorry!