Welfare, social care and employment

• Welfare benefit changes (InterAction 82, Christmas 2012)
  Overview by Action for M.E.'s Welfare Rights Adviser Sarah Lawrence.
  
• Atos assessments (InterAction 82, Christmas 2012)
  Atos shares important information about the Work Capability Assessment (WCA).
  
• Finding somewhere to rent (InterAction 81, Autumn 2012)
  We hear from people with M.E. looking for a private landlord who will accept tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit or other welfare support.
  
• Accessing social care (InterAction 79, Spring 2012)
  Cathy Stillman-Lowe hears how helpful people with M.E. find social care services.
  
• Benefits and retirement (InterAction 79, Spring 2012)
  What welfare benefits can you claim when you reach retirement? Our Welfare Rights Adviser Sarah Lawrence gives an overview.
  
• Work, money and M.E. (InterAction 77, Autumn 2011)
  In extracts from our new booklet on work and M.E. and factsheet about the financial impact of the illness, people with M.E. share their experience.
  
• Welfare to work (InterAction 77, Autumn 2011)
  New work programmes have been introduced that could affect you if you claim certain benefits, says our Welfare Rights Adviser Sarah Lawrence.
  
• Introducing advocacy (InterAction 76, Summer 2011)
  What is advocacy and why does it matter to people with M.E.? Cathy Stillman-Lowe investigates.
• Making an insurance claim (InterAction 75, Spring 2011)
  Solicitor James Millar Craig looks at problems relating to permanent health insurance for people with M.E.
  
• Adventures in volunteering (InterAction 75, Spring 2011)
  Some people with M.E. find that volunteering offers a new world of opportunity, as long as they can find something that’s right for them. Sally Day finds out more.

• Social care (InterAction 74, Winter 2010)
  In theory, anyone who has difficulty with everyday tasks can ask their local authority for an assessment of their needs.

• Worrying changes to welfare and work (InterAction 73, Autumn 2010)
  The new coalition government is determined to cut back on spending and get people back into work. What does that mean for you?
  
• Pathways to change (InterAction 72, Summer 2010)
  Many people with M.E. have found the Pathways to Work programme unsatisfactory since it was introduced. The DWP has now acknowledged that the system doesn’t work for everyone.
  
• Pacing v work: the impossible dilemma (InterAction 72, Summer 2010)
  Peter Gladwell and Bev Knops respond to a letter from Ed who, like many people with M.E., is forced to balance his illness with his need to work.
  
• A room of my own (InterAction 71, Spring 2010)
  Leigh Fenton reports on a survey conducted as part of our More than you know campaign in 2006, revealing that 77% of adults with M.E. lose their jobs because of the illness.
  
• Dear Doctor: all I do is sleep and work (InterAction 71, Spring 2010)
  Prof. Tony Pinching responds to a letter about the lack of existence in between work and sleep.
  
• Gizza job (InterAction 71, Spring 2010)
  The majority of us give up work begrudgingly and hope to return to employment when able. It can feel like a big step with such a fluctuating illness to contend with…
  
• I would like to thank my employer Deloitte (InterAction 69, Autumn 2009)
  Joanne Watkin-Smith describes how her employer enabled her to retain her job and sense of worth.
  
• Racing on with welfare reform (InterAction 67, Spring 2009)
  What impact will the Government’s welfare reform proposals have now that the country is in recession? Heather Walker says: “We can guess but the truth is we don’t know.”
  
• Quick guide to ESA (InterAction 67, Spring 2009)
  The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) launched Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). A factsheet has been produced by Action for M.E. to help people with M.E. to complete the claim process.
  

Older articles

Articles which were published in 2008 or earlier (listed below) may only appear in PDF format. Please be aware that this is an historical archive ie. information will become increasingly out-of-date as time goes on.

• Your experiences of welfare and work (InterAction 66, Winter 2008)
  With so many people participating in our welfare reform consultation, the number of stories we received of hardship and hope, was overwhelming. Here are just a few of the others.
  
• No one written off - or the nightmare before Christmas? (InterAction 66, Winter 2008)
  

  It is considered both desirable and possible for all but the most severely disabled to return to work. However, the DWP has acknowledged that the situation may be more complex for people with chronic fluctuating health conditions

• Welfare Reform Act (InterAction 61, Autumn 2007)
  Catherine Stillman-Lowe summarises the affect of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 on Incapacity Benefit. Our Welfare Rights Advisor, Pauline Taylor, also comments.
  

• Ill-health retirement pensions (InterAction 59, Spring 2007)
  

  Catherine Stillman-Lowe fins out what happens to people with M.E./CFS when their condition deteriorates to such a level that they cannot continue in a job which carries an occupational pension?

• Quids out: The health insurance minefield (InterAction 57, Autumn 2006)
  Far too many people with M.E. are met with insurers who refues to pay out permanent health insurance. Isabel Mackintosh reports.
  

• M.E. in the workplace: know your rights (InterAction 57, Autumn 2006)
  InterAction sought responses to some of your most frequently asked questions from the Disability Rights Commission. Additional advice from Pauline Taylor is also included.
• Book reviews: Claiming Disability Living Allowance and Help at home: A guide to community care services in England (InterAction 56, Summer 2006)
  Zoë Blamire revies a new book from the Disability Alliances.
• Direct Payments: Catie`s story (InterAction 55, Spring 2006)
  Catie Jenkins explains how she managed to obtain funding despite not being severely affected by M.E.
  
• A rough guide to Incapacity Benefit (InterAction 54, Winter 2005)
  Samantha Jackson offers insight into Incapacity Benefit.
  
• M.E. and the Disability Discrimination Act (InterAction 53, Autumn 2005)
  Theresa Coe and Chris Clark spread awareness of the Disability Discrimination Act.
  
• Free and Easy: Make your money go further! (InterAction 53, Autumn 2005)
  There are many opportunities to enjoy great savings and freebies, if you know where to look. Doone Cooper explains.
  
• Help in the home (InterAction 49, Autumn 2004)
  Daniel Doveton outlines what to do if a care package offered doesn't meet your needs.
  
• Is community care working for you? (InterAction 48, Summer 2004)
  Daniel Dovetone finds out what community care is all about.
  
• Homework that pays! (InterAction 46, Winter 2003)
  Janice Benning talks to ten readers who manage their illness - and finances - by working from home.
  
• Making the system work for you - Incapacity Benefit and M.E. (InterAction 46, Winter 2003)
  Following his own problems in making a claim for IB, Robert Ferguson shares what he's learned so that others can avoid his mistakes.
  
• The good, the bad and the hopeful (InterAction 45, Autumn 2003)
  Janice Benning looks at Employer's attitudes towards staff with health problems.
  
• Is there work after M.E.? (InterAction 44, Summer 2003)
  Janice Benning shares advice from those who've attempted to return to work - and lived to tell the tale.
  
• Can you afford to return to work? (InterAction 43, Spring 2003)
  Janice Benning looks at some of the financial and practical aspects of returning to work and suggests ways to access some of the help available.
  
• DLA for M.E.: A hit and miss affair (InterAction 43, Spring 2003)
  Theresa Coe rounds up some of your stories and advice for other applicants.
  
• Cash for Carers (InterAction 41, Autumn 2002)
  Sarah Thompson talks to three severely affected members who've been awarded money from Social Services to employ their own carers.