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MEDIA SAVVY
WHO’S BEEN SAYINGWHAT..?
Media savvy |
Legal line
September 2012 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 7
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Anyone – be they left-wing, right-wing, centrist or totally non-political –
can see Scotland’s policy and attitude to dealing with drug misuse has to
change. There needs to be a parliamentary inquiry into drugs in Scotland…
and soon. As a country, we are struggling to find the money to reduce class
sizes for our children and buy books for our schools. Yet we throw away
£36m every year doling out more and more methadone in the face of less
and less evidence that it achieves anything but line the pockets of those
involved with dispensing it.
Daily Record
editorial, 21 August
Rather than compel the criminal drug user to abandon his habit, the
authorities force bus drivers, postmen, doctors, nurses and school dinner
ladies to buy stupefying drugs for criminal parasites, who would otherwise
steal directly to obtain them. The phrase ‘legalised theft’ can seldom have
been more apt.
Peter Hitchens,
Daily Mail
, 25 August
Police chiefs are still peddling their softly, softly sociological claptrap about
‘engagingwith the community’–which is littlemore than an excuse for turning
a blind eye to drugs dealing, petty crime and intimidation on sink estates.
Richard Littlejohn,
Daily Mail
, 7 August
Amy Winehouse’s ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil was on a life-support
machine last night after collapsing following a cocktail of drink and drugs…
The junkie – said to have also taken heroin – was rushed to hospital in
Dewsbury,West Yorks, withmultiple organ failure…SarahAspin, mother of the
junkie’s 15-month-old son, has been at his bedside every day since his collapse.
Sun
news story, 9 August
If we really can make every contact with all agencies count, as [
Making
every contact count
] aims, then it will be a big step towards effective
prevention. But this bold vision will be undermined if policies elsewhere,
such as welfare reform, lead to increased homelessness. With
homelessness services facing an average funding cut of 15 per cent last
year, progress will also be hampered if there is not the local commitment
to protect the very services that are critical to preventing homelessness.
Alice Evans,
Guardian
, 20 August
Claiming that drug addiction is a disease does a disservice to those who
really do have a disease through no fault of their own, with no say in the
matter. Yet drugs clinics are full of addicts claiming that it is not their fault
and health workers vigorously agreeing with them. They are coddled in
sympathy and benevolence. Rather than pander to this no-fault notion,
wouldn’t it be better to apply the big poultice of tough love instead?
Jan Moir,
Daily Mail
, 10 August
It is no accident that the permitted recreational drugs are those that have
long been prevalent in ‘developed’western societies, while the outlawed ones
include those that are widely used by indigenous people in poorer countries.
Amanda Feilding,
New Statesman
, 8 August
That is the problem with the [Russell] Brand model. As Sardar once wrote:
‘Just because you've been an inmate in a mental hospital, doesn't mean
you are an expert in clinical psychology.’
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown,
Independent
, 12 August
READER’S QUESTION:
My Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) was stopped
after I failed a medical. Then my housing benefit stopped and
apparently I’ve been paid too much as well. I already had rent
arrears and have been threatened with eviction before. I didn’t
open the letters for a long time because I knew they were
serious and I was scared and it looks like I’ve missed all the
deadlines to do anything. I have no money and I’m really
worried about losing my flat.
KIRSTIE SAYS:
You are right that there are usually deadlines to
appeal decisions and make applications, but often
discretion can be used outside of this time where
there are good reasons for delay. Not opening
your post because of worry and anxiety linked to
depression can be a good reason – if possible you
should get some independent supporting
evidence from a medical professional about how
these conditions affect you.
You can ask to appeal the ESA decision out of
time, and if accepted you will be placed on an appeal rate of the benefit.
You can also request that this be backdated to the date the benefit stopped
originally.
Your Housing Benefit (HB) would have stopped because you were no longer
entitled to ESA. However, you don’t need to be receiving a benefit to get HB –
you can be paid it if you have a low income or even no income. You can make
a backdated application for HB based on having no income at that time – you
will need to make a statement to this effect and support it with bank
statements and letters from people who helped you financially at the time. If
this is accepted, it will cover the time you are supposed to have been paid too
much HB and also the time where you have not been paid any at all. This
means you won’t have to pay anything back, and your rent will be paid.
If you deal with these matters quickly it is unlikely that any action will be
taken about your flat. Landlords generally try to resolve things before taking
legal action. Even if they have taken this step, it can be withdrawn, and
possession proceedings can take a long time.
In relation to the old rent arrears, you should consider applying for a
Discretionary Housing Payment to cover the full amount. If this is not
accepted you should make sure you are repaying the arrears at an affordable
rate – for social housing there is a statutory minimum for people on benefits
of £3.55 per week.
It may seem like there is a lot to do but your local CAB or law centre should
be able to help with making calls and writing letters to the various
departments on your behalf.
Email your legal questions to claire@cjwellings.com
We will pass them to Kirstie to answer in a future issue of DDN.
If you need advice on any of these issues contact the Release helpline on
0845 4500 215 or ask@release.org.uk
Release solicitor
Kirstie Douse
answers
your legal questions in her regular column
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