We were really lucky earlier this year, when I found out that because we live in Wales where many household's use heating oil, we were eligible for £200 towards our oil. This couldn't have come at a better time as we were struggling financially then. We were so grateful to be able to afford to heat the house as we rent & there had major issues with our boiler all winter as its really old. However about 6 weeks later, we discovered half our oil had been stolen (siphoned off) & had to report the theft to police and had to ask for family help to get our boiler going again, even though we'd had that help from the council. Its like a roller-coaster this ride called life, as a week or two later we got word our son is eligible for DLA for the next 4.5 years & the payment was backdated by around 3 months, we now also receive carers credit & disabled child element of UC as we claim 'in-work' benefits, which have also been backdated... it has been lovely to finally be able to treat our son sometimes & buy things we badly need (a duvet & pillow for his bed since his cot-bed on from age 4... he's now 8, a soft rug for his room to help with his sensory needs, a picture for his wall, some clothes & some work clothes for us as we hadn't bought many for years). I took up the work-coach offer from UC and they helped my confidence after a period of bullying at work and years of low pay... I now have a new job offer, am looking at term-time only & 4.5k more pay a year. Sometimes £200 support from your council during a tough winter is the butterfly effect that creates the ripple of change you need to feel like you matter & that's worth more than any £200.

I consider myself very lucky not to have the need for regular contact with the DWP or job centre staff.

I appreciate the fact that these civil servants are mostly human beings themselves, trying to do their jobs, nevertheless, I also often question how some of then do actually even sleep at night, given what they subject people to when they enforce regulations on their fellow beings. That same subjugation can sometimes even apply to their fellow colleagues. It's a well known fact the DWP recruit disabled people for amongst other roles, public facing ones, some of whom have to meet certain targets themselves and failure to do so, carries consequences, so there are times when DWP staff are subjected to sanctions alongside other claimants.

One reason I am opposed to contact with the DWP is for one thing, they use tactics to intimidate folk for a start. On journal entries they use first names to address you with, as if that implies they are your friend or breaks down barriers. Their letters and forms are written in such a way to imply threat and gain compliance. I dread those brown envelopes dropping through the letter box. Further more they regularly, break their own laws and regulations. For instance didn't apply correct legislation when calculating benefits along with many more legal errors they made during my assessment phase. They state on the Work Capability forms and PIP forms "You do not need to send us XYZ", when legally you are permitted to send in whatever the heck you like in support of your claim. Everything "has" to be considered as evidence. They just don't read everything properly. No wonder they have a reputation for being lazy.

In addition, I'm fully aware they receive tons of post each day, however, they very often seem to loose documentation posted to them, which is why it is always imperative to send anything to them via track and trace delivery options. Again, this creates an immense lack of trust and dishonesty with them.

At health assessments, which are referred to as "Medical assessments", (even through there is nothing much medical about them as they are more legal tests than anything health related) they have a huge tendency to spin what people tell them about themselves, or fabricate things altogether, I know this is standard practice, they are trained to do this and incentivised to reuse benefits to claimants under the guise of saving government funding. It's common knowledge that more costs are fraudulently spent and lost elsewhere in government corridors!!

Overall, I feel the vast majority of DWP are either poorly trained in their jobs, don't care about the folk they are there to help, for instance, telephone helplines often take far too long to be answered or staff carry an air of authority over claimants. I even find it remarkable people are not being signposted towards benefits they are more than eligible to claim for then going without, so no I wouldn't welcome regular contact with the DWP due to a distinct lack of trust between them and myself.

https://youtu.be/gLE_yFONmc4

So sick & tired of people being publicly shamed in the newspaper for shop lifting. It's happening on a daily basis in my daily newsfeed update. Now bear with me - I'm not saying shoplifting is right, but what the powers that be need to realise is that desperate people will resort to desperate measures when their survival is threatened. Take this account from my local paper " [Woman] took cleaning liquids, meats and cheeses – together worth £70 – from [local shop] on September 2.

The 32-year-old...was fined £40 and ordered to pay £85 costs, £70 compensation and a £16 victim surcharge by [City] Magistrates Court."

£70 is a lot of money for the local shop to lose - I don't dispute that. But when will those in power realise that shoplifting is a symptom of the problem that fining someone will not solve. But if they take practical steps to solve poverty & help those who may steal e.g. due to being ill with addictions, desperate people wouldn't need to resort to desperate measures in the first place.