Constant anxiety of benefit sanctions is toxic for mental health of disabled people
As the UK government continues to roll out its flagship new benefit system, Universal Credit, it has been beset with difficulties and delays. Now, documents leaked to the BBC show that its full rollout is not expected to be complete...
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Co-payments for universal healthcare: the politics of blame
It was interesting to see the UK media discussion around the Co-Funding and Co-Payment Bill which was put before the House of Commons for its 2nd reading last week. The Parliamentary webpage describes it as “a Bill to make provision for co-funding...
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Incentivizing vulnerability: Regulating migration
Around 9,000 young people who arrived as unaccompanied children and claimed asylum have been denied a residence permit in Sweden since 2015. With a peak of new arrivals in 2015, the waiting time for decisions increased dramatically from a matter of...
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A shuffling shambles: calamity or conspiracy?
The news earlier this week that Jeremy Hunt was not only going to be staying as Secretary of State for Health, but was also extending his ministerial remit to cover social care as well, came as something of a shock....
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Scotland’s Drug Death Crisis
The newly published figures of annual drug-related deaths (DRD) in Scotland are appalling. The National Records of Scotland figure of 867 represents the highest annual total recorded – a 23% increase on the previous year, and a 100% increase since 421 Scottish...
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Not in the club? It’s par for the course
Golf is a game where individual players hit a small plastic and rubber ball (a descendant of the ‘hairy ball’ it is believed), with a largely metal club. It is widely understood to have originated in Fife, on the east...
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Governing in the heat
As I write it’s baking hot, and seems to have been for days. The usual risks apply to writing about it though. By the time this is published the thunder storms we have been promised may have brought cooler wetter...
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The dynamics of health inequalities
Since the publication of the Black Report, through numerous subsequent policy documents and much policy activity the health differences between the rich and poor in Britain remain a reality which blights the lives of millions. Inequalities in health bring earlier...
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You can’t wear a bag on your head: air pollution
Air pollution is often in the news as pollution episodes are reported in major cities in China and India. In London too, it is in the sights of the new(ish) mayor, who is calling for extra charges on polluting vehicles...
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The Pain in Spain
Access to healthcare is a major post-referendum concern for millions of Europeans – but when you contemplate the details, you can see why most Brexiteers would rather not talk about it….. An amicable or “soft” divorce between Britain and Europe...
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Same old story: between disability and disinterest
This week the UN Committee on the Rights of Disabled Persons (CRPD) published the results of an investigation that found that UK reforms to welfare have led to “grave and systematic violations” of disability rights. In the same week a...
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White fluff