Snakes and ladders

Abstract

I invited service user representatives and mental health association leaders to comment on the benefit system in just 50 words. A torrent of criticism poured out of my fax machine. In this we are united. They are demanding a system free from fear which enables and rewards working as and when health allows.The Green Paper March 1998 failed to remove ‘serious barriers to work’. The modest improvements are described on p34.The Snakes & Ladders of the system remain as real life: shake the dice, move four steps forward and find you've landed on the wrong square. The DSS regulations snatch your security and toss you down. You are worse off than before you started.The Government invites our response to the Green Paper; we must ensure that they get it.

Citation

Scott, J. (1998), "Snakes and ladders", A Life in the Day, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 32-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/13666282199800017