On Tuesday Nov 6th, The BBC Ten O’Clock news broadcast a package about the massive US insurance multinational Unum Provident and how it is driving UK welfare reform policy. Fronted by the ‘secret policeman’ investigative journalist: Mark Daly, the report uncovered documents from UNUM in the UK boasting that they (UNUM) were and
are influencing Government policy regarding things like assessment of ability to
work etc, the ending of G.P’s sicknotes and the draconian Welfare Reform Act.
The insurance giant has been described in the US as a ‘outlaw’ company’ and been accused of racketeering and cheating tens of thousands of insured Americans out of their claims. Apparently there is to be a BBC Scotland programme on the issues and a radio 4 programme.


You can watch the 10 O'clock News here with Real Player...

http://news.
bbc.co.uk/1/hi/video_and_audio/default.stm

...and directly by copying the link to the video feed here...

 http://www.bbc.

co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/tvseq/news_ost/bb/rm/video/news10_bb.ram

Its on about 18.02


With the Welfare Reform Act now law, the gloves are certainly off , in a Press Association report yesterday, today, Works and Pension Secretary and former liberal Peter Hain has said claimants will be put through a ‘rigorous medical assessment’ to see if they could be in a job under new plans. Hain says that he believed the "majority" of people on benefits could work if they are given the right support and is promising to . "rip up sick note Britain" by scrapping Incapacity Benefit and replacing it with a new Employment and Support Allowance. It remains to be seen just how much influence the US insurance multinationals have had on these draconian policys. However, SWAN would say it’s a very important story which has implications not only for claimants, etc but also for democracy.

However, as we well know, welfare has had a habit of dropping off the media's agenda, a Radio 4 Today item on the WRA that featured Sheffield Welfare Action Network was
never broadcast( possibly under pressure from John Hutton) and a Radio Five
investigation that showed that over 80' 000 claimants were being accused of
fraud, etc made no waves at all. So, again its up to us all to keep the issue on
the agenda, press releases, letters to the press, etc, SWAN will be doing its
part.

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-7049557,00.html