NAWRA (National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers) is coming to Edinburgh and we are in the process of making our final arrangements for our quarterly meeting on 8th September 2017, which doubles as our annual Scottish conference (writes CRAIG SAMUEL, NAWRA Scotland representative).
Our conference this year is being held at Edinburgh City Chambers and whilst our membership covers many welfare rights services I am reaching out to all community groups to invite them to get in touch as more and more community groups are being asked to deal with queries on income and many occasions state benefits.
In case you are reading this and are unfamiliar with our work at NAWRA our aims and objectives include challenging, influencing and to improve welfare rights policy and legislation and we are involved with various government stakeholder groups whereby we recognize and challenge discriminatory legislation and we promote welfare rights issues and encourage effective partnership working.
I am ever so proud to have been asked to represent NAWRA in Scotland and part of my role is to attend stakeholder’s meetings for the roll out of PIP (Personal Independence Payment) and I also represent NAWRA at our stakeholders meeting with SCoWR (Scottish Campaign on Welfare Reform) whereby we continue to feedback in relation to Social Security.
Whilst I am proud to have been asked to represent NAWRA in Scotland – and I am extremely proud – but what really drives me and my organisation is the help we can provide our communities in fighting inequalities and these communities, don’t forget, also includes our friends, neighbours and families.
At NAWRA we encourage community groups to get involved and I will be happy to discuss with any community group that may be interested in attending or indeed joining NAWRA as throughout United Kingdom we know that representation is becoming more difficult to find due to budget cuts both locally and nationally.
NAWRA can support any community group and assist with issues that may be relevant, for example we know families who were already vulnerable to losing their homes now face further cuts since UK government changed the benefit cap level at the end of 2016 and placing a freeze on many benefits.
Welfare rights is not just about providing a foundation through income but through providing hope and allowing potential to be realized as at the minute opportunity is scarce as we can see with our friends at Sheffield Hallam University producing a recent academic paper looking at the destruction of industrial Britain.
We can see the destruction of traditional industrial areas and these have been decimated over the last 40 years and I am not alone but I personally remember watching in awe of dockers, miners and in my own experience of watching my grandfather’s work with the gas industry or indeed my father in the wire works and Scottish gas.
Having used their bodies to build our country do we see any protection towards these workers. Well what we see is industries lost, jobs lost and people left with disabilities having put their bodies on the line for their community and country.
Is there protection? Well for some yes but due to the design of PIP (personal independence payment) and implementation we can see since the transfer from DLA (disability living allowance) over 1 million PIP claims have been refused and people who need it most are losing out and when in their hour of need and when needing it most they are being dismissed and left with no foundation to move forward.
At our conference, we shall have speakers and workshops throughout the day and our conferences continue to be offered without charge to our members and our memberships, which start as little as £40.00 per year, is per organisation making it accessible and economical to all organisations.
I hope you agree with me in acknowledging how important our conferences are and how important it is to receive the best advice and how every situation is different and intricate so I look forward to seeing you at our meeting on 8th September 2017 or being contacted beforehand at craig@nawra.org.uk – our agenda can be seen at www.nawra.org.uk
CRAIG SAMUEL, NAWRA Scotland representative