Archive for Digital

How the social media surgeries helped Pesky People

I’m prompted to write a longer blog about the importance of the Social Media Surgeries following the wonderful news that they had won The Big Society Award 2012. It was a huge surprise to be mentioned as an example of the impact No 10′s press release. In September 2009 I wrote my first Pesky People blog (The Future is not Orange) and had no idea that it would take me on a journey of a new career, skills, experiences and develop my expertise... 
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Job Centre Plus contravenes it’s own guidelines on Deaf access

I’ve been informed today that @deafplanet’s benefits were stopped despite believing they had been reinstated and it all stems from a DWP failure to supply her with the right contact details see previous post Being Deaf is no excuse if you can’t phone you will lose your benefits.  The Job Centre Plus office in Leeds has stopped her benefits including Job Seekers Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council tax Benefit. She doesn’t... 
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Benefitscamp why it is important

Today #benefitscamp is taking place London hosted by the fab FutureGOV team. It is important it provides a way fordisabled and deaf people, web developers, the providers (DWP) with a way of working together to find digital solutions that improve the system.founders from Nominet and NESTA will be there too to back up the best ideas. Here’s my pennies worth: An online portal / in house portal that you can ask questions about benefits in an easy... 
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Is the job centre failing it’s Deaf clients?

If you read the post  about Janet (@deafplanet) a Deaf  woman who’s benefit was cut for not attending an interview due to inability to contact them by phone (she’s Deaf and has no outgoing phine line to phone by minicom to Text Direct service.)  For many d/Deaf people Text Direct is a lifeline offering text to speech operator who will relay the call. DWP routinely fail to offer  email or sms numbers as an alternative contact in letters... 
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Too high a price for a pint

David Colley wrote the following ‘jokey style’ email to a pub chain yesterday: After a rather depressing visit to a Wetherspoons pub, I tried to cheer myself up. We all need to remember the bright side of discrimination, after all. Don’t we? So here’s what I wrote to them…. “Hello, Today I visited The Five Swans in Newcastle upon Tyne (NE1 7PG) a Wetherspoons pub. I am a wheelchair user and had significant problems. The... 
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