Thought it was time to get some thoughts out of the old head and into cyberspace. This week has seen me change from a mild mannered (no, not Janitor) soul to an asskicking, don´t mess with me - fighter for justice.. And what brought on this new life form? The good old DWP (Department for Work & Pensions).
I discovered last week that British "Ex-Pats" as they are affectionately known are unfairly and illegally discriminated against by the DWP upon their (often unfortunate) return to the UK. Would you believe that they are not immediately treated as "Habitually Resident" in their own country...!
The laws which are supposed to be keeping out "Benefit Tourists", is actually working against genuine claimants. Some examples of these are pensioners returning for health reasons, families returning due to financial hardship/separation, British workers in the EU and children born in the UK whose parents have moved abroad.
Despite much discussion and rewriting of the current law, the DWP "Special Decision Makers" are given the power to interpret their own official guidelines as they see fit. This is a discrace and I am calling on the government to revise the law in regard to returning UK Nationals.
There is an online petition with more information, please show your support by signing it..
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/noHRTforXpats/
