Friday, June 17, 2011

A4E raises a second 'sanction doubt' against Declan



Action for Employment (A4E) is a private company founded and chaired by Emma Harrison CBE. As the interviewer in the video above points out, A4E has received £300 million of Government training contracts and controls 25% of the long-term unemployment budget for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The last time A4E raised a sanction doubt against Declan, our housing benefit was suspended without warning or explanation (see previous blog DWP instructed Haringey Council to stop paying our rent). On that occasion it was because Declan would not agree to be trained as a warehouse operative; today the sanction doubt was raised by his highly abusive A4E Advisor Lola Olowu-Worth because he did not turn up for an unagreed basic maths test she brazenly went ahead and arranged for him for job vacancies in WH Smith, the British newspapers, books and stationery retailer.

This afternoon Olowu-Worth was as outrageous as ever (breaching Declan's contract with A4E no less than 12 times within 30 minutes), but the situation now is simple. Legally our jobcentre, Highgate Jobcentre Plus, must ask Declan for his answer to this latest sanction doubt raised by Olowu-Worth, but his views were never sought the last time. So Declan has upped the ante once again with this email just now to our MP, Lynne Featherstone, who also happens to be the Minister for Equalities:

Click to enlarge

We are still waiting to hear from the List Office in the High Court with a date for the hearing of Declan's case against Highgate Jobcentre Plus (see blog of 14 April Declan's Notice of Renewal of claim for permission to apply for Judicial Review). Declan is challenging the lack of remedy under welfare law for discriminatory practice by A4E. However, according to the Administrative Court Office, his application for expedition last December has expired, and there's no telling when a date will be set for his renewal hearing. Declan's latest to the court manager of the ACO about this earlier this week was copied to Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Kenneth Clarke.

Suffice to say we have absolutely no way of knowing whether there will be any money in our building society for Declan to withdraw next Tuesday (a first), his complaint pursuant to Stage 1 of the DWP's complaints procedure over the interruption to our housing benefit payments notwithstanding. I will, therefore, work hard this weekend on our homepage just in case, featuring in the middle column Gordon Brown's Jobs + Justice campaign, a call on the G20 leaders to launch a global green jobs and stimulus plan to lift millions out of poverty. That will leave me with Monday to work on Declan's draft of our first grant request to a foundation.


Secret Millionaire Emma Harrison goes to Dagenham, one of Britain's poorest areas and home to Europe's largest council estate. A steel worker's daughter, 43 year old Harrison is Britain's richest female entrepreneur.