For anyone thinking this is hyperbole, one recent case[1] was of an anorexic woman found dead in her freezing cold flat because she couldn't afford to run the heating. She had been sanctioned for missing a jobseekers meeting due to being in ICU.
1: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/anorexic-woma...
OP talks about independent medical assessments.
Imagine you're signed off work because of heart problems. You're invited to a medical assessment, and you have a heart attack during the assessment. The medical assessor calls an ambo, and the paramedics take you to hospital to treat your ongoing heart attack.
We might think this is clear evidence the person actually is ill and wasn't faking.
The DWP sees this - failure to complete the assessment - as a sanctionable failing.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm13...
> Debbie Abrahams: [...]
> Again, I support the principle of a sanctions regime. If somebody consistently fails to turn up for work experience or a Work programme scheme, sanctions should be applied. However, I believe that sanctions are being applied indiscriminately. For example, one of my constituents was a beneficiary of employment and support allowance after they had retired on grounds of ill health as a result of a heart problem. He was required to attend a work capability assessment with Atos. During
> 19 Mar 2013 : Column 840
> the assessment, he was told that he was having a heart attack and the nurse said that she had to stop the assessment. He got a letter a couple of weeks later saying that he had withdrawn from the assessment and, as such, was being sanctioned. That beggars belief. I have other examples, as I am sure do colleagues.
I'm a UK citizen, my wife is not, nor is she an EU citizen. At the time, she was studying for a Masters level degree in an EU country, with a Student Visa for that country. Not ideal for married life, but she wanted the degree and we made it work (spent loads on airfares).
During the summer holiday, we decided she should visit me in the UK. We applied for a Tourist Visa, which seemed to make sense as she was only coming for a few weeks. There was no need to apply for a Spousal Visa.
Despite the fact she had multiple UK Tourist Visas and a UK Student Visa approved in the past, this one was rejected. No specific reason.
There was a written appeals process. We appealed. The Home Office had months to submit their case. Nothing happened.
Next, there is a court appeals process. We applied for a date, one was set several months in the future. Obviously only I could attend. Eleven months after the original Tourist Visa application we had our day in court. The Home Office didn't even bother to show up. The judge heard my side of the story, reviewed the supporting documentation and the Visa was granted.
We were never given any official reason for the rejected initial application or the Home Office's refusal to engage in the appeals process. As you said, I think they were just going for sheer annoyance, hoping we'd give up.
Lost a lot of faith in the UK after that. We now live together in Europe and of course Brexit is doing its best to screw that up too.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/nov/28/hostile-envi...