[Anonymouse]

It's been rolled out in Bolton, and I'm now in its clutches.

The way jobcentre staff are so obstructionist fits right into the plan. I called in at the jobcentre I don't sign on at, just to check my email. I would only have been there two minutes or less, as I had something on this morning (sorted now), and Cerberus, a.k.a. the little erk whose job it is to turn people away if they have no appointment, refused me permission.

In other words, that's an hour a day I've lost. I'm now down to 5...if I pay for 2 of them at the library, and if (big if) I can get an hour at a ucann centre, since you have to book in advance. It is now impossible for me to do 7 hours until I get internet access at home. So since it's impossible I won't do it; I'll just have to lie. I hate doing that, even to these gits, but needs must.

I'm convinced it is indeed a cunning plan to reduce the benefits bill, though I wouldn't have thought the Tories to be this devious. It'll even 'solve' the housing problem:

UC includes housing benefit, i.e. rent, so saving them the bother of paying it to landlords/local authorities. But if people have their benefits cut because they can't meet these insane requirements, some of them likely won't be able to pay their rent. Thus they'll be evicted and end up on the streets. Best of all, once they're there they're off the dole figures, as you can't claim benefit with no fixed abode.

As I said, a cunning plan.