"This is how much the law says you need to live on"

_____________________________________________________

Main question:

When the Department for Work and Pensions send you a letter and it says (actual quote, verbatim) ...

"This is how much the law says you need to live on"

... can anyone point me to this "law" please?

Which Act?

Which sub-section?

I want to see a breakdown of what is allocated for say, the gas bill, electric bill, water rates and so on, including food.

_____________________________________________________

Second question:

You can get "hardship" payments whilst you are not seeking work, so then aren't there people just continually claiming hardship payments and never looking for work? Hardship payments are only £10 a week less than normal Jobseeker's Allowance payments.

How many hardship payments can you claim? An unlimited amount for an unlimited time?

I would look myself, but I am not looking through fifty thousand billion trillion pages of laws that were designed from the outset to make it nearly impossible to clarify anything you have a question about, I wondered if anyone here might know the answers?
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Comments

  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115
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    There is no breakdown of costs. Everyone is different. It's £65.45 per week and it's up to you how to spend it. Hopefully sensibly.

    I thought hardship payments were about £40 per week for a single person? Can someone confirm this? You can only claim it if you have absolutely no money at all (or at least claim to). You would usually be much better off by working even if self empolyed and claiming tax credits.
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • GotNoMoney
    GotNoMoney Posts: 70 Forumite
    HappyMJ wrote: »
    There is no breakdown of costs.

    If they send letters out with "the law says this is how much you need to live on" there obviously is a breakdown of costs somewhere for them to say this in the first place.

    Looks like I will be filing a Freedom of Information request.
    HappyMJ wrote: »
    Everyone is different. It's £65.45 per week and it's up to you how to spend it. Hopefully sensibly.

    Everyone is the same in that everyone gets the same amount of money - currently £67.50 a week. I want to know exactly how they arrive at this figure.
    HappyMJ wrote: »
    I thought hardship payments were about £40 per week for a single person? Can someone confirm this? You can only claim it if you have absolutely no money at all (or at least claim to). You would usually be much better off by working even if self empolyed and claiming tax credits.

    I heard it is £10 less so if that is true, I assume it is £57.50 a week, roughly.

    How long can you claim that for?
  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115
    Combo Breaker First Post
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    edited 7 March 2011 at 12:49PM
    GotNoMoney wrote: »
    If they send letters out with "the law says this is how much you need to live on" there obviously is a breakdown of costs somewhere for them to say this in the first place.

    Looks like I will be filing a Freedom of Information request.



    Everyone is the same in that everyone gets the same amount of money - currently £67.50 a week. I want to know exactly how they arrive at this figure.



    I heard it is £10 less so if that is true, I assume it is £57.50 a week, roughly.

    How long can you claim that for?
    FOI request has been done already. http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/how_the_weekly_jobseekers_allowa

    I thought the £67.50 applies from the first benefit payment after 11th april? http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_193028.pdf
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • MrRedundant
    MrRedundant Posts: 722 Forumite
    If you put this level of effort into jobhunting it shouldnt be an issue for you for long.
  • Oldernotwiser
    Oldernotwiser Posts: 37,425 Forumite
    GotNoMoney wrote: »



    Everyone is the same in that everyone gets the same amount of money - currently £67.50 a week. I want to know exactly how they arrive at this figure.


    Only if they're 25 and over. If not, it's £51 per week.

    I am certain that there is no breakdown of figures and cannot see how there possibly could be.
  • GotNoMoney wrote: »
    If they send letters out with "the law says this is how much you need to live on" there obviously is a breakdown of costs somewhere for them to say this in the first place.

    Looks like I will be filing a Freedom of Information request.



    Everyone is the same in that everyone gets the same amount of money - currently £67.50 a week. I want to know exactly how they arrive at this figure.



    I heard it is £10 less so if that is true, I assume it is £57.50 a week, roughly.

    How long can you claim that for?

    The best way to think of it .. The government are the law and they state thats how much you have each week to live on.
    :p
    "If you no longer go for a gap, you are no longer a racing driver" - Ayrton Senna
  • Jowo_2
    Jowo_2 Posts: 8,308 Forumite
    edited 7 March 2011 at 3:26PM
    If you put this level of effort into jobhunting it shouldnt be an issue for you for long.

    To the OP - how did you get on with the jobs that DMG and I posted that you didn't unearth during your visits to the job centre?


    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=41559208&highlight=#post41559208

    Does your interest in hardship payment mean you didn't complete your mandatory 4 week work placement in mid January and have been sanctioned or is it just out of curiosity about how the process works for people who have been kicked off JSA for not meeting its conditions?
  • DCFC79
    DCFC79 Posts: 40,598
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
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    edited 7 March 2011 at 9:28PM
    Interesting thread

    just keep n lookin for jobs and apply for them
  • ohreally
    ohreally Posts: 7,525
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    edited 7 March 2011 at 9:04PM
    Don’t be a can’t, be a can.
  • cassieB57
    cassieB57 Posts: 506 Forumite
    GotNoMoney wrote: »
    _____________________________________________________

    Main question:

    When the Department for Work and Pensions send you a letter and it says (actual quote, verbatim) ...

    "This is how much the law says you need to live on"

    ... can anyone point me to this "law" please?

    Which Act?

    Which sub-section?

    I want to see a breakdown of what is allocated for say, the gas bill, electric bill, water rates and so on, including food.

    _____________________________________________________

    Second question:

    You can get "hardship" payments whilst you are not seeking work, so then aren't there people just continually claiming hardship payments and never looking for work? Hardship payments are only £10 a week less than normal Jobseeker's Allowance payments.

    How many hardship payments can you claim? An unlimited amount for an unlimited time?

    I would look myself, but I am not looking through fifty thousand billion trillion pages of laws that were designed from the outset to make it nearly impossible to clarify anything you have a question about, I wondered if anyone here might know the answers?

    1 JSA Regs, reg 83(a) & 86A(a); IS (Gen) Regs, reg 17(1)(a)

    1 JSA Regs, Sch 1, para 1; IS (Gen) Regs, Sch 2, para 1

    Sorry but I don't know how to post a link
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