'Should we starve the jobless back to work?' poll discussion

bzzzzz

Whilst everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I opted for the £150 option.

Lots of people have managed to give anecdotal evidence for the reason for their choice, but really this is not the way to make a real choice.

Rather than plucking numbers out of the air, I would prefer to see a more scientific approach. Research should be carried out where we compare our system with other systems existing in other countries. Correlations should be drawn between crime statistics, ability to get back to work, general levels of happiness and well being, health.

What reasonable person would argue that we should give 75 pounds unemployment benefit per week instead of 150 if it meant that one of the consequences would be higher crime rates, greater drains on the nhs and long term unemployment.

I'm not suggesting that the above is true - but the way to have a serious debate is to do some real research and present the findings and then the debate should stream from that.

alan8253

bzzzzz wrote: »

the way to have a serious debate is to do some real research and present the findings and then the debate should stream from that.

Totally agree, but not sure the government would. You'll find if you're ever unemployed, the one thing they're not interested in is your bills. They want to know every last detail of what money you've got, and they dock your money if you've got too much, then they give you 'an allowance' based on that £65 they say you can live on (an amount that was plucked out of the air years ago and has been roughly increased in line with inflation, but was never calculated based on real evidence). No one is the least bit interested in whether that money is enough to pay your bills. I wonder why? (sarcasm)

flibblesan

glossyhair wrote: »

My rent is £105 per week and council tax £20 per week so how would that work?!!

Welcome to the REAL world of living on benefits :eek::eek::eek:

You simply claim Local Housing Allowance like everybody else that is on a low income or unemployed. As LHA is paid directly to you, and not the landlord, you no longer need to find a DSS only landlord. You still have to pay the deposit on a place and the first months rent yourself though, but some people are eligible for housing aid.

ariarnia

flibblesan wrote: »

You simply claim Local Housing Allowance like everybody else that is on a low income or unemployed. As LHA is paid directly to you, and not the landlord, you no longer need to find a DSS only landlord. You still have to pay the deposit on a place and the first months rent yourself though, but some people are eligible for housing aid.

Ignoring the fact that most agencies and landlords want proof of income/employment.

6 weeks ago now I had to give my prospective landlord a copy of the letter from my employer offering me my employment and 3 months worth of bank statements and explain why those 3 months didn't show a pay packet (was made redundant 6 months ago). And then only got a 6 month contract rather than a 12 month as my offer of employment was for a fixed 6 month term.

They still vet for DSS.

jamespir

francodevil wrote: »

do the crime do the time. would you want to employ a scummy little thief?

so ive not told you what he did but youve prejudged him already thats the exact point im on about

he's not a thief he got done for drink driving

SD-253

glider3560 wrote: »

Everyone has a meter for their gas and electricity? Unless there is some "rich exemption" that I'm not aware of?

I think you will find that Flickering Ember is talking about meter where you pay as you go IE like the old meters where you actually put shillings in. The cost per kilowatt is much much higher than an ordinary meter. I think they use cards which have to be loaded with money at a shop, a !!!!!! if you are living rural my nearest shop is 6 miles away.

tucker221

Why in the first place are people on benefits? Some people have genuine reasons why they can't work which is understandable. Job seekers allowance allegedly was going to be stopped after being on it for a certain time but suprise suprise it hasn't.
I know many people who have worked for many years - been made redundant and not wanted to claim job seekers as they have all said it would make a huge dent in their personal pride.
I think i've come up with a solution for the 'job seekers' who aren't clearly actively seeking work unlike others should earn their allowance. The local councils should work out the rate they get, divide it by the national minimum wage to come up with a number i.e. £58 per week job seekers divided by £5.80ph min wage = 10. That person could now do 10 hours community service like cleaning graffiti off walls, litter picking, helping the elderly home from their local Tesco etc. Maybe that would entice them to really ' Actively Seek Work' and try get this economy back up and running again.

I'm now 24 and have worked since i was 11 - started on a market stall whilst at school and now in the Military. Its not that hard to get work.

Eco_Miser

TighterThanTwoCoatsOfPain wrote: »

I would rather be in a dead end minimum wage job than watching Jeremy Kyle and Loose Women.

So would I, but fortunately Jeremy Kyle is not compulsory for the unwaged.:) Nor are working and watching Kyle mutually exclusive - I used to see snatches of his programme when I had a job.

PS. I'm not on benefits, just not working.

rickbonar

how does Local Housing Allowance work?

can anyone enlighten us?

ariarnia

It works the same everywhere, but this website will explain it fairly well. Just be aware that the actual monitary figures will be different for your council.

http://www.harrow.gov.uk/info/69/housing_benefit-new_claim/1155/local_housing_allowance_lha/1