A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

westcoastscot

I could talk them to death in the back of the van?????

Smiley wish we had something like that around here - you must provide an invaluable service. It's still quite a challenge to be openly gay here, never mind adding in homelessness and youth.

WCS

katieowl_2

mardatha wrote: »

But you all do a lovely ferment

Knew all the years of making home brew would come in useful! LOL!

Kate

smileyt_2

Sorry Byatt, I didn't mean to alarm you. The 'bedroom tax' is basically a cut in housing benefit if you have one or more spare bedrooms and are a social housing tenant. If you have one spare bedroom you will loose 14% of your housing benefit, and if you have two or more you will lose 25%. The Government is trying to get people to downsize. How this fits in with their notions of the big society and stable communities I don't know.

People who are of pensionable age (around 62, we were told today) will be exempt if they are of pensionable age when the rules come into force in April 2013.

The cuts apply even if you are on JSA at £67/week - you will be expected to make up the shortfall in your rent from your JSA or whatever benefit you are on, or move. What happens if there are no smaller properties in your area, I don't know. I think there will be test cases where courts have to decide if an eviction can go ahead if a tenant has fallen behind with their rent (as many surely will, you can't stretch further what is stretched to the limit) because of this if they have tried to move and not found anywhere.

Oh God. I think I'm going to drink a whole bottle of whisky and hope the world has gone away by the morning. Or at least that the Government has gone away by the morning.

ETA: Ladies, sounds like we have the beginnings of a 'kidnap the Government' plan. Now we have a driver, someone to breathe germs over them and WCS to talk them into submission ... erm, hang on a min, the police are at the door .... what - no - honest officer, we were only joking ....................................

westcoastscot

It is seriously a huge worry on lots of levels. I worry for the people I work with - life is getting tougher for those with extra burdens to carry in terms of health, age or disability, and I worry for myself - newly single in my mid 50's with no provision for retirement and degenerative health issues to deal with. I also worry for my grown-up children - their lives are going to be held back by the economy and the decisions made by this government - it feels like they're building their lives on shifting sands.
You can tell i'm tired tonight eh? Off to bed, hopefully i'll be my usual optimistic self tomorrow
WCS

kidcat

Smiley there are so many pitfalls in the plan but like most of the new policies it seems it will go ahead no matter what the common sense is.

Have had OH here to "look after" us today - laughable except it hurts when laugh! He has screamed and yelled at everyone, DD17 is now laid up with the virus DS13 has. Have not had one hot drink all day, was lucky to be thrown an alleged sandwich at 2.30pm and was screamed at because DD6 needed clothes ironing!
Arranged mum and dad to go to DS trampolining group with them and bribed DS with ice cream promises to behave.

OH is not happy at having to do everything himself, even more unhappy that some stuff hasnt been done this week, ironing etc but no idea who he thinks should do it.

Am attempting to stay calm and have decided that next time I get sick I am going to hire someone to come in and be me!!! All applications gratefully received.

DD is craving strawberries and I desperately fancy sorbet - OH is refusing to visit the 24hr Tesco and the dog is pretending to be asleep!!:)

Byatt

Thanks Smiley, I have become something of an ostrich these last few years, so hear of something and then decide to ignore. Thanks for explaining.

WCS, we are sadly on the same page. A good sleep helps though. I am tired and ratty tonight, I even snapped at my DD.

Kidcat, bless your heart, I wish I was nearer, I'm such a good helper when people are ill. Try and ignore OH's yelling...do you have a friend who could bring emergency sorbet and strawberries? I once did some secret deliveries to a friend being looked after by her parents, but her wants were gin and cigarettes!

kidcat

Oh BYatt - it hurts so much to laugh but I indulged myself - gin and chocolate!:rotfl:
Ironically chocolate is my weakness, and I have a house full at the moment, cannot stomach the thought of eating it!:D

charlies-aunt

Byatt wrote: »

Could you explain the bedroom tax? I am a bit scared now, if it's affecting pensioners too. I don't follow everything that's happening because it's so scary. I already pay more than half my income in rent. There was an article in the Met£o saying that the percentage of rent being half of income has gone up.

Hope this explanation helps

The bedroom tax only affects tenants who are of working age / below pension age and claim full or part housing benefit and who are assessed as "under occupying" their homes. In my area, the room rate is anticipated to be between £12-13

A couple with no children in a three bedroomed house will get the one bedroom rate of Housing Benefit and will be deemed to be under occupying by two bedrooms. The housing benefit will only pay for one room so they will have to make up the shortfall of £24-26 per week

A couple with two children under the age of 10 in a three bedroomed house will get the two bedroom rate of Housing Benefit and will be deemed to be underoccupying by one bedroom because two children under 10 [regardless of gender] are expected to share so the couple will have to make up the shortfall in Housing Benefit of £12-13 per week

A couple with two children of the same gender, who are under 16 will also get the two bedroom rate and will be deemed to be underoccupying by one bedroom because two same gender children under 16 are expected to share [even if they are a newborn and a 15 year old] so the couple will have to make up the shortfall in Housing Benefit of £12-13 per week.

A couple with two children, one boy and one girl will get the three bedroom rate - provided that one or both of the children are over the age of ten and will be deemed to be fully occupying and there will be no shortfall to pay.

A couple with two children away from home studying at university will be deemed to be underoccupying by two bedrooms and will have to make up the shortfall in Housing Benefit of £24-26 per week. During uni holidays, when the children move back home to live - for the weeks that they are at home, the couple will deemed as fully occupying and so there is no shortfall to pay . . . . but the couple will then get a Non-Dependant Deduction imposed on their Housing benefit because it is expected that the student children will make a contribution to the family budget.

I work as a Housing Benefit Advisor for a Social Housing Group in a economically deprived area with high unemployment - it's a worrying time as a lot of tenants are going to be affected and downsizing to smaller properties is very difficult as there are very few one and two bedroomed properties, apart from the cost of moving, recarpeting, redecorating and the heartache of having to have to leave a much loved family home.

Hate to be pessimistic but I think next year will bring riots and civil unrest that will make the poll tax protests look like a royal garden party.

kidcat

Charlies aunt - that is an excellent post, it also makes a good point, in our area there are almost no one bedroom properties. The very few that are one bed are usually flats - now for an older person a flat with no lift can present a tremendous challenge.

I cannot help but think that this is not about getting people to downsize at all (if it were new properties would be being built that were appropriate size) its simply about punishing people who need help.

Byatt

Thanks Charlies-aunt, I am a private tenant, and had to move into a one bedroomed place when my DD left as I would only get 1 bed LHA. Is this the same thing or different in some way, I can't get my head around it. I still pay over half of my rent, currently getting help with the discretionary scheme as a result, as they give it to me to ensure I don't become homeless. Not sure if I will still get it, as it is of course discretionary. Finding a 1 bedroom place is hard, and I was lucky to get this. They are also not much cheaper than a 2 bed. And now with 1 beds becoming a premium, it's inevitable it's going to get harder to find them and also, rents will likely increase. Plus of course landlords can be more picky.

It's all very frightening, wondering how it's all going to end.