Benefits for new parents

emlou2009

You only get sums that high in tax credits if they decide you are entitled to it for help with child care costs. It would be a lot easier to not work and have the money in benefits, but I for one would rather my taxes go towards paying for child care for someone that wants to work for a living, knowing that soon the kids will be in school and then that sum will reduce eventually due to this.

Mumto3cheekymonkeys

emlou2009 wrote: »

You only get sums that high in tax credits if they decide you are entitled to it for help with child care costs. It would be a lot easier to not work and have the money in benefits, but I for one would rather my taxes go towards paying for child care for someone that wants to work for a living, knowing that soon the kids will be in school and then that sum will reduce eventually due to this.

I agree. Lets be fair for most women when all there children are of school age will often go to work full time (as I will be) and then there amount reduces but baring in mind that we will then also be paying for others who dont work full time and need help with childcare. Its not just about money, its about creating a nation that believes work is the norm and the easier option like signing on is a last resort. I find the comment about my children being benefit scroungers really offensive. My 3 year old is considered a little "behind" then others of his age so what do we do? we use some of the money we get to get him further help so he will have the same chance as any other child of having a successful future! I noticed that I did not get a reply I assume this is because you can not claim TC so therefore you are also bias!

Sixer

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

Yes Sixer: I get it that you are ones who think the parent should be given their child's welfare payments to spend; you have made that quite clear before and again below....

"People"? I think you underestimate how many parents do actually spend the child's welfare payments solely on their children. It's the children of the other "people" who see their child's welfare money as "their" money, that needs to be addressed. Thankfully, it's being done too. New money to help children out of poverty is not going to be given to the parents; it's being planned that this money will be going on projects that directly benefit the child and not into their parents pockets.



As you have been told before, Blair chose tax credits as "vote winner"; children don't have a vote. His minister that was put in charge of getting children out of poverty, resigned when Blair chose his vote winning tax credits. That same ex minister is now using his ideas to help children in poverty through this government and those ideas don't inculde giving more money to parents.

The case is quite clear, as you have confirmed again in your post. There are parents who use their child's money for the whole household to spend and perhaps see this money as a state reward for having a child? Then there are those who just use this money on their children.

We are never going to agree on this. You are one of the parents who think your child's welfare payments should be given to you for your household budget and I think it should we should use the child's welfare money to help the child out of poverty (and it turn help their children) via projects that will help these children while they are young and support them as they grow. We know that giving the child's welfare payments to parents doesn't work for all children.

This 'born poor, stay poor' attitude, just isn't true. We can help all the children at a very young age through projects to ensure that every child who lives in poverty gets the help they need and ensure that the child actually benefits from their state help.

You see, this is what you do over and over again. Ignore the actual point being made and reply with endless proselytising.

I was careful to say in my post that I don't particularly agree with many aspects of tax credits. Indeed, I haven't been eligible for tax credits for some years now, so am not even speaking from the point of view of a claimant. I'm not arguing with your opinion on tax credits (I disagree with some of what you say and agree with other parts).

My point was that tax credits were designed, intended and implemented to lift households with children in them out of poverty. They were not, as you keep asserting, designed, intended and implemented to provide specific funds for child-specific expenses.

Your assertion is incorrect and this is the point I am making.

Your opinion is arguable - and I have some sympathy with it - but it is irrelevant to the point I am making.

It doesn't matter WHY NuLab chose tax credits over any other method of approaching child poverty. What matters is that they chose tax credits. Which are intended to lift HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN out of relative poverty. NOT to provide children with enough things to lift the CHILD out of poverty regardless of its home situation.

Argue for what you think things should be. But don't assert that CTC is supposed to spent on child-specific expenses. It isn't. It never has been.

MissMoneypenny

Sixer wrote: »

You see, this is what you do over and over again. Ignore the actual point being made and reply with endless proselytising.

Throwing insults won't get you anywhere in life. I could namecall those who spent/are spending, their child's welfare money on themselves, but where would that get us? Much better to tackle the problem of those parents who behave like this.

Sixer wrote: »

My point was that tax credits were designed, intended and implemented to lift households with children in them out of poverty.

Sixer wrote: »

What matters is that they chose tax credits. Which are intended to lift HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN out of relative poverty. NOT to provide children with enough things to lift the CHILD out of poverty regardless of its home situation.

Where did you get that idea from that Child Tax Credits were intended to help the parents to give them more money to spend on themselves? Blair said he was going to 'end child poverty' not 'end poverty of households with children'.

"Five years after Tony Blair delighted his supporters by committing to 'end child poverty' by 2020, real progress has been made.



Thanks to extra spending on the Child Tax Credit of nearly a billion pounds announced in the Pre-Budget Report, the government looks set to hit its interim target of reducing child poverty by a quarter by April 2005"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3509886.stm


The government states that an adult can live on about £70 per week after rent and council tax, not sure what it is for a couple. Yet you seem to think the parent can spend their "ending child poverty money' on themsleves, as an extra?

Sixer

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

Throwing insults won't get you anywhere in life. I could namecall those who spent/are spending, their child's welfare money on themselves, but where would that get us? Much better to tackle the problem of those parents who behave like this.

Where did you get that idea from that Child Tax Credits were intended to help the parents to give them more money to spend on themselves? Blair said he was going to 'end child poverty' not 'end poverty of households with children'.

"Five years after Tony Blair delighted his supporters by committing to 'end child poverty' by 2020, real progress has been made.

Thanks to extra spending on the Child Tax Credit of nearly a billion pounds announced in the Pre-Budget Report, the government looks set to hit its interim target of reducing child poverty by a quarter by April 2005"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3509886.stm

The government states that an adult can live on about £70 per week after rent and council tax, not sure what it is for a couple. Yet you seem to think the parent can spend their "ending child poverty money' on themsleves, as an extra?

Ipso fatso (sic). Wilful blindness.

acl2009

As an expectant mum (first baby due in 4 weeks) I find it very difficult to be understanding of people that have a child because "it's ok I'll get x y and z benefit to help me"

My husband and I had been married 2 years, waited until both of us were on a good stable income, and owned a suitable house before we got pregnant. I would never have a child expecting handouts to help me raise him/her. We have worked out how much our income is going to change with me being on maternity leave and we will adjust our spending accordingly.

We are not entitled to any benefits (other then the standard child benefit) and would never dream of moaning that we aren't getting any handout from the government. In fact when the child benefit threshold was going to be £42k we wouldn't of qualified, did we moan? No, because I honestly believe you should not rely on benefits as a decision to have a baby. The fact that the threshold has been increased means we will get child benefit and this will just be put straight into a junior ISA.

I don't wish anyone to take offence, but as someone who has worked hard and had to wait to start a family I'm afraid it's something I feel strongly about.

I would like to wish the OP all the very best for their new family.

MissMoneypenny

Sixer wrote: »

Ipso fatso (sic). Wilful blindness.

Then try looking at the facts. Child Tax Credits were always clearly labeled by Blair for lifting children out of poverty and not extra money for households with children as you have wrongly claimed. Their intended tartget was always the children and not extra spending money for their parents as a reward for having children.

How long do you think it will be before we see another thread here where someone else asks what extra benefits they can claim, as they can't afford their lifestyle now that their child has left home and CTC and CB has ended?

Taadaa

At risk of being flamed, I am going to say this anyway. I have got one DS, another one on the way. DH and I both work 37 hours a week and don't qualify for any benefits. No child care costs. I claim CB. I don't need it - although there certainly have been times in my life when I have relied on it - but just now, it is a nice to have. It goes into a seperate account. I leave it there and spend it on DS when he needs something - new school shoes for example. I don't need it in order to lift ourselves out of poverty, but I am certainly not going to revoke my claim to it. Absolutely not. Why should I not claim something the state says I am entitled to? I would bet my life the Beckhams claim it.

MissMoneypenny

Taadaa wrote: »

At risk of being flamed, I am going to say this anyway. I have got one DS, another one on the way. DH and I both work 37 hours a week and don't qualify for any benefits. No child care costs. I claim CB. I don't need it - although there certainly have been times in my life when I have relied on it - but just now, it is a nice to have. It goes into a seperate account. I leave it there and spend it on DS when he needs something - new school shoes for example. I don't need it in order to lift ourselves out of poverty, but I am certainly not going to revoke my claim to it. Absolutely not. Why should I not claim something the state says I am entitled to? I would bet my life the Beckhams claim it.

I think the Beckhams are resident in the US so perhaps won't be able to claim CB? I'm sure all the PMs (past and present) claim their CBs. Nothing wrong with claiming it and spending it all on it's intended target.

samwich1979

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

Then try looking at the facts. Child Tax Credits were always clearly labeled by Blair for lifting children out of poverty and not extra money for households with children as you have wrongly claimed. Their intended tartget was always the children and not extra spending money for their parents as a reward for having children.

How long do you think it will be before we see another thread here where someone else asks what extra benefits they can claim, as they can't afford their lifestyle now that their child has left home and CTC and CB has ended?

Jeez its like listening to a broken record!

Why keep repeating the same old rubbish throughout this thread?? Quite frankly you are really rather patronising and annoying.

I get Child Benefit and a small amount of Housing Benefit (£22 a month). I work and my husband doesn't at the moment.
Only having one income for us and a one year old is tough but we just about manage.

I find it an insult that you think parents spend their child based benefits on their own "lifestyles" rather than their children...........what utter crap!

And this rubbish about using money i need for MY child to run centre's for children to get a wash and get food etc..........are you joking?! I have a perfectly good house to do that thank you.

The CB i receive pays for nappies, wipes, clothing and food for my child, also if there is any left over it goes towards the bills, eg: electric, gas or water and DO NOT tell me i should not be doing this!!! If i couldn't pay for those bills my child would suffer, so therefore it is of benefit to him that i can do this.

I take it you have never struggled or had a hard time at any point in your life?

The majority who claim "top ups" on their wage are hard workers and sacrifice a lot for their children and do not enjoy a lovely life of going out, smoking and taking drugs so get off your moral high horse and stop repeating yourself.