make do and mend for tougher times

prepareathome

Kidcat I am not surprised you are tired all the time anaemia aside all the bouts of pneumonia and the constant levels of stress.

As you don't live to far if you ever want to escape and pop here or for a coffee so you can off load to a stranger I promise not to moan, but listen..........you are more than welcome.

Byatt oh my dear that is awful........how is anyone on basic income support, jsa etc going to manage......impossible. I can only hope and pray your job picks up. Am sure you have covered all the basics advertising but have you told Age Concern, University of the Third Age and places like that as so many elderly do have a bit more income and go away on a few holidays a year even if short and most likely would prefer to leave their pet at home rather than a kennel.

Our council has as yet not said what their plans are, they are keeping quiet - they did same with raising the council tax in April didn't say a word till the bills hit the mats even though many other councils didn't raise them.

My 70 year old friend was saying she was worried about how others of working age will look at elderly and think how they are wealthy but in reality pensioners were the poorest. She wouldn't believe me when I said this wasn't true any more. So we did a quick calculation of her income including what she doesn't get in her hands so to her doesn't count. To live as she does now she needs £17k coming in. She cannot get her head round that with things like HB.CTB, money off her electric bill etc not actually going into her purse. She has a far larger income than me and her daughter and her husband only have a couple of thousand more than her and they both work. She doesn't have a private pension just normal pension plus pension credit. She lives in a HA 3 bed bungalow with garage she and her hubby got many years ago as he was disabled and she had a disabled son, both sadly have been dead for over 25 years.

If the situation now was the same when they died the council as it was then as owners, would have asked her to leave the bungalow, as she is one of these small wiry woman that are strong and healthy thankfully, so they could give it to a family that needed it but they didn't and now they cannot and anyway it would be cruel to move her from her home of over 40 years.

The daft thing is the bedroom tax is supposed to be to help free properties like hers for families but as it doesn't apply to pensioners she is ok.

So I can see pensioners really being attacked when people find they have to choose between a roof over their head or food and of course this is what the government wants - wants those of working age to have a go at the pensioners instead of them. The government are becoming magicians getting people to look where they want them to instead them.

Oh am just so angry:mad: for my friend who is scared will she be safe and people like Byatt who are going to have to choose...........

Hugs and Lovexxxxx

kidcat

PAH - thank you, I may well take you up on that offer

And I agree, I cannot for the life of me understand how someone on basic JSA can pay any council tax at all. Its all just so Grrrrr, its all reactions that are so poorly thought out and situations that are not understood. Like PAH says the whole bedroom tax thing was supposed to be a way of freeing up social housing for families, but the biggest issue of under occupation is pensioners.
I still think that with a bit of carrot dangling rather than stick beating we could achieve much more houses freed up. MY grandad was thrilled to be able to move from a huge three bed place to a one bed bungalow, and with council incentives it was well worth him doing. His costs were all covered including carpets and redecoration and he ended up in a lovely place which was easy to heat and maintain.

I remember a while back overhearing two elderly ladies talking, and one was describing how she had realised that she really didnt need to go upstairs any more and had moved her stuff down. She went on to describe how hard it was to clean and heat a whole three bed house now she was alone. It was so sad to hear, and I believe if she had been offered a lovely little bungalow in a nice place she would have jumped at it.

Ok have managed to wade through our proposals and anyone on JSA will have to pay 21% of the bill, families who are working but still receiving CT benefit will have their benefit halved. Going to be very interesting how that pans out.

Evie74_2

These proposed CT changes make me so :mad:. It really is the poll tax all over again How much more does the Govt think it can squeeze out of the poorer members of society? Not everyone claiming benefits is doing so as a lifestyle choice! Absolutely disgraceful :mad:

Evie xx

kidcat

Mar - how will the changes affect you in Scotland?

GreyQueen

kidcat wrote: »

Without causing huge offence to anyone, can I ask why all pensioners are not affected? I understand that some are not in good circumstances but many others with the introduction of pension credits etc are now much better off. Surely if the measures we introduced across the board the need to increase everyones bill would be watered down as it were.
The worrying thing is that some councils have vast numbers of pensioners - how can they possibly manage to make cuts if almost their entire benefit pool is retired?

Byatt its all so worrying for you I know ((hugs))

It feels like poll tax all over again
:eek::eek:

It was explained to me by a senior person at the LA; pensioners VOTE. A lot of them vote. It isn't respect for the senior citizenry or compassion for the elderly, it's pure maths. Pensioners vote and a lot of other sections of the population don't, and that's why any politician who intends to retain his seat will gnaw off his own leg before he does something to their detriment.

I was once flabbergasted to hear a pensioner, who lived with her relatives and had no housing costs, grumble that she only had £250 a week to spend on herself. As if that sum was chump change. Ye gods and little fishes, what the heck does she think the rest of us are living on?! And breathe. I wouldn't know where to start to spend that amount of money on myself and not the rent and utilities etc. Because I've never had the chance to practice.:p

All is going well here. I have had a cryptic tax credits notice. I have spoken to them. It is work-in-progress, my claim is back in payment. There will be more notices. And more. Meanwhile, I've consigned my appeal letter to the system as Special Delivery so I can Track and Trace it to their offices. Heaven knows when this will get sorted out and I'll know how much I have. Will have to padlock the wallet still more tightly until I know. I feel my white hairs multiplying as we speak.

ginnyknit, SuperGran and I often agree that you could write a book about what happens at the Towers. I've quipped that if you wired the public areas for CCTV, you'd have an absolutely-fascinating docu-drama. The Police chopper is a frequent visitor here. The Plod seem to realise that if they're missing someone who's absconded on bail or just MIA from their usual haunts when they came calling with a warrant, you might as well swing by the Towers as they'll be here sooner or later. SG is an old hand and knows most of CID by sight and they're often to be found lurking in plainclothes in corners. I ignore 'em. I think we're past due for some raids, myself.

Byatt, I read the draft proposals. :eek: You and I are not in the same area and I don't know what my LA are planning but we have a lot of pensioners. If they're untouchable, it will fall so much harder on the rest of us. People are already struggling to put food on the table and credit on the meters and how the heck do they think we can magic up some extra dosh? :mad: When this hits people in the pocket the Gub'ment will realise that the Poll Tax Riots will look like a stroll in the park compared to what will be coming after them. Grrrr!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, glad I applied a bar of medicinal chocolate to the day, turns out to be a bit of a burger. And I've had my utility bill. Ne'er mind, I used it so I shall pay for it.

Oooff, going to apply the English Bandage; tea - the universal fixative and cure-all. Cheers, m'dears.

westcoastscot

kidcat wrote: »

Mar - how will the changes affect you in Scotland?

Hi Kidcat, i've been looking at this and scottish government are not planning to make changes in the immediate future.
We are having the so-called "bedroom tax" though from April.

Fingers crossed they won't!!

WCS

mardatha

I can't believe this - as you all have said already how the utter hell can somebody on the dole afford 30% of their CT? - they only get about £68 week for gods sake. Does anybody else remember Cathy Come Home and Rachman? I do and that's where we're headed if we don't stop them. We lived on pension credit for 5 years and it wasn't a lot but I managed ok. I think it was £112 for a couple or it was then.

GreyQueen

Well, I just kicked around on my council's website and not a squeak about changes to the council tax. Is this new reduction in the amount that Govt gives the LAs taking effect from April 2013? Can anyone point me towards the official gen on a govt website?

I may have to dust off my placard-making skills. Last time I demonstrated in the streets it was Maggie! Maggie! Maggie! Out! Out! Out!

;)Lawdy, there are some days when I feel every one of my forty-something years................:rotfl:

kidcat

Have just filled in a "consultation" thingy online to describe my feelings towards it all

Maybe if we cut the chief execs wages in half, sliced councillors expenses etc we could make up the shortfall, in my area its only £1.4m. Which I know sounds alot but our chief exec costs a big chunk of that - and I bet if I sat and looked at the expenditure I could find that amount in a few hours without leaving anyone in penury.

WSC - does that mean you get bedroom tax a whole year ahead of us?

Times are no longer looking tough - they begin to look impossible

Evie74_2

Mardatha - I'm afraid I had to look up Rachman but I had heard of Cathy Come Home (not seen it tho). Truly terrifying if we are heading back to those days

Evie xx