Preparedness for when

Doveling

There are strict rules for nursing homes and nurseries about staff ratios so they cannot continue to function with less staff than deemed necessary. Don't know about other businesses

I do think people working in these areas deserve better pay, just can't see where it's going to come from.

mardatha

The govt don't care if it makes things harder for us - as long as they can look virtuous and trumpet that they raised the min wage.

Butterfly_Brain

Watch this Keiser report with a real economist to see what he saysabout austerity. It is in the second part, but the whole show is very interesting.

http://rt.com/shows/keiser-report/271909-episode-max-keiser-780/

Butterfly_Brain

For those of us that grow heritage seeds we must be increasingly on our guard about contamination by GM crops.

http://www.healthy-eating-politics.com/genetically-modified-plants.html

moneyistooshorttomention

Well.....just had a look at the main Budget stuff and thought "We would have been leaping about punching the air with grins on our faces" back when I was very active in the trade unions earlier in my life at the thought of a Living Wage:j.

What we would not have liked is working age benefits frozen for 4 years - and I think that is a shocker (if an expected one) - as those benefits are so darn low as it is for many (eg childless people).

My personal thoughts being "WTH - they expect even more non-university material people to go to university do they? I'm sure genuine university people will just love that....not...." - after the proposal that under 21 are going to be expected to stay in education or get a job. So - if they cant get a job - then loads more people that in a previous era wouldn't even have got A levels will now be going to university as well:cool:

But - there is positive stuff there:
- I guess we'd all agree that high earners shouldn't have the right to pay cut-price rents on social housing
- the stuff re non-dems

We'd probably have divided opinions re child tax credit being limited to 2 children. My own thoughts are "Well - this sort of thing has been on the cards ever since the 1970s and its been very very obvious it will be soon for the last few years". There will have to be some "agreeing to disagree" there amongst us on that one I expect...

moneyistooshorttomention

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

For those of us that grow heritage seeds we must be increasingly on our guard about contamination by GM crops.

http://www.healthy-eating-politics.com/genetically-modified-plants.html

I seem to recall I saw something recently that organic farmers are going to have the right to sue others that contaminate our organic food with their GM stuff??:j:j:j

Cant recall the details - just thought "About time we were able to get our own back against them....:D".

Does anyone have a link to info. on that?

1Tonsil

can anyone explain what a working age benefit is please? I have to admit, I have never heard of it....

GreyQueen

1Tonsil wrote: »

can anyone explain what a working age benefit is please? I have to admit, I have never heard of it....

Collective term for any benefit which you are only eligible for as a non-pensioner.

Some state benefits are claimable by pensioners and non-pensioners, such as housing benefit, council tax reduction (nee council tax benefit), attendance allowance etc. Others are the sole preserve of working age people, like working tax credit, jobseekers allowance (the dole) and employment support allowance - ESA - which is for working age adults who are too ill or too disabled to work.

Of the means-tested benefits such as HB and CTR, the amount of income and savings you can have and still be eligible is higher for the pensionable age than the non-pensionable age. According to today's info at t'office, there are £5.5 billion of pensioner-age benefits unclaimed every year.

Late this year, most benefits and tax credits will be replaced by a lump sum payment under Universal Credit, and the recipients will be expected to treat it like a wage and allocate it to the various places it needs to go. Wherever it was trialled, it caused an 11-fold increase in social rent arrears and more homelessness. We're dreading it, frankly, at work.

It'll be interesting to see what happens when the £30k cap on subsidised rents comes in. We're assuming the income data will go from HMRC to the local authority landlords. And I wonder at what frequency it will be changed, as people gain and loose employment/ hours etc. You can be doing OK for a wage then lose your job overnight.:(

thriftwizard

We'd probably have divided opinions re child tax credit being limited to 2 children. My own thoughts are "Well - this sort of thing has been on the cards ever since the 1970s and its been very very obvious it will be soon for the last few years". There will have to be some "agreeing to disagree" there amongst us on that one I expect...

Yup! Can't for the life of me see why the children should have to suffer. Most parents of more than 2 don't go into it thinking, "let's have some more babies to get our greedy paws on the child benefit" as it just about covers the cost of decent shoes and some of the school uniform, and not much else. And if your kids happen not to have average-sized feet, cramming them into cheap, ill-fitting shoes is painful and potentially slightly crippling. It'll be very hard on parents who "fall" for a second child, then discover that they are actually expecting two or even three - it does happen, and it's expensive - you can't hand down, say, a buggy for one to twins, or fit 3 child seats across the back of a car designed for 2 rear passengers. And you don't get any special help or sponsorship for less than 4 at once.

I know it's meant to discourage people, and I'm sure it will work. But it will be very hard on many families, and most especially on the children, who after all didn't ask to be born. So - 'nuff said - agreeing to disagree!

GreyQueen

It's going to be bliddy tough on children and parents in low-income families. And nobody asks to be born, bless them.

I do find that I have limited patience when encountering people bragging on FB (or overheard in shops) that they're going to have another kid to get a bigger council house or more benefits, or who ring up to add their 10th, 12th, or 13th or more child to their claim, barely able to stop sniggering as they do so.

They are a minority, but there are people out there who are having a child most years, and who keep having children, notwithstanding their inability/ unwillingness to support themselves and their existing offspring. Seems to me that an irresponsible minority are spoiling it for everyone who aspires to have more than two children.:(