Welfare Reform

Depth_Charge

Growurown wrote: »

Some benefit claimants I meet through my job have never worked, but most have at some time or another. Most women I meet have worked in the past but gave up when they had kids and haven't worked since. Finding a job that fits around child care isn't very easy.

Different for the blokes but the ones that haven't worked for a long time have usually been in prison and struggle to find an employer to take them on, especially where I live as jobs aren't plentiful. There are also big issues around drug and alcohol addiction and poor mental health.

I meet a lot who were on disability for many years and have now been put onto JSA as they didn't pass the medical. I think it is very difficult for them because although potentially they could work, realistically no employer is going to take them on when there are ten healthy people waiting in the queue. Many of them are very limited in the type of work they can do because of their disabilities. They might not be able to do very physical work, or stand for long periods etc. If they don't have computer skills, and a lot of the older ones don't, then there is not a lot of choice for them.

Some of them will cope with monthly pay and budget really well, make sure that their rent is paid first etc. Some won't because generally their lives are very chaotic and their ability to think ahead and plan is pretty non existent. I have met people who treat their rent money as a form of free credit, knowing full well that they have to get quite a lot behind in their rent before the housing association will evict them. It can be a very much 'live for today and don't worry about tomorrow' culture in some households.

Hi

Great points as always

I think the only way that some people are going to adjust / cope with this will be down to basic budgeting along with extra targeted support.

Having a universal approach to budgeting is the key, trouble is that there are agencies with different approaches and variations in expenditure guidelines and application.

Giving people the information where to get help with essentials such as food and utilities especially where children and the most vulnerable are concerned.

Genuine independent advice and assistance with debt is paramount, not going to organisations who are only interested in making money out of people or making a solution fit such as coincidently finding £100 per month disposable income for DMP purposes from someone on basic benefits. Advice on all options is what is needed in the best interests of those in debt, anything else will not work with this unique situation.

I visited a young family very recently on basic benefit income who were in a DMP with a company, just happened to have £90 per month spare for a DMP according to nonsense and unsustainable expenditure calculations, other options clearly had not been explained and the rest of the hassle that goes with cases like that. This type of case is all to common unfortunately and it is interesting who these providers are at times. It cannot go on of course given the welfare reforms and other economic factors and I am confident that we will all be hearing more about these type of cases when the truth eventually comes out as make no mistake, it will.

We are talking to a number of local authorities on the subject of consistency on expenditure figures for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP).

DHP can and is proving to be a lifeline where the bedroom tax is concerned, further problems will come of course when the DHP pot runs dry.

It has to be down to budgeting but as I have said before looking at some of the figures with all this they simply don't add up and that is the challenge and (paradoxically) the somewhat impossible situation that people face.

The Credit Unions are there and have a key part to play in all this, however looking at the big picture it could be a tricky and somewhat risky catch 22 situation for some of them. Making the mistake of marketing, targets and perhaps taking their eye off what they are supposed to represent could leave some of them adrift and vulnerable to any approaching storm.

There are a number of voluntary support groups setting up in the communities and my opinion is that these can and will play an important part over the coming months and years.

Things will start to really bite as the winter sets in and takes hold.

If this all goes wrong then it could (and in my opinion will) cost us all in the long run, the signs are already clearly there with some of the figures relating to the bedroom tax etc.

My opinions as always

fatbelly

Depth_Charge wrote: »

Hi

I am not sure how long most claimants have been on benefits.

The average length of a Jobseekers Allowance claim is 13 weeks.

That isn't something I read in the Daily Mail.

I think I read it here

The lies we tell ourselves

Upsidedown_Bear

Something else I wasn't aware of. This from Shelter.

"At the moment, if you lose your job, you will get your full rent paid for 13 weeks - vital breathing space to help you find a new job or move to a cheaper home, without getting into debt. But from October, the government will only pay a low standard rate regardless of your actual rent."

http://england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns/save_our_safety_net

Depth_Charge

Hi

Child Benefit deadline looms

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24396857

Just keeping the balance as all things are of proportional relevance where income drops, budgeting, debt and finance are concerned.

My view

seven-day-weekend

Growurown wrote: »

I agree the system needs to be changed, and I am hoping that Universal Credit will be an improvement on the current system.



It may be a gimmick, I think it is ill thought out though. It is pushing people into poverty when there isn't much they can do to resolve the situation. Social housing organisations simply don't have enough smaller properties for their tenants to move into.



Agreed.



The cap on benefits will make this more difficult to do.



I completely understand that people feel this way, but the people who choose to stay on benefits and not work are very much in the minority. I think this general feeling in the country of benefit scroungers taking all the taxes of the hard working person is a bit of a myth put about by the likes of the Daily Fail. If you look at the statistics most of the money spent on benefits goes to pensioners.

For most people living on benefits isn't a lifestyle choice. For single people especially, living on JSA is a miserable existence with very little luxury and none of the people I know on JSA have massive TV's or live in 4/5 bed houses.

The ones who do have big TV's that I do know of, are on disability benefits and they buy the TV through companies that charge huge amounts of interest and they have to feed the TV with pound coins.

More fool them.

It seems to me that one of the main problems is the lack of one-bedroom social housing, which, when you consider that it was initially built for families, is not surprising.

Some of this could be overcome by measures like (for example), allowing two single friends to apply for a tenancy together, and qualify for a two-bedroom place.

I think if someone will commit to downsizing if a place becomes available (and has signed a legally binding document to say so), then they should have, say, twelve months leeway before having to find the extra rent. I also think over-60s who are not on disability benefits should be included in the scheme as these are probably the people who are doing most of the under-occupying.

But the basic principal I think is correct, that the Government should not pay for more rooms than someone needs. However, the infrastructure is not one that supports this so there needs to be some radical changes here.

eyeopener2

fatbelly wrote: »

The average length of a Jobseekers Allowance claim is 13 weeks.

That isn't something I read in the Daily Mail.

I think I read it here

The lies we tell ourselves

wow, fantastic piece of work. Very humbling.

Depth_Charge

Hi

Latest from Citizens Advice warns of big problems down the line.

http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/pressoffice/press_index/press_office-20131010.htm

The latest news on energy prices also makes grim reading especially with winter fast approaching

http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/pressoffice/press_index/press_2013.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24475868

Very tough times ahead

My take

fatbelly

Depth_Charge wrote: »

Very tough times ahead

Indeed!

78% of people filling in official forms online in Tameside CAB last month could not do so without assistance

Can I also add that it seems people in Tameside are fortunate to have an accessible CAB service to assist them.

In my area, the government's withdrawal of LSC funding in April has had a devastating knock-on effect on the CABs. All benefits specialists were laid off, the majority of the debt specialists and all their administrative support went too.

Around 50% of the total staff were lost and a similar proportion of the volunteers.

Bureaus are now open for half a day per week for face to face advice and less than 1 in 10 phone calls are fielded.

The Council is supportive but has its own problems in balancing its books. Given the squeezing of funding from central government and the increasing problems of non-payment of council tax, it looks like some buildings will be removed from CAB use.

Never mind, IDS says people can get help from CABs or libraries. Oh, dear, they're threatened with closure too.

Upsidedown_Bear

According to one of today's papers the Red Cross are going to be doing food parcels for the first time since World War 2.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/exclusive-red-cross-launches-emergency-food-aid-plan-for-uks-hungry-8872496.html

Depth_Charge

fatbelly wrote: »

Indeed!



Can I also add that it seems people in Tameside are fortunate to have an accessible CAB service to assist them.

In my area, the government's withdrawal of LSC funding in April has had a devastating knock-on effect on the CABs. All benefits specialists were laid off, the majority of the debt specialists and all their administrative support went too.

Around 50% of the total staff were lost and a similar proportion of the volunteers.

Bureaus are now open for half a day per week for face to face advice and less than 1 in 10 phone calls are fielded.

The Council is supportive but has its own problems in balancing its books. Given the squeezing of funding from central government and the increasing problems of non-payment of council tax, it looks like some buildings will be removed from CAB use.

Never mind, IDS says people can get help from CABs or libraries. Oh, dear, they're threatened with closure too.

Hi

I don't think it will come as any surprise to you when I say that I know exactly where you are coming from and that I agree with everything you say.

They haven't a clue what they are doing have they? or what affect all this is having!

The budgets for those affected just don't add up (even if they don't put anything down for clothing)

These are well on course to becoming the most toughest of times.

The advice agencies (those that deal with benefits and this type of debt) are facing an impossible task.

The latest announcement on the energy price rises yesterday did not exactly help.

Worrying times

My opinions