Benefits trap mum on £70k a year says she can't afford to work

jay213

A mother-of-three says she is caught in a 'benefits package trap' equal to a salary of £70,000 a year.

Divorcee Sharon Minkin says she cannot afford to work – because it would leave her worse off and her children would no longer qualify for free university places.

Ms Minkin, 49 and her three children aged 19, 18 and 14 live in a spacious semi-detached three-bedroom with its own drive and 80ft garden in up-market St Albans, Hertsfordshire.

She drives a four-wheel Honda CRV and her 26 ft lounge boasts a 42 inch flatscreen TV.

Instead of going out to work, she spends her days writing novels – as yet unpublished – and walking her two pedigree white Samoyed dogs.

Her life is funded by the taxpayer, yet privately educated Ms Minkin – who before her divorce lived in a £1.6million seven-bedroom house complete with housekeeper – claims every day is a struggle.

'People might call me a scrounger but I don’t like living like this,' she said. 'So my children don’t have to share a bedroom, I’m forced to sleep in the lounge. And having lived in a house with five bathrooms, it’s hard fighting over the one bathroom that we all have to share.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2299927/Sharon-Minkin-refuses-job-better-benefits.html#ixzz2PMHXkSc2

I read this article and had a quick search to see if I could find it posted on here and I couldn't find it. Will she be affected by the £500 per week benefit cap? I can't believe that she is entitled to so much.

I'm not sure if this is in the right section or not but I just wanted to hear the views that people have about it.

Generali

You can't blame someone for accepting what is offered IMHO. Whether all that should be offered in the first place is a different question.

It's not so much that she's getting so much money as the waste. She's a bloody accountant! There is a massive international shortage of accountants.

Going4TheDream

Generali wrote: »

You can't blame someone for accepting what is offered IMHO. Whether all that should be offered in the first place is a different question.

It's not so much that she's getting so much money as the waste. She's a bloody accountant! There is a massive international shortage of accountants.

I agree, however the largest part of her 'package' is HB of £1400 a month - scandalous really when you consider that is the take home pay of someone earning in the region of £24/25k. It all seems to come back to high prices of property and affordable housing?

Perhaps not such a sensational story if she was living 10 miles away in Luton/Watford say on £500/£600 rent and benefits?

On a personal level, It was more her expectation that it was ok not to work as if she did her kids would have to pay their own university contributions that got me the most! the fact that she and her children ' couldn't imagine living in a smaller place' that kind of thing. That came across a little to arrogantly for me - it seemed to me that she was saying she wanted to work but didnt seem willing to compromise anything to be able to do so?

It seems her accountancy skills have not been wasted afterall as she seems to have used them very well (rightly or wrongly)to her and her families advantage?

GazHatesBanks

Heard about this on the local news last week.

Apparently, when the local news reporter turned up she told him to contact her press officer! Any sympathy she may have had locally has certainly gone now.

We can only hope that once her two eldest kids are no longer classed as dependent then we can stop paying for her 4 bedroom house - one positive aspect of the benefits reductions.

Generali

Going4TheDream wrote: »

I agree, however the largest part of her 'package' is HB of £1400 a month - scandalous really when you consider that is the take home pay of someone earning in the region of £24/25k. It all seems to come back to high prices of property and affordable housing?

Perhaps not such a sensational story if she was living 10 miles away in Luton/Watford say on £500/£600 rent and benefits?

On a personal level, It was more her expectation that it was ok not to work as if she did her kids would have to pay their own university contributions that got me the most! the fact that she and her children ' couldn't imagine living in a smaller place' that kind of thing. That came across a little to arrogantly for me - it seemed to me that she was saying she wanted to work but didnt seem willing to compromise anything to be able to do so?

It seems her accountancy skills have not been wasted afterall as she seems to have used them very well (rightly or wrongly)to her and her families advantage?

Yeah it does come across as a bit arrogant but why the hell wouldn't you take it if offered? You've gotta be rich or mad to work in Britain in a lot of cases.

If you're only going to make a few quid an hour you're better off on the dole if you have kids.

HappyMJ

GazHatesBanks wrote: »

Heard about this on the local news last week.

Apparently, when the local news reporter turned up she told him to contact her press officer! Any sympathy she may have had locally has certainly gone now.

We can only hope that once her two eldest kids are no longer classed as dependent then we can stop paying for her 4 bedroom house - one positive aspect of the benefits reductions.

You can only hope. No matter the age of the kids as long as they do not leave the family home they will each be entitled to one bedroom if they are aged over 16. They could be in their 30's and mother would still be getting housing benefit with a non dependant deduction for the kids earnings. If they are over 25 and earn only JSA the deduction is £13.60 a week....but they themselves would be on £71.70 JSA a week. 2013/2014 figures....

CLAPTON

Going4TheDream wrote: »

I agree, however the largest part of her 'package' is HB of £1400 a month - scandalous really when you consider that is the take home pay of someone earning in the region of £24/25k. It all seems to come back to high prices of property and affordable housing?

Perhaps not such a sensational story if she was living 10 miles away in Luton/Watford say on £500/£600 rent and benefits?

No is doesn't come back to the high prices of property in general but because of where she is allowed to choose to live.

Of course the high price of property and rental value partly derives from the high level of HB.


The point is, as she isn't working why is she living in a very expensive place like St Albans?

And of course the absolute nonsense that her children get their UNI fees paid is rediculous.

Generali

If I was in her position I'd encourage my kids to crack on with a masters degree at a minimum so they can enter the workplace ahead of their peers. If the Mum sorts out her CA then she'll be on a pretty tidy sum pretty soon.

duchy

Why ?

Because as she knew what she was talking about and came over as quite intimidating and educated she probably got less of the runaround from her local council than than most.

The press officer comment doesn't bother me so much -If I was doorstepped by a journalist I'd say anything I could to get rid rid of them too. I used to work in a job where I had a lot of contact with the red top reporters and they were persistent little blighters !

The system is wrong ...... There's lots wrong with her attitude (although that may all be in the reporting -we don't know how selective the quoting is) but most of us aren't going to turn down legally entitled benefits if it'll impact on our kids.

Going4TheDream

Generali wrote: »

Yeah it does come across as a bit arrogant but why the hell wouldn't you take it if offered? You've gotta be rich or mad to work in Britain in a lot of cases.

If you're only going to make a few quid an hour you're better off on the dole if you have kids.

So perhaps it is right that the welfare benefits system is being reformed

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

What is needed is a system that makes work pay.

It should never be the case that people on benefits turn down work to avoid losing benefits.