What's the fuss about this new benefit caps?

michaels

remorseless wrote: »

is there any mean testing before benefits are determined? Like can you still get benefits if you declare your earnings etc following the 'allowable' method and have a fat bank account balance?

Not for tax credits but there is for universal credit which is gradually replacing them. However there is for housing benefit, council tax benefit, free school meals, smi etc already, uc will bring all benefits into line with this after which I think only contributions based jsa will not have capital tested.

SingleSue

remorseless wrote: »

Sharing bedrooms

The following are expected to share:
an adult couple
2 children under 16 of the same sex
2 children under 10 (regardless of sex)

The following can have their own bedroom:
a single adult (16 or over)
a child that would normally share but shared bedrooms are already taken, eg you’ve 3 children and 2 already share
children who can’t share because of a disability or medical condition
a non-resident overnight carer for you or your partner (but only if they must stay overnight)

The above may say that some can have their own rooms but in reality, well, it is only if the housing stock is available (if in social housing).

I have 3 disabled children, we were told we qualified for a 4 bedroom house due to the extent of the disabilities in two of them (we currently live in a small 3 bedroom house)......alas, there has been no available stock and we have been classed as overcrowded for the last 14 years.

However, we are a make do family and never pushed the issue. Yes, it got a bit tight on space with their equipment at times but we got savvy with space saving and a temporary division of part of the largest bedroom and so we managed and now they are older (and eldest is off at uni much of the time), things have eased.

So the rules may say one thing but the reality is something else altogether.

lisyloo

To me the use of the small company tax system by contractors who are effectively employees is an example of a loo hole.

Can you clarify what you mean by "effectively employees"?
Contractors have no employments rights, no sick pay, no holiday etc. etc.

If you mean working for the same company every day, then I would have to draw 2 conclusions.
This has been going on for so long that either this is intended (same logic as your pension scenario) OR the government have been totally incompetant at shutting it down.
There's also a 3rd cynical option that the government want to be seen to be closing this "loophole" e.g. introducing IR35, but with more holes than a colander because the Tories are quite happy for people to keep circumventing it. I am not a conspiracy theorist but I am minded towards the latter.

I think shutting this down would affect the economic mobility of a flexible (and therefore important) part of the workforce.
Yes contractors get some financial benefits, but there are also significant downsides. For example being economically mobile may mean you cannot buy a house and also sometimes means being out of work for periods of time.
I'm not sure everyone fully appreciates the downsides to this.
Those on the outside see the benefits but don't see the downsides that we live with.
A rolling contract may appear to be the same as permanent employment, but you simply do not know whether it will continue.
For example I don't know where I will be living in 6 months time and that keeps us stuck in rented accomodation.
That's quite a lot of insecurity to live with.
We didn't chose that route, it happened to be the only option that was available after a long and depressing period of unemployment, but those that think it's fantastic then the solution is clear - go contracting - just be aware you need to take the downsides as well.